Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court held that Minn. Stat. 609.344(1)(b) and 609.345(1)(b), which prohibit sexual penetration and sexual conduct where the complainant is between thirteen and sixteen years of age and the actor is more than two years older than the complainant, are constitutional even though they prevented Defendant from asserting a mistake-of-age defense.The statutes at issue provide a mistake-of-age defense but only to actors who are no more than 120 months older than the complainant. On appeal, the court of appeals held that the statutes did not violate the guarantees of substantive due process and equal protection under the federal and state constitutions and did not unconstitutionally impose strict liability. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) sections 2609.344(1)(b) and 609.345(1)(b) do not violate substantive due process or equal protection by limiting a mistake-of-age defense to defendants who are no more than 120 months older than the complainant; and (2) the statutes do not impose strict liability but, instead, require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the actor had a general intent to engage in sexual penetration or sexual contact with the complainant. View "State v. Holloway" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that a “school zone,” as defined by Minn. Stat. 152.01(14)(a), includes the entire area of a city block that is situated kitty-corner to school property when the land surrounding the school property is organized in a city-block system.Appellant was convicted of second-degree sale of a controlled substance in a school zone. Appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief arguing that the State had failed to prove that the drug sale at Appellant’s home occurred within 300 feet of school property and, therefore, did not prove that the sale occurred in a school zone. The postconviction court denied the petition, concluding that the entire area of Appellant’s block was included in the school zone. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) when the area surrounding school property is organized in a city-block system, as in this case, the school zone, as defined in section 152.01(14)(a)(2), includes the entire area of a city block that is kitty-corner to the school property; and (2) the evidence was sufficient to prove the school-zone element of second-degree sale of a controlled substance in a school zone. View "Lapenotiere v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s conviction for first- and second-degree murder on an aiding-and-abetting theory. The Court held (1) even if it was error for the district court to admit into evidence Appellant’s statement to police, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) the district court plainly erred by giving a no-adverse-inference instruction to the jury without Appellant’s consent, but the error was not prejudicial; and (3) assuming, without deciding, that the prosecutor committed misconduct during closing argument by “indirectly alluding” to Appellant’s failure to testify, the prosecutor’s argument was not prejudicial. View "State v. Johnson" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the postconviction court’s denial of Petitioner’s second petition for postconviction relief without holding an evidentiary hearing.Petitioner was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. After his first postconviction petition was summarily denied, Petitioner filed his second postconviction petition, alleging the existence of sixteen pieces of newly discovered evidence. The postconviction court denied the second petition without holding an evidentiary hearing, concluding that the petition was untimely because the facts alleged in the petition did not satisfy the statutory newly-discovered-evidence exception. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) the postconviction court abused its discretion by making improper credibility determinations without holding an evidentiary hearing; and (2) the facts alleged in support of Petitioner’s remaining claims did not satisfy the newly-discovered-evidence or interests-of-justice exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations. View "Anderson v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the postconviction court’s denial of Petitioner’s petition for postconviction relief, holding that the postconviction court did not abuse its discretion.Petitioner was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree felony murder. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release for the murder conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed. Petitioner later filed a petition for postconviction relief, alleging six grounds for postconviction relief. The postconviction court rejected the petition without holding an evidentiary hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Petitioner’s claims were either procedurally barred or failed as a matter of law. View "Fox v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s conviction of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder for the shooting deaths of his long-time girlfriend and his girlfriend’s fifteen-year-old daughter.On appeal, Appellant argued that the State failed to present sufficient to establish premeditation and that the district court erred by declining to instruct the jury on first-degree heat-of-passion manslaughter. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence presented at trial to sustain Defendant’s convictions; and (2) Appellant was not prejudiced by the district court’s decision not to instruct the jury on first-degree heat-of-passion manslaughter. View "State v. Galvan" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction for first-degree murder, holding that any error in the admission into evidence of testimony from Defendant’s physicians and a burn expert did not substantially influence the verdict.During trial, the district court ruled that Defendant waived his medical privilege. On appeal, Defendant argued that the admission of information from his medical records and the testimony from his treating physicians was erroneous and prejudicial. The Supreme Court held (1) Defendant forfeited review of the admission of the medical records; and (2) even if the district court’s admission of the medical information was erroneous, Defendant was not entitled to relief under the plain error standard because he did not demonstrate that the admission of the evidence affected his substantial rights. View "State v. Vasquez" on Justia Law

The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the district court’s summary denial of Appellant’s ninth petition for postconviction relief, holding that Appellant’s petition was time barred or otherwise rested upon a meritless legal theory.Appellant was convicted of first- and second-degree murder. Thirty years later, Appellant filed the instant petition for postconviction relief, arguing that he was actually innocent because the forensic scientist was unable to match his DNA profile to the male DNA found on the victim’s body. The district court summarily denied the petition, determining that lab reports did not establish Appellant’s actual innocence. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion by summarily denying Appellant’s petition for postconviction relief without holding an evidentiary hearing. View "Wayne v. State" on Justia Law

The limited right to counsel recognized in Friedman v. Commissioner of Public Safety, 473 N.W. 2d 828 (Minn. 1991), applies only to implied-consent cases.The district court in this case suppressed the results of a urine sample provided by Defendant at a jail after his arrest for driving while impaired (DWI) because the sheriff’s deputy, when asking Defendant if he would consent to urine testing, failed to read the implied-consent advisory that would have advised Defendant of his right to counsel. The court concluded that, by failing to read the advisory, the deputy failed to allow Defendant to vindicate his right to counsel prior to testing. The court of appeals reversed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) because the officer did not read the implied-consent advisory in this case, under Friedman, the limited right to counsel was not triggered; and (2) therefore, the district court erred in suppressing the urine test results on that ground. View "State v. Hunn" on Justia Law

A defendant who files a motion under Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.03, subd. 9 to correct a sentence after the time for direct appeal has passed bears the burden to prove the sentence was based on an incorrect criminal history score.The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the district courts denying Appellant’s motions to correct his sentence under Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.03(9), which Appellant filed after the time to file a direct appeal had expired. In his motions, Appellant argued that two Minnesota district courts miscalculated his criminal history score because those courts treated his two Illinois drug-related convictions as felonies. The court of appeals affirmed the denial of the motions. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant had the burden to prove that the Illinois convictions were improperly included in his criminal history score and that Appellant failed to meet this burden. View "Williams v. State" on Justia Law