A big surprise from the courts today؟ The courts have determined that no contact means no contact - no matter who initiates the contact. A11-1795        State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Aaron Bobby Phipps, Appellant. Stearns County District...

More trial issues this week.  Here we take a look at "curtilage" and "incriminating nature." Despite these issues, proper jury instructions are key. If the jury doesn't know what they are required to decide, the entire trial is for naught. A11-0809    ...

A11-240          State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Brandon Dominic Cox, Appellant. Hennepin County. The district court did not abuse its discretion when it declined to give an accomplice liability instruction to the jury because the...

A10-0731        State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Jerome Emmanuel Davis, Appellant. Hennepin County. 1.   Even if the district court abused its discretion by admitting appellant’s custodial statement, the error was harmless beyond a...

Today's case review is focused on Jury Instructions.  This is one of the final stages in a proper criminal trial.  However, the Jury Instructions are probably one of the most important aspects, except maybe the Jury Verdict Form. These are the instructions...

I'm not sure that the word "stacked" is the best word to use in this case.  Based on my reading, it seems the court of appeals might agree.  To myself, "stacked" would imply that they are all together, one on top of another, concurrent.  It appears that...