State v. Patzold

917 N.W.2d 798
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedSeptember 10, 2018
DocketA17-1549
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 917 N.W.2d 798 (State v. Patzold) 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. Patzold, 917 N.W.2d 798 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

The district court then asked each attorney whether there were any objections to the other's closing argument. There were none.

The district court then instructed the jury, repeating the limiting instruction that was given earlier concerning the use of relationship evidence. The jury found appellant guilty of all five charged offenses. The district court sentenced appellant to 187 months in prison on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one year in prison on each count of domestic assault, to be served consecutively.3

This appeal followed.

ISSUES

I. Did the district court abuse its discretion by permitting the state to introduce relationship evidence at trial?

II. Did the state commit prosecutorial misconduct that affected appellant's substantial rights?

III. Did the district court err in sentencing appellant for two domestic-assault convictions arising from a single course of conduct?

IV. Is appellant entitled to relief based on his pro se argument?

ANALYSIS

I. The district court did not abuse its discretion by permitting the state to introduce relationship evidence concerning appellant's alleged domestic conduct toward K.R.

Appellant argues that the district court abused its discretion by permitting the state to introduce relationship evidence concerning appellant's alleged assaults against K.R.

"Evidentiary rulings rest within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed absent a clear abuse of discretion. On appeal, the appellant has the burden of establishing that the trial court abused its discretion and that appellant was thereby prejudiced." State v. Amos , 658 N.W.2d 201, 203 (Minn. 2003) (citation omitted). Relationship evidence is admissible under Minn. Stat. § 634.20 if it is "domestic conduct by the accused against the victim of domestic conduct, or against other family or household members" and its probative value is not "substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issue, or misleading the jury." Minn. Stat. § 634.20. "[E]vidence showing how a defendant treats his family or household members, such as his former spouses or other girlfriends, sheds light on how the defendant interacts with those close to him, which in turn suggests how the defendant may interact with the victim." State v. Valentine , 787 N.W.2d 630, 637 (Minn. App. 2010).

"When balancing the probative value against the potential prejudice, unfair prejudice is not merely damaging evidence, even severely damaging evidence; rather, unfair prejudice is evidence that persuades by illegitimate means, giving one party an unfair advantage." State v. Bell , 719 N.W.2d 635, 641 (Minn. 2006) (quotation omitted). Minn. Stat. § 634.20 presumes such relationship evidence to be admissible, and such "evidence becomes inadmissible only if its danger for unfair prejudice substantially outweighs its probative value." State v. Andersen , 900 N.W.2d 438, 442 (Minn. App. 2017). A limiting *806instruction from the district court "lessen[s] the probability of undue weight being given by the jury to the evidence." State v. Lindsey , 755 N.W.2d 752, 757 (Minn. App. 2008) (quotation omitted), review denied (Minn. Oct. 29, 2008).

Here, the district court determined that the relevance of three instances of appellant's past domestic conduct against K.R. was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. Importantly, the district court limited K.R.'s testimony to those three incidents, excluding the other proffered incidents based on its careful and individual consideration of each incident that K.R. claimed had occurred. The district court faithfully applied Minn. Stat. § 634.20. The district court also instructed the jury on the proper use of the relationship evidence, and on the limitation on the use of such evidence. We see no abuse of the district court's discretion.

II. The prosecutor did not commit misconduct and, even if she did, any plain error did not substantially affect the verdict.

Appellant argues that the prosecutor committed misconduct by disregarding a court order and referring to the charged offense as "rape," improperly eliciting testimony from law enforcement concerning prior contacts with appellant, eliciting opinion evidence concerning whether a sexual assault occurred, and rhetorically asking in rebuttal argument, "Since when is the word of a rape victim not enough?"

Because appellant did not object to any of the prosecutor's alleged misconduct, we apply a modified plain-error test. State v. Mosley , 853 N.W.2d 789, 801 (Minn. 2014). To prevail, an appellant must establish that there was an error and that the error was plain. State v. Ramey , 721 N.W.2d 294, 302 (Minn. 2006). If such an error is established, the burden then shifts to the state to show that the plain error did not affect appellant's substantial rights. Id. "A prosecutor engages in prosecutorial misconduct when he violates 'clear or established standards of conduct, e.g., rules, laws, orders by a district court, or clear commands in this state's case law.' " State v. McCray , 753 N.W.2d 746, 751 (Minn. 2008) (quoting State v. Fields , 730 N.W.2d 777, 782 (Minn. 2007) ).

A. The prosecutor's actions do not constitute misconduct.

1. Disregarding a court order

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

Related

State of Minnesota v. Mark John Jenni
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2026
State of Minnesota v. Kevin Lee Anthony
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Shawn Eric Clement
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Damarcus Deontay Holloway
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. David Alan Williams
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2024
State of Minnesota v. Carmen Marie Burth
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2023
In the Matter of the Welfare of: P. J. B., Child
Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2023

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
917 N.W.2d 798, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-patzold-minnctapp-2018.