Minnesota Supreme Court Petition for Review Grants Update

Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court granted review of one criminal case and one driver’s license revocation case and stayed the appeals pending the outcome of cases that are currently before the supreme court.

First, in State v. Dahl,-A22-1255, the court granted review of Dahl’s petition for review and the State’s petition for cross-review and stayed the appeal pending the outcome of State v. Paulson, A22-0632.   Oral argument has yet to be scheduled before the supreme court in Paulson.

The two issues presented in Dahl are as follows:

Issue: Because decades of well-established precedent instructs that venue is an element of the charged offense the State is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, where a defendant opts for a court trial and the district court does not find the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the charged crime occurred in the county in which the case was tried, must the defendant’s conviction be reversed?

Cross-Review Issue: Whether venue is an essential element of every offense, such that the State must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the charged offense was committed in the county where case is being tried?

Second,  in Thomas Patrick Ness vs. Commissioner of Public Safety, A23-0831, the court granted review pending the outcome in Nash v. Commissioner of Public Safety, A22-1238.  Oral argument was held before the supreme court in Nash on January 3, 2024.

The issue presented in Ness is as follows:

Issue: Whether law enforcement’s failure to follow statutory requirements while informing petitioner that “refusing to submit to that search warrant is a crime,” as required by Minn. Stat. § 171,177, subd. 1, should have resulted in rescission of the revocation as the officer did not follow the statute and did not direct either a blood or a urine test before revoking petitioner’s driving privileges?