State of Minnesota v. Joshua Lee Myhre

875 N.W.2d 799, 2016 Minn. LEXIS 60
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 17, 2016
DocketA14-670
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 875 N.W.2d 799 (State of Minnesota v. Joshua Lee Myhre) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Minnesota v. Joshua Lee Myhre, 875 N.W.2d 799, 2016 Minn. LEXIS 60 (Mich. 2016).

Opinions

OPINION

ANDERSON, Justice.

On September -29, 2012, Deputy Bill Hargrove of the Houston County-Sheriff’s Office pulled over , a vehicle after he observed the vehicle traveling the wrong way on a divided highway. Deputy Hargrove identified the driver of the vehicle as Appellant Joshua Lee Myhre. During the ensuing traffic stop, Myhre failed two sobriety tests. Myhre also provided a “very weak” breath sample and later refused to provide a second sample. Myhre’s refusal to provide a second breath sample violated MinmStat. § 169A.20, subd. 2 (2014). Because Myhre had at least three prior aleo-, hol-related - driving incidents, he was charged with first-degree refusal to submit to testing and first-degree driving under the 'influence. See Minn.Stat; § 169A.20, subds. 1-3 (2014).

After an unsuccessful-motion to dismiss the criminal complaint for lack of probable cause,. Myhre challenged the constitutionality of the implied-consent statute. The district court heard argument on the constitutionality of the implied-consent statute during a contested omnibus hearing and ultimately concluded that the statute was Constitutional; ■ Myhre subsequently entered into an agreement with the prosecution in order to resolve his case without a jury trial. Under that agreement, the prosecution dismissed the charge for driving under the influence.

Three days later, Myhre signed a plea petition, stating that he was waiving his right to a jury trial and pleading guilty to the refusal-to-.test charge. The plea petition also stated that Myhre’s attorney told Myhre — and Myhre understood — that he would “have'the right to appeal, but that any appeal or other court action [Myhre might] take claiming error in the proceedings probably would be useless and a waste of [his] time and the court’s.” The district court held a plea hearing to receive Myhre’s plea and resolve the case. During that hearing, the district court exam-, ined Myhre on the record and obtained a clear and complete waiver of his right to a jury trial. The district court then asked. Myhre, “[T]o the charge ... of first degree refusal by way of a Lothenbach plea occurring on September 29th, 2012, how do you plead?” Myhre responded, “Guilty.” The parties also submitted a document to the district court entitled “Joint Stipulated Facts.” ' The stipulated facts are identical to the factual narrative portion of the “Statement of Probable Cause” filed by Deputy Hargrove. After, examining Myhre and considering the information contained- in the stipulated facts, the district court adjudicated Myhre guilty of first-degree refusal to test.

[802]*802To a casual observer, Myhre’s agreement with the prosecution might appear to be an ordinary plea- agreement. But the record indicates that the agreement was actually more complex. Despite the entry of a guilty plea, it appears that Myhre, along with the State, intended to proceed under Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.01, subd. 4. This rule allows a criminal defendant to plead not guilty; waive all trial-related rights, including his or. her right to a jury trial; stipulate to the state’s evidence in a trial to the court; and then appeal a dis-positive, pretrial ruling. Although Myhre entered a guilty plea rather than a nob-guilty plea, the record is replete with references to a so-called Lothenbach plea. In 2007, Minn. R. Crim. 26.01, subd. 4, replaced Lothenbach as the method for preserving a dispositive pretrial issue for appellate review in a criminal case. See State v. Diede, 795 N.W.2d 836, 842 n. 2 (Minn.2011).

A handwritten portion of the plea agreement indicates that the plea was to be a “Lothenbach plea.” Myhre’s attorney referenced Lothenbach multiple times when explaining the plea agreement to the district court, stating that the plea would be entered according to the “Lothenbach method.” Further, Myhre’s attorney explicitly stated that the plea was entered so that Myhre could appeal the district court’s pretrial ruling on the constitutionality of the implied-consent law, an appeal Myhre could not have taken if he had truly entered a plea of guilty. See generally State v. Lothenbach, 296 N.W.2d 854, 857-58 (Minn.1980) (noting that Minnesota does not recognize conditional guilty pleas).

The district court specifically asked Myhre if he was going “forward with a Lothenbach plea,” to which Myhre responded, “Yes.” The district court clarified again that Myhre was pleading “by way of a Lothenbach plea” before Myhre stated that he was pleading guilty. Myhre’s attorney once again asked Myhre, this time under oath, whether' he was entering a Lothenbach plea. Myhre responded, “Yes.” Myhre’s attorney also asked whether, after the plea was entered, Myhre intended to “appeal the Court’s finding of guilt.” Myhre indicated that was his intent.

After Myhre testified under oath, the district court took a short recess during which it considered the stipulated facts the parties had submitted. After returning from the recess, the district court made findings of fact that were consistent with the relevant stipulated facts. The district court found Myhre guilty of “failure to submit to testing in the first degree,” citing the current case and Myhre’s three prior alcohol-related convictions. Later, during the sentencing hearing, Myhre’s attorney and the district court acknowledged that Myhre was pursuing an appeal of the pretrial ruling and Myhre’s attorney made yet another reference to the “Lothenbach plea.”

Before the court of appeals, Myhre not only argued that the implied-consent law was unconstitutional — which was the gravamen of the pretrial ruling he sought to challenge when he entered his plea — he also argued that his conviction was invalid because the procedure followed in the district court did not comply with- Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.01, subd. 4. He further alleged that the district court did not make sufficient factual findings regarding his three prior offenses. The court of appeals concluded that Myhre’s plea did not comply with Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.01, subd. 4, because Myhre entered a guilty plea rather than a not-guilty plea and because Myhre and the prosecutor failed to acknowledge on the record that the pretrial issue would be dispositive. State v. [803]*803Myhre, No. A14-0670, 2015 WL 853465, at *3 (Minn.App. Mar. 2, 2015); see Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.01, subd. 4(c). But the court of appeals decided to treat Myhre’s guilty plea as'if it were a not-guilty plea that complied with Rule 26.01, subdivision 4, and affirmed Myhre’s conviction.1 Myhre, 2015 WL 853465, at *3-4. We granted review exclusively on the issue of whether Myhre’s conviction was invalidated by the district court’s failure to fully comply with the provisions of Rule 26.01, subdivision 4.

I.

Rules of criminal procedure are enacted under the court’s “authority to ensure the effective functioning of the judiciary.” State v. Cheng, 623 N.W.2d 252, 257 (Minn.2001). The interpretation of a rule of criminal procedure presents a question of law that we review de novo. Dereje v. State, 837 N.W.2d 714, 720 (Minn.2013), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 134 S.Ct: 1772, 188 L.Ed.2d 603 (2014); State v. Hugger, 640 N.W.2d 619, 621 (Minn.2002).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Timothy James Hirchert v. State of Minnesota
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2026
In the Matter of the Welfare of: E. J. C. L., Child
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2025
State of Minnesota v. Logan Hunter Vagle
Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2025
State of Minnesota v. Larry Joe Foster
Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2025
State of Minnesota v. Deandre Dontae Turner
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
Joseph Rued v. Commissioner of Human Services
Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2024
Christina Berrier v. Minnesota State Patrol
9 N.W.3d 368 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2024)
State of Minnesota v. Jerry Arnold Westrom
6 N.W.3d 145 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2024)
State of Minnesota v. Kenwan Deshawn Hunter
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Justin James Holinka
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. David Powers
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Jeffrey Scott Gunderson
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Jude Jerome Lague
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
Omar Kwabena Walford v. State of Minnesota
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Reginald Scott Hubbard
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Keith Alan Powelson
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2023
State of Minnesota v. Curtis Dwayne Thurston
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2023

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
875 N.W.2d 799, 2016 Minn. LEXIS 60, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-minnesota-v-joshua-lee-myhre-minn-2016.