Dobbins v. State Of Minn.

• Decision Date: 16 September 2010
• Docket Number: No. A09-1872.,A09-1872.
• Citation: 788 N.W.2d 719
• Parties: Demetrius Devell DOBBINS, Petitioner, Appellant, v. STATE of Minnesota, Respondent.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

788 N.W.2d 719

Demetrius Devell DOBBINS, Petitioner, Appellant,

v.STATE of Minnesota, Respondent.

No. A09-1872.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

Sept. 16, 2010.

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Syllabus by the Court

Petitioner's claim that he was improperly convicted of aiding and abetting is Knaffla-barred because Petitioner knew the nature of his conviction at the time of his direct appeal.

Petitioner's claim that the Minnesota Supreme Court violated his equal protection rights by affirming his conviction did not arise until his direct appeal was complete and therefore the postconviction court abused its discretion in concluding that petitioner's equal protection claim is Knaffla-barred; nevertheless, petitioner is not entitled to relief because his claim lacks merit.

When the record conclusively shows that petitioner's appellate counsel was not ineffective, the postconviction court did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner an evidentiary hearing on the ground of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel.

The postconviction court abused its discretion when it denied petitioner an evidentiary hearing regarding his false testimony claim when the record does not conclusively show petitioner is not entitled to relief on the ground of evidence of false testimony.

Demetrius Devell Dobbins, Rush City, MN, pro se.

Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, MN; and Robert M.A. Johnson, Anoka County Attorney, Marcy S. Crain, Assistant Anoka County Attorney, Anoka, MN, for respondent.

OPINION

ANDERSON, PAUL H., Justice.

An Anoka County jury found Demetrius Devell Dobbins guilty of first-degree premeditated murder for the death of Quintin Roderick Lavender. We affirmed Dobbins's conviction on direct appeal in 2006. In 2009 Dobbins filed a petition for postconviction relief and the postconviction court denied the petition. Dobbins now appeals the denial of his petition, arguing that he is entitled to postconviction relief because (1) he received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel; (2) the State claimed that he killed Lavender, yet he was charged with and convicted of aiding and abetting a crime; (3) newly discovered evidence establishes a witness testified falsely; and (4) his right to equal protection of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment was violated when our court did not reverse his conviction on the ground of prosecutorial misconduct. We reverse in part and remand to the district court for an evidentiary hearing.

Petitioner Demetrius Devell Dobbins was charged with causing the death of Quintin Roderick Lavender at the home of Dobbins's girlfriend, C.S. State v. Dobbins, 725 N.W.2d 492, 498 (Minn.2006). A jury found Dobbins guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and the Anoka County District Court convicted him of that offense and sentenced him to life in prison. Id. at 500. We affirmed the conviction. Id. at 513. The facts surrounding Lavender's death are thoroughly set forth in Dobbins and are recounted here only insofar as they are relevant to this postconviction appeal.

On December 5, 2003, a citizen made a 911 call to report that a homicide had taken place at C.S.'s home. Id. at 497. The caller later described to a police officer the two men she believed were involved in the homicide and informed the officer that the men were returning to the home where the homicide took place. Id. After this conversation, the police went to the home and saw Dobbins and Myshohn King walking toward the home carrying lighter fluid. Id. Dobbins and King fit the description given by the 911 caller, so the police approached and arrested both men. Id.

Dobbins was searched following his arrest. As a result of the search the police ascertained that Dobbins's hands and clothing had gunshot residue on them, and later DNA testing revealed that the pants, shoes, and socks he was wearing at the time of his arrest had some of Lavender's blood on them. Id. On January 6, 2004, the Anoka County grand jury indicted Dobbins for first-degree premeditated murder in violation of Minn.Stat. §§ 609.05 and 609.185(a)(1) (2004). See 725 N.W.2d at 497-98. The indictment stated that Dobbins “individually and/or while intentionally aiding, advising, hiring, counseling or conspiring with another, caused the death of Quintin Roderick Lavender with premeditation.”

C.S., her sisters, and King testified at Dobbins's trial, implicating Dobbins in Lavender's murder. See id. at 498 n. 1, 499. According to their testimony, Lavender agreed to sell nine bags of marijuana for Dobbins. Id. at 498. Lavender was to give $60 of the proceeds from the sales to Dobbins, but failed to do so. Id. Months later, Dobbins and King went to City Center in downtown Minneapolis and saw Lavender. Id. Dobbins and Lavender argued about the $60, and Dobbins told Lavender to come to C.S.'s home in Columbia Heights, where Dobbins was staying. Id. Eventually, Dobbins, King, and Lavender met at C.S.'s home. Id. King testified that while Lavender was at the home, Andre Coleman, Dobbins's cousin, arrived wearing gloves and carrying a gun. King also testified that Dobbins went into a bedroom with Coleman, came back to the living room, and shot Lavender. Id. King stated at trial that Dobbins came into the living room “with the gloves on” and testified that “then Demetrius shot [Lavender] ... I saw it.” He gave a further description, stating; “When [Dobbins] just came out, I looked at him. Then he looked at me and he just looked away and just put out the gun and shot [Lavender] twice.” According to King, Dobbins asked King to help him clean up the blood and move the body to a shed behind the home. Id. at 498-99. During the cleanup, two women, both sisters of C.S., stopped at the home and learned of the murder. Id. One sister later spoke with the police and reported the homicide. Id. at 499-500.

Dobbins testified at his trial and claimed that on the day of Lavender's murder, he was in his bedroom and Coleman, King, and Lavender were in the living room. Id. at 500. Dobbins said that while in the bedroom, he heard a gunshot, ran into the living room, and saw King fire a second shot at Lavender. Id. The jury found Dobbins guilty of first-degree premeditated murder “individually and/or while intentionally aiding ... or counseling with another, causing the death of” Lavender in violation of Minn.Stat. §§ 609.185(a)(1) and 609.05. The district court convicted Dobbins of that offense and sentenced him to life in prison. Dobbins appealed.

On direct appeal, Dobbins raised four issues:

(1) whether the district court erred in allowing the only African-American venireperson to be struck from serving on the jury; (2) whether the court violated Dobbins' Sixth Amendment right to effectively cross-examine a key state's witness; (3) whether the court erred in not instructing the jury that Dobbins' girlfriend could have been considered an accomplice; and (4) whether the state's misconduct denied Dobbins a fair trial, or in the alternative, whether defense counsel's failure to object to the misconduct constituted ineffective assistance of counsel.

Dobbins, 725 N.W.2d at 500-01. We concluded that Dobbins's first three claims of error had no merit, see id. at 504-06, but we did conclude that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct, id. at 507-12. More particularly, we concluded that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during its cross examination of Dobbins by improperly questioning Dobbins about the exercise of his right of confrontation, eliciting testimony about Dobbins's post-arrest silence and request for counsel, asking a series of “Are they lying?” type questions, injecting issues broader than Dobbins's guilt or innocence by asking him about his relationship with C.S., and highlighting Dobbins's racial and socioeconomic status. Id. at 507-12. We also held that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct when it injected personal opinions into the case during closing argument by stating: “I would be honest when I testify. Desperation and self-preservation can lead to some pretty fanciful tales.” Id. at 512. Even though we concluded the prosecutor committed misconduct, we held that the misconduct was harmless and did not warrant a new trial. Id. at 508, 513.

After we affirmed Dobbins's conviction, Dobbins filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court denied that petition on June 25, 2007. Dobbins v. Minnesota, 551 U.S. 1153, 127 S.Ct. 3021, 168 L.Ed.2d 741 (2007). Dobbins later filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief in Anoka County on February 2, 2009. The postconviction court allowed supplemental briefing, and Dobbins filed a second amended petition on June 8, 2009. In his petition, Dobbins claimed that he is entitled to postconviction relief because (1) his right to equal protection of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment was violated and our decision in State v. Mayhorn, 720 N.W.2d 776 (Minn.2006) requires reversal of his conviction; (2) the State claims that he killed Lavender, yet he was charged with and convicted of aiding and abetting a crime; (3) he received ineffective assistance of appellate counsel because appellate counsel failed to raise on direct appeal certain prosecutorial misconduct claims, a claim that Dobbins was improperly convicted of aiding and abetting murder, a speedy trial claim, ineffective assistance of trial counsel claims, and a claim that the grand jury indictment should have been dismissed; and (4) there is evidence of false testimony.

The postconviction court, without holding an evidentiary hearing, concluded that Dobbins's petition is time-barred under Minn.Stat. § 590.01 (2008) because Dobbins's petition was filed more than two years after we issued our opinion affirming Dobbins's conviction. In the alternative, the court found that Dobbins is not entitled to postconviction relief on the ground of ineffective assistance of appellate...