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...
OPINION McKEIG , Justice . This case arises out of a district court order dismissing a postconviction petition as moot following the death of the petitioner. The petitioner's former attorneys appealed the district court's order even though their client had died. Because the attorneys, who are not themselves aggrieved parties, do not have standing to seek review of the district court's order, we lack appellate jurisdiction and must dismiss the appeal. FACTS In 1989, following a jury trial,...
OPINION GILDEA , Chief Justice . In this case we are asked to determine whether a seller's fraudulent statements about the condition and fitness of a vehicle being sold prevent the seller from enforcing disclaimers in purchase documents stating that the buyer purchased the vehicle "as is." The court of appeals concluded that under Minn. Stat. 336.2-316 (2016), the seller's fraudulent statements prevented the seller from enforcing the "as is" disclaimers. The court also concluded that the...
OPINION GILDEA , Chief Justice . This case involves the calculation of appellant W.C. Washington's criminal history score. Under the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines, prior felony sentences are used to calculate criminal history scores unless a period of 15 years has elapsed between "the date of the current offense" and the expiration of the prior felony sentence. Minn. Sent. Guidelines 2.B.l(c). Washington argues that "the date of the current offense" for the crime of failure to...
OPINION CHUTICH , Justice . Respondent Quentin Todd Chute was convicted of possession of a stolen camper trailer. He challenges the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained when an officer entered his property, examined the stolen camper, and then, after obtaining Chute's consent, searched his home. Chute contends that the officer's examination of the camper violated his Fourth Amendment rights and tainted his subsequent consent to the officer's search of his...
OPINION HUDSON , Justice . Appellant Jamaine Jamie Williams was found guilty by a jury of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and one count of attempted second-degree murder after a home-invasion shooting in an apartment left two men dead and a third gravely wounded. Williams is now serving two consecutive life sentences and a consecutive term of 153 months in prison. On direct appeal, Williams argues the district court committed reversible error by (1)...
