SF 1207

2nd Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to courts; limiting postconviction relief;
setting conditions for petitions; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2004, section 590.01, subdivision 1, by
adding a subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 590.01,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Petition.

Except at a time when direct
appellate relief is available, a person convicted of a crime,
who claims that:

(1) the conviction obtained or the sentence or other
disposition made violated the person's rights under the
Constitution or laws of the United States or of the state; or

(2) scientific evidence not available at trial, obtained
pursuant to a motion granted under subdivision 1a, establishes
the petitioner's actual innocence;

may commence a proceeding to secure relief by filing a petition
in the district court in the county in which the conviction was
had to vacate and set aside the judgment and to discharge the
petitioner or to resentence the petitioner or grant a new trial
or correct the sentence or make other disposition as may be
appropriate. new text begin A petition for postconviction relief after a
direct appeal has been completed may not be based on grounds
that could have been raised on direct appeal of the conviction
or sentence. new text end Nothing contained herein shall prevent the Supreme
Court or the Court of Appeals, upon application by a party, from
granting a stay of a case on appeal for the purpose of allowing
an appellant to apply to the district court for an evidentiary
hearing under the provisions of this chapter. The proceeding
shall conform with sections 590.01 to 590.06.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 590.01, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Time limit. new text end

new text begin (a) No petition for postconviction
relief may be filed more than two years after the later of:
new text end

new text begin (1) the entry of judgment of conviction or sentence if no
direct appeal is filed; or
new text end

new text begin (2) an appellate court's disposition of petitioner's direct
appeal.
new text end

new text begin (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a court may hear a
petition for postconviction relief if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the petitioner establishes that a physical disability
or mental disease precluded a timely assertion of the claim;
new text end

new text begin (2) the petitioner alleges the existence of newly
discovered evidence, including scientific evidence, that could
not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence by
the petitioner or petitioner's attorney within the two-year time
period for filing a postconviction petition, and the evidence is
not cumulative to evidence presented at trial, is not for
impeachment purposes, and establishes by a clear and convincing
standard that the petitioner is innocent of the offense or
offenses for which the petitioner was convicted;
new text end

new text begin (3) the petitioner asserts a new interpretation of federal
or state constitutional or statutory law by either the United
States Supreme Court or a Minnesota appellate court, and the
petitioner establishes that this interpretation is retroactively
applicable to the petitioner's case;
new text end

new text begin (4) the petition is brought pursuant to subdivision 3; or
new text end

new text begin (5) the petitioner establishes to the satisfaction of the
court that the petition is not frivolous and is in the interests
of justice.
new text end

new text begin (c) Any petition invoking an exception provided in
paragraph (b) must be filed within two years of the date the
claim arises.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 and 2 are effective August 1, 2005. Any person
whose conviction became final before August 1, 2005, shall have
two years after the effective date of this act to file a
petition for postconviction relief.
new text end