Bee Yang v. State

805 N.W.2d 921, 2011 Minn. App. LEXIS 141, 2011 WL 5903400
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedNovember 28, 2011
DocketNo. A11-400
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 805 N.W.2d 921 (Bee Yang v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bee Yang v. State, 805 N.W.2d 921, 2011 Minn. App. LEXIS 141, 2011 WL 5903400 (Mich. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

CONNOLLY, Judge.

Appellant’s postconviction petition for relief was denied by the postconviction court on the ground that it was time-barred under Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c). He challenges that decision, contending that claims invoking the subdivision 4(b)(5) exception should not be subject to a two-year time limitation. We affirm.

FACTS

In 2005, pursuant to a plea agreement, appellant Bee Yang, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.343, subd. 1(b) (2004). On January 24, 2006, appellant was sentenced and received a stay of execution of a 21-month prison sentence. Appellant was placed on probation and informed that he would be subject to a five-year conditional-release term if his sentence was executed. He indicated at sentencing that he understood these terms. Appellant did not file a direct appeal.

On December 29, 2006, during a probation-revocation hearing, the district court was informed that appellant’s Pre-Sen-tence Investigation contained an error and that appellant’s offense required imposition of a ten-year conditional-release term, not a five-year term. See Minn.Stat. § 609.3455, subd. 6 (Supp.2005). After hearing arguments, the district court revoked appellant’s probation pursuant to State v. Austin, 295 N.W.2d 246 (Minn. 1980), for accessing pornography on his computer in violation of a condition of his probation, executed his sentence, and imposed a ten-year conditional-release term. Appellant did not appeal.

In May 2010, more than two years after the probation-revocation hearing, appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief and a motion for appointment of a public defender. A public defender was appointed and filed a supplemental petition. Appel[924]*924lant challenged the imposition of the ten-year conditional-release term as violating his due-process right and his plea agreement. Appellant’s petition for postconviction relief was denied as time-barred pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c), and the postconviction court did not reach the merits of appellant’s claim.

ISSUES

I. Is Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c), unconstitutional?

II. Does Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c), preclude review of appellant’s petition?

ANALYSIS

When considering a district court’s denial of postconviction relief, this court reviews issues of law de novo and findings of fact for sufficiency of the evidence. Leake v. State, 737 N.W.2d 531, 535 (Minn.2007).

I. Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c), is not unconstitutional.

Appellant challenges the constitutionality of Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c). “Minnesota statutes are presumed constitutional and ... our power to declare a statute unconstitutional must be exercised with extreme caution and only when absolutely necessary.” Hamilton v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety, 600 N.W.2d 720, 722 (Minn.1999). Accordingly, we will uphold a statute unless the challenging party demonstrates that it is unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. Specifically, appellant argues that subdivision 4(c) is unconstitutional because it imposes a time limitation on criminal defendants who may not have had appellate review of their claims, and both the United States and the Minnesota Constitutions provide him with the right to one substantive review of his conviction.

We disagree. This court in Larson v. State held that there is no right to one review in a criminal case under the Unites States Constitution. 801 N.W.2d 222, 226 (Minn.App.2011), review granted and stayed (Minn. Oct. 18, 2011). Larson holds that criminal defendants have a federal constitutional right to both (1) a method and (2) an “adequate opportunity” to appeal. See id.

Appellant was afforded a method of review through Minnesota’s postconviction relief statute. See Minn.Stat. § 590.01 (2010). Appellant does not set forth reasons why he could not have raised his claims during the two-year period provided by the statute, or why the two-year limitation is unreasonable. Appellant had two years, an adequate opportunity, to raise his claim.

As to his claim that the statute violates the Minnesota Constitution, appellant relies on Deegan v. State, 711 N.W.2d 89 (Minn.2006). His reliance is misplaced. “Deegan does not support [the] contention that [a defendant] is entitled [to] a limitless and absolute right to one review” under the Minnesota Constitution. Larson, 801 N.W.2d at 227. The supreme court, in Deegan, “expressly declined to decide” if a criminal defendant has a right to one review. Id. at 227-28. Moreover, in Larson, this court held that the Minnesota Constitution does not provide the constitutional right to one review. Id. at 229 (“[A] convicted defendant does not have a constitutional right to appeal under ... the Minnesota Constitution.”).

Because a convicted defendant does not have a constitutional right to one substantive appellate review of a conviction under either the United States or the Minnesota Constitution, Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c) is not unconstitutional.

[925]*925II. Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c), precludes review of appellant’s petition.

“Interpretation of a statute presents a question of law,” which this court reviews de novo. Swenson v. Nickaboine, 793 N.W.2d 738, 741 (Minn.2011). The goal of statutory interpretation is to “ascertain and effectuate the intention of the legislature.” Brua v. Minn. Joint Underwriting Ass’n, 778 N.W.2d 294, 300 (Minn.2010) (quotation omitted). “If the meaning of a statute is unambiguous, we interpret the statute’s text according to its plain language.” Id.

Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4, provides:

(a) No petition for postconviction relief may be filed more than two years after the later of:
(1) the entry of judgment of conviction or sentence if no direct appeal is filed; or
(2) an appellate court’s disposition of petitioner’s direct appeal.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a court may hear a petition for postconviction relief if ...
(5) the petitioner establishes to the satisfaction of the court that the petition is not frivolous and is in the interests of justice.
(c) Any petition invoking an exception provided in paragraph (b) must be filed within two years of the date the claim arises.

(Emphasis added.) Appellant argues that, although his petition was not filed within two years of his original sentencing as required under Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(a), Minn.Stat. § 590.01, subd.

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Bluebook (online)
805 N.W.2d 921, 2011 Minn. App. LEXIS 141, 2011 WL 5903400, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bee-yang-v-state-minnctapp-2011.