State v. Hunter

815 N.W.2d 518, 2012 WL 2505821, 2012 Minn. App. LEXIS 61
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJuly 2, 2012
DocketNo. A11-1713
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 815 N.W.2d 518 (State v. Hunter) 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
State v. Hunter, 815 N.W.2d 518, 2012 WL 2505821, 2012 Minn. App. LEXIS 61 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

ROSS, Judge.

Eric Hunter struck a woman in a crosswalk with his vehicle and immediately drove away. The victim suffered serious injuries and died a week later. The state charged Hunter with two felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and one misdemeanor count of driving after license suspension. A jury heard the evidence but could not reach a verdict after deliberating nearly three days. After discussions in chambers with both attorneys, the district court declared a mistrial sua sponte. Hunter unsuccessfully moved to dismiss the charges on double jeopardy grounds. On appeal, he argues that the district court abused its discretion by declaring a mistrial and that it erred by refusing to hold that double jeopardy bars retrial. Because the district court does not abuse its discretion by declaring a mistrial after a defendant, through his counsel, consents to a mistrial, and because the mistrial was manifestly necessary due to a deadlocked jury, we affirm.

FACTS

A motor vehicle struck 26-year-old pedestrian Joan LeVasseur in an Apple Valley intersection, where the driver left her bleeding heavily with a fractured pelvis, broken legs, and head trauma. LeVasseur died a week later.

Police investigated and arrested Eric Hunter as the hit-and-run driver. The state charged Hunter with two felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death and one misdemeanor count of driving after license suspension. See Minn.Stat. §§ 169.09, subds. 1, 6, 14(a)(1); 171.24 subd. 1(1)-(3) (2008).

The jury began deliberating after a four-day trial. At the end of the first day of deliberations, the jury submitted five questions to the court:

(1) What is the general process of notification for the state of Minnesota when your license is suspended? (2) What is the general process of notification for the state of Minnesota when your license is reinstated? (3) Did the speeding ticket received indicate besides speeding that the police officer knew his license was suspended? (4) Can we receive the stenographer notes of witness testimony from the trial? (5) Can we see statements shown to witnesses to refresh their memory if not entered as exhibits?

The district court answered after conferring with the attorneys, explaining that the jury must make its decision based only on the trial evidence and jury instructions.

The next day, the jury informed the district court that it had come to a stalemate and wanted guidance on how to pro[521]*521ceed. The district court encouraged the jurors to keep trying to come to a verdict. At the end of the second day of deliberations, the jury submitted another question, “Does (prudent men and women, page 1, paragraph 5) apply to us as jurors, the witnesses, or both?” The district court explained that it could not “provide any further clarity than what ha[d] ... previously been provided ... in the instructions,” and the court then re-instructed the jury on proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

On the third day of deliberations, a Thursday, the jury submitted one more question and made a request: “Can any consideration be given for someone who needs to leave for a bus trip next Monday through Thursday?” and “We would like to dismiss today at 4:00 p.m. for an anniversary mass today for a death in the family.” The district court explained to the jurors that they could not separate during deliberations. It then asked the foreperson if the jury had reached a unanimous decision. The foreperson replied, “No, Your Honor.” The district court then decided “on its own motion” that the jury was deadlocked, and it declared a mistrial. As the district court was dismissing the jury, the foreperson stated, ‘Your Honor, I misled you and I lost it. There was three counts — .” The district court interrupted the foreperson, stating that the foreperson answered the specific questions he was asked, and excused the jury.

The district court then explained its decision to declare a mistrial. It reasoned that the issues, “in the court’s ... opinion, were not that difficult,” and it recounted that the jury had been deliberating for more than two and a half days on three charges, two of whieh were similar and the third of which was a mere driving violation. It found that there was “no reasonable probability of agreement on the charges” and that further instructing the jury “would not result in a fair and impartial verdict.” The district court stated that it had extensively discussed how to proceed with counsel. They had considered proceeding with fewer than 12 jurors, but the court observed “that was not an option that anyone wanted to pursue.” They had also considered the “possibility of a partial verdict,” but again, neither side wanted to pursue that option.

The district court scheduled Hunter’s retrial for October 2012. In September 2011, Hunter moved the court to dismiss the charges on double jeopardy grounds. The district court denied the motion, holding that Hunter had impliedly consented to the mistrial and also that the mistrial was justified by manifest necessity due to the deadlocked jury. Hunter appeals.

ISSUE

Did the district court abuse its discretion by denying Hunter’s motion to dismiss the charges on retrial following the mistrial?

ANALYSIS

Hunter argues that the district court erroneously refused to dismiss the charges after declaring a mistrial sua sponte because retrial is barred by his right against double jeopardy. The double jeopardy clauses of the United States and Minnesota Constitutions guarantee that a person may not be tried twice for the same crime. U.S. Const. amend. V; Minn. Const. art. 1, § 7. Hunter has once been subject to jeopardy because jeopardy attaches after a jury is impaneled and sworn. See State v. McDonald, 298 Minn. 449, 452, 215 N.W.2d 607, 608-09 (1974). But if a defendant consents to the district court’s declaring a mistrial, he waives any claim that retrial is barred under the double jeopardy doctrine. State v. White, 369 N.W.2d 301, 304 (Minn.App.1985), review [522]*522denied (Minn. Ang. 20, 1985). If, on the other hand, a defendant objects to the declaration of a mistrial, double jeopardy-bars a second trial unless a “manifest necessity” required the first trial to be terminated. State v. Fuller, 374 N.W.2d 722, 726 (Minn.1985). We review a district court’s sua sponte decision to declare a mistrial without the defendant’s consent for an abuse of discretion. State v. Gouleed, 720 N.W.2d 794, 800 (Minn.2006). But we review factual findings that underlie the decision for clear error. Fuller, 374 N.W.2d at 726. Minn. R. Civ. P. 52.01.

Hunter argues that the district court erred by finding that he consented to the mistrial. We believe the evidence supports the finding. Hunter never objected to the mistrial. That alone is not consent, but it is a factor the district court could consider. State v. Olson, 609 N.W.2d 293, 300 (Minn.App.2000).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
815 N.W.2d 518, 2012 WL 2505821, 2012 Minn. App. LEXIS 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hunter-minnctapp-2012.