OPINION ANDERSON , Justice . Appellant Harry Jerome Evans moves for correction of his sentence, see Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.03, subd. 9, from "life imprisonment without possibility of release" under Minn. Stat. 609.106, subd. 2(1) (2018), to "imprisonment for life" under the first-degree murder statute, Minn. Stat. 609.185(a)(4) (2018). 1 The postconviction court denied the motion, and we affirm. FACTS The facts underlying Evans's conviction are found in State v. Evans ( Evans I ),...
OPINION HUDSON , Justice . Appellant Ronald Reed appeals from the summary denial of his second and third petitions for postconviction relief in this first-degree murder case. In his petitions, Reed alleged that two of the State's witnesses recanted, that testimony given in a related proceeding by his purported accomplice is evidence of actual innocence, that the State failed to fulfill its disclosure obligations, that he was denied his right to self-representation, and that he was denied...
OPINION CHUTICH , Justice . Appellant Andrew Ellis initiated eviction proceedings against his tenant, John Doe, for nonpayment of rent. 1 The tenant raised a common-law habitability defense, asserting that Ellis had breached the covenants of habitability. The district court found for the tenant and ordered retroactive and prospective rent abatement until the habitability violations were fixed. The court of appeals affirmed the district court's decision. Ellis now asks us to reverse,...
OPINION MCKEIG , Justice . This appeal is from an arbitration award reinstating police officer Nathan Kinsey after respondent City of Richfield (the City) discharged him for failing to report his use of force and violating other policies. Kinsey, through his union, appellant Law Enforcement Labor Services, Inc. (the Union), filed a grievance with the City. The dispute was arbitrated, and the arbitrator found that, because Kinsey did not use excessive force and his decision not to report...
OPINION CHUTICH , Justice . Appellant John Lee Bowen was convicted of simple robbery for taking a bottle of brandy from a liquor store and assaulting the store manager. The sole issue here is whether the phrase "personal property" in the robbery statute, Minnesota Statutes section 609.24 (2018), includes the property of a business. Bowen challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, contending that "personal property" means property belonging to a person. Because the bottle that he took...
OPINION THISSEN , Justice . In this case, we are asked to determine whether Minn. Stat. 609.342, subd. 1(h) (2018), requires the State to prove that "sexual penetration" occurred. The court of appeals held that the statute does not require such proof. Because we conclude that the plain language of the statute requires proof of "sexual penetration," we reverse the decision of the court of appeals and remand to the district court for further proceedings. FACTS The relevant facts are as...
OPINION McKEIG , Justice . In 2013, police responded to a 911 emergency call from a distraught woman who sought help because a man with a gun was in her apartment and she was afraid for the safety of herself and her infant child. When the police arrived, they found the man, later identified as Justin Stephen Ries, asleep on a couch. Police checked Ries for firearms by patting him down while he was asleep, found the handgun, and removed it. Ries, a felon, was not eligible to possess a...
OPINION GILDEA , Chief Justice . In this case we are asked to determine whether the Supreme Court's decision in Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 U.S. ___, 136 S.Ct. 2160 , 195 L.Ed.2d 560 (2016), and our decisions in State v. Trahan, 886 N.W.2d 216 (Minn. 2016), and State v. Thompson, 886 N.W.2d 224 (Minn. 2016), announced a new rule of constitutional law that applies retroactively to cases on collateral review. The district courts and the court of appeals concluded that the rule...
OPINION GILDEA , Chief Justice . In this case we are asked to determine whether the postconviction court erred by denying appellant Joseph Haywood Campbell's petition for postconviction relief without an evidentiary hearing. Because we conclude that the postconviction court did not err, we affirm. FACTS A Ramsey County jury found Campbell guilty of the first-degree premeditated murder of Naressa Turner, committed for the benefit of a gang, in violation of Minn. Stat. 609.185(a)(1) (...
OPINION McKEIG , Justice . Relators Lake Country Power Cooperative, Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative, and Peoples Energy Cooperative (collectively, "the Cooperatives") each separately appealed the valuation orders of the Commissioner of Revenue ("the Commissioner") for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 tax years. The tax court dismissed the appeals as untimely because they were not filed within the 60-day deadline for appeals from orders of the Commissioner, see Minn. Stat. 271.06, subd. 2; 273....
OPINION LILLEHAUG , Justice . Appellant Antionette Rie Johnson was charged with the first- and second-degree murder of Renaldo McDaniel on an aiding-and-abetting theory. A jury found Johnson guilty on both counts, and she was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. On direct appeal, Johnson raises three issues. First, she argues that the district court erred by admitting into evidence a statement police obtained in violation of her constitutional rights. Second,...
OPINION LILLEHAUG , Justice . This case arises out of an objection to a jury instruction regarding the interpretation of contracts. The district court instructed the jury to determine whether two contracts were ambiguous, and if so, to both "determine the intent of the parties" and construe ambiguous terms against the drafter. The court of appeals decided that this jury instruction materially misstated the law and remanded for a new trial. We agree and affirm the court of appeals. FACTS...
OPINION HUDSON , Justice . Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company, LLLP and Glacial Plains Cooperative entered into a grain-handling contract that was to "continue indefinitely." Chippewa Valley sought to end the contract with Glacial Plains Cooperative on the ground that it was a contract of indefinite duration, terminable at will by either party. Glacial Plains Cooperative argued that the contract was perpetual in duration, not indefinite, and was therefore not terminable at will. The district...
OPINION LILLEHAUG , Justice . Appellant Robbie Michael Kremer appeals from a district court order invalidating an antenuptial agreement he entered into with his then-fianc e, respondent Michelle Beth Kremer. 1 The antenuptial agreement contained provisions concerning the disposition of both marital and non-marital property upon dissolution or death. The district court held that, under Minn. Stat. 519.11 (2016), the agreement was procedurally unfair because Michelle did not have an...
OPINION ANDERSON , Justice . This dispute is on its second appeal, following two jury trials, and requires us to decide whether the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard or the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard applies when determining the existence of an oral contract for the conveyance of farmland when only money damages are sought for the claimed breach of that contract. James Christie claims that his parents, Dilman and Dorothy Christie (now represented by their estates), were...
OPINION GILDEA , Chief Justice . In 2015, a new statute was enacted that governs the State Auditor's responsibilities over audits of Minnesota counties. The new statute allows counties to "choose to have the [required] audit" performed by either a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm or the State Auditor. Minn. Stat. 6.481, subd. 2 (2016). The State Auditor contends that the new statute violates the Separation of Powers Clause, Minn. Const. art. III, 1, and the Single Subject Clause,...
OPINION CHUTICH , Justice . In this appeal, we consider whether the district court (1) abused its discretion when it did not accept appellant Ryan Petersen's straight guilty plea to second-degree intentional murder and (2) based its finding of premeditation on sufficient evidence. In April 2016, Petersen, a client of Northstar Criminal Defense, went to the law firm's office and shot and killed the firm's law clerk. The State initially filed a complaint charging Petersen with second-degree...
OPINION CHUTICH , Justice . Appellants William Buskey, et al. (the Buskeys) brought claims against respondent American Legion Post #270 (American Legion) under the Civil Damages Act for damages allegedly arising out of the death of Mary Jo Meyer-Buskey in an automobile accident caused by a drunk driver. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the liquor licensee, American Legion, finding that the Buskeys failed to provide timely notice of their claims. The district court...
OPINION CHUTICH , Justice . This case requires us to decide whether police officers violated an arrestee's Fifth Amendment right when, after the arrestee invoked his privilege against self-incrimination, the officers later asked him if he was willing to sign a written consent to the taking of a DNA sample and explained to him, when questioned, why they sought the sample. Appellant Erik Heinonen moved to suppress the DNA results, as well as the incriminating statements that he made when...
OPINION ANDERSON , Justice . This case returns to our court following a remand to the tax court. Relator Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation (MERC) previously challenged the determination by the Commissioner of Revenue (Commissioner) of the value of MERC's natural gas pipeline distribution system for the years 2008 through 2012. Both parties appealed the tax court's order valuing MERC's pipeline property, raising several arguments on appeal. Minn. Energy Res. Corp. v. Comm'r of Revenue...
