Justia Minnesota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In 1988, Respondent Linda Dahlin obtained a judgment for unpaid spousal support against Appellant Randall Kroening. In 1998, the judgment was extended for an additional ten years pursuant to state law. In 2008, Respondent filed suit with the district court to renew the judgment for another ten years. The court denied the request holding that the judgment could only be renewed once. A divided appellate court reversed the district court, holding that the judgment could be renewed. The Supreme Court settled the split in the lower courts by holding that Respondent could renew her judgment, and that the state law did not limit action on a judgment to one renewal. The Court affirmed the appellate courtâs decision.

A Hennepin County grand jury indicted Appellant Gary Vue with several gang-related felonies. A jury found Appellant guilty, and the district court convicted him and imposed a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 31 years. Appellant appealed his conviction, claiming that the district court erroneously admitted his statement to the police, and that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to convict him. In December, 2005, police received a tip on the whereabouts of Appellant and his brother who were both suspects in the shooting death of Za Xiong. The tip lead police to Appellant then living in Sacramento, California. The police went to Sacramento to interview him. Within eight minutes, Appellant confessed to the shooting. Police did not believe they had the authority to arrest Appellant outside their jurisdiction. They returned to Hennepin County and got an arrest warrant for the brother. Three years later, in March, 2009, police were able to apprehend Appellant in St. Paul. Appellant pled not guilty, and sought to exclude his statements made to police while in Sacramento. The district court denied Appellantâs motion to suppress, concluding that Appellant was not in custody and, therefore, the police were not required legally to advise him of his Miranda rights. The Supreme Court held that the lower court was correct to deny Appellantâs motion to suppress his statement to the police in Sacramento. Furthermore, it found that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to allow a rational trier of fact to convict him of the gang-related felonies. The Court accordingly affirmed Appellantâs conviction.

Respondent Ronald Stagg was discharged from employment by Respondent Vintage Place, Inc. for excessive absenteeism and tardiness. Stagg applied for unemployment benefits. An unemployment law judge (ULJ) determined that Stagg was ineligible for benefits because he was discharged for employment misconduct as defined by state law. On appeal, the appellate court reversed the ULJ, holding that Vintage Place failed to follow its own disciplinary policies when it terminated Stagg. Stagg argued that he relied on the employee manual, which defined Vintage Place's formal discipline procedures. Because he had not received a ten-day suspension--the last disciplinary step short of termination under Vintage Place's policy--Stagg did not understand his job was at risk for termination. The appellate court held that Stagg could have reasonably expected Vintage Place to follow its own disciplinary policy, and that Stagg's absenteeism did not amount to denial of unemployment benefits. Given the record presented, the Supreme Court disagreed with the lower court's ruling, reversing it and reinstating the ULJ's decision.