Evans v. State
Supreme Court of Minnesota · 2010-09-09 · cited 13×
In Evans v. State, appellant Harry Jerome Evans appealed the denial of his petition for postconviction relief following his 2005 conviction for first-degree murder of a peace officer, for which he received a sentence of life without release. The Minnesota Supreme Court had previously affirmed the conviction on direct appeal. On this appeal, Evans raised claims including newly discovered evidence suggesting that a witness had implicated another individual in the shooting, along with arguments about discovery, jurisdiction, and trial proceedings. The court affirmed the postconviction court's denial, holding that the new evidence did not entitle Evans to relief, that certain issues were waived or not properly presented, and that any error regarding access to police reports was harmless.
criminal lawprocedure
State v. Larson
Supreme Court of Minnesota · 2010-09-02 · cited 31×
Jamie Leigh Larson was convicted under Minnesota law of aiding and abetting the first-degree premeditated murder of her boyfriend, Thomas John Cady, who was strangled by her brother Robert after the siblings discussed and planned the crime while using drugs at a hotel. Larson appealed her conviction, arguing that the trial court made erroneous evidentiary rulings that deprived her of the right to present a complete defense, gave improper jury instructions, and that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, concluding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in its evidentiary rulings, that any instructional errors were harmless, and that witness testimony about Larson's recruitment of others, her driving the victim away from the hotel, and her post-crime statements provided sufficient direct evidence of her intentional aid. The court rejected Larson's claims that the State relied only on circumstantial evidence or that third-party perpetrator evidence was improperly excluded.
criminal lawprocedure
State v. Larson
Supreme Court of Minnesota · 2010-09-02 · cited 18×
This case involved the first-degree murder conviction of Robert Vincent Larson for the 2003 strangling death of Thomas John Cady, Jr. in Ramsey County, Minnesota, based on evidence that Larson and his sister Jamie planned and carried out the killing using zip strips after an altercation at a hotel involving drugs and prior violence by Cady. The jury convicted Larson after hearing testimony from multiple witnesses about the planning, the drive to the crime scene, and the aftermath, and he received a mandatory life sentence. On appeal, the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding that any errors in admitting evidence about the voluntary or compelled nature of DNA samples from Larson and alleged alternative perpetrators were harmless and did not substantially influence the verdict.
criminal law
Booth v. Gades
Supreme Court of Minnesota · 2010-08-19 · cited 10×
This case concerned whether a Drake v. Ryan partial release agreement between the Booths and firefighter Ryan Gades, along with his primary insurer Progressive for $50,000, fully discharged Gades from liability for a 2006 car accident when the referenced excess policy from Auto-Owners did not actually cover him, or whether it only limited the sources from which the Booths could recover. The district court granted summary judgment to the City of Cyrus (Gades's principal), finding all claims released, but the court of appeals reversed. The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals, holding that the agreement's plain language operated as a full release of Gades because it satisfied all claims beyond the primary policy limits in the absence of excess coverage, and under common law principles a release of the agent necessarily released the principal from vicarious liability.
torts & liability
Burns v. Commissioner of Revenue
Supreme Court of Minnesota · 2010-08-05 · cited 3×
This case involves Kevin Burns appealing the Minnesota Tax Court's decision upholding the Commissioner of Revenue's order for him to repay a portion of a homeowner property tax refund he received for 2003 taxes on a property in Apple Valley. The court affirmed the order, finding that Burns was not eligible for the refund because he neither owned nor occupied the property on January 2, 2004, as required by Minnesota Statutes section 290A.04. Ownership had been lost through a mortgage foreclosure finalized in December 2003, with the issue precluding relitigation under collateral estoppel, and evidence showed he did not occupy the property that year, instead claiming renter status elsewhere. The core reasoning relied on statutory eligibility requirements and factual findings supported by the record, including court documents and certificates of rent paid.
taxesproperty
J.E.B. v. Danks
Supreme Court of Minnesota · 2010-07-22 · cited 37×
This case concerns a lawsuit by the B. family against Debra Danks for claims including slander, libel, false reporting, intrusion upon seclusion, and public disclosure of private facts, arising from Danks' communications about suspected sexual abuse of the B. family's daughter by her brother. The district court granted summary judgment to Danks based on statutory immunity under the Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding that statutory immunity applies only to good-faith reports made to proper officials and does not extend to other communications, and that a genuine dispute of material fact existed regarding whether Danks acted in good faith.
family lawtorts & liability