April 16, 2024, Minnesota Supreme Court Petition for Review Update & April 15, 2024, Minnesota Court of Appeals Caselaw Update

Today, April 16th, the Minnesota Supreme Court granted review of one criminal case, State v. Foster, A21-0070, a second-degree murder case from Hennepin County, to decide the following issue as framed in the defendant’s petition for review:

A criminal defendant’s constitutional rights to compulsory process, due process, and a fair trial guarantee the ability to compel witnesses to take the stand at trial. A witness’s right to silence allows them to refuse to answer incriminating questions. Larry Foster subpoenaed alternative perpetrator Reginald Jackson to testify at Foster’s trial. Foster asserted his right to call Jackson to the witness stand. Jackson sought to invoke his right against self-incrimination.

In order to vindicate a defendant’s rights to compel a witness to take the stand, must a defendant be permitted to call a witness to the witness stand, where that witness may invoke the right against self-incrimination in response to incriminating questions, particularly when the witness’s physical presence alone has evidentiary value?

Hennepin County; second-degree murder; petition for review grant

Yesterday, April 15th, the Minnesota Court of Appeals released one precedential opinion in a criminal case.

In State v. Bee, A23-1257, the court of appeals decided that the interior of a motor vehicle that is on a public road is a “public place” for purposes of Minnesota Statutes section 624.7181, which makes it unlawful for a person to carry a BB gun, rifle, or shotgun in a public place.

In Bee, the defendant had a BB gun under the driver’s seat inside a vehicle he was driving.  Because (1) he did not have a permit for the BB gun, (2) the BB gun was not unloaded and in an enclosed gun case ; (3) he was not transporting the BB gun from a location exempted by the statute (firearm repair, hunting, place to buy, sell, or trade a firearm etc); or (4) he was not transporting an unloaded firearm in the closed trunk of a motor vehicle,  he could not legally carry the BB gun.

And, because the defendant was not legally “carrying” the BB gun, he could not carry the BB gun in a “public place.”  The court of appeals considered caselaw determining that a vehicle is in a public place if the vehicle is on a public road and concluded that the inside of a vehicle is a public place if the vehicle is on a public road.  Therefore, carrying a BB gun inside a vehicle on a public road is carrying a BB gun in a “public place.”

Court of Appeals Opinion (mncourts.gov)

Ramsey County District Court; possession of a BB gun, rifle, or shotgun in a public place.