State v. Ayers

Supreme Court of Minnesota

State v. Ayers

228 N.W.2d 547, 303 Minn. 562, 1975 Minn. LEXIS 1583

CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota

DecidedMarch 28, 1975

Docket44645

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 228 N.W.2d 547 (State v. Ayers) 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 v. Ayers, 228 N.W.2d 547, 303 Minn. 562, 1975 Minn. LEXIS 1583 (Mich. 1975).

Pincite

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Defendant was convicted in district court of having sexual intercourse with a child, Minn. St. 609.295(2), and taking indecent liberties with a child, Minn. St. 609.296, subd. 2, and was sentenced to a maximum indeterminate term of 20 years’ imprisonment. He contends on this appeal from judgment of conviction and from an order denying his motion for a new trial that the trial court, acting as trier of fact, did not apply the appropriate standard of proof and that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of sexual intercourse with a child. We affirm.

With respect to the first issue, it is true that the trial court did use *563 the phrase “clear and convincing” in talking about the complainant’s testimony; however, the trial court made it clear that he applied the proof-beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard in finding defendant guilty. Thus, there is no merit to this contention.

With respect to the second issue, we concede that the testimony of the complainant, who was 13 years old and retarded, was somewhat contradictory. However, the state did not rely solely on her testimony but also called defendant’s 15-year-old brother-in-law, who was present on the night in question, and his testimony strongly corroborated the victim’s testimony. We do not hesitate to hold that the evidence was sufficient to support defendant’s convictions. See, State v. Reichenberger, 289 Minn. 75, 182 N. W. 2d 692 (1970); State v. Butenhoff, 279 Minn. 177, 155 N.W. 2d 894 (1968).

Affirmed.

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Per Curiam.

Defendant was convicted in district court of having sexual intercourse with a child, Minn. St. 609.295(2), and taking indecent liberties with a child, Minn. St. 609.296, subd. 2, and was sentenced to a maximum indeterminate term of 20 years’ imprisonment. He contends on this appeal from judgment of conviction and from an order denying his motion for a new trial that the trial court, acting as trier of fact, did not apply the appropriate standard of proof and that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of sexual intercourse with a child. We affirm.

With respect to the first issue, it is true that the trial court did use *563 the phrase “clear and convincing” in talking about the complainant’s testimony; however, the trial court made it clear that he applied the proof-beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard in finding defendant guilty. Thus, there is no merit to this contention.

With respect to the second issue, we concede that the testimony of the complainant, who was 13 years old and retarded, was somewhat contradictory. However, the state did not rely solely on her testimony but also called defendant’s 15-year-old brother-in-law, who was present on the night in question, and his testimony strongly corroborated the victim’s testimony. We do not hesitate to hold that the evidence was sufficient to support defendant’s convictions. See, State v. Reichenberger, 289 Minn. 75, 182 N. W. 2d 692 (1970); State v. Butenhoff, 279 Minn. 177, 155 N.W. 2d 894 (1968).

Affirmed.

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Bluebook (online)

228 N.W.2d 547, 303 Minn. 562, 1975 Minn. LEXIS 1583, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ayers-minn-1975.

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