State v. Marciano, 41481
| Decision Date | 03 April 1969 |
| Docket Number | No. 41481,41481 |
| Citation | 283 Minn. 200,167 N.W.2d 41 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Roni David MARCIANO, Appellant. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
A judgment of conviction under Minn.St. 609.295(4), pursuant to a plea of guilty, will be affirmed where the record is insufficient to determine whether Minn.St. 609.02, subd. 9(6), was unconstitutionally applied.
C. Paul Jones, Public Defender, Roberta K. Levy, Asst. Public Defender, Minneapolis, for appellant.
Douglas M. Head, Atty. Gen., St. Paul, George M. Scott, County Atty., Leonard D. Brod, Asst. County Atty., Minneapolis, for respondent.
Heard before KNUTSON, C.J., and OTIS, ROGOSHESKE, SHERAN and PETERSON, JJ.
Defendant had pled guilty to an information charging him with having had sexual intercourse with a girl 16 years of age, in violation of Minn.St. 609.295(4). He was sentenced according to law for a term not exceeding 3 years and appeals from that conviction.
The issue before us is whether defendant should have been permitted to show lack of criminal intent because of a reasonable belief that the victim was over the age of consent and whether, under such circumstances, the following provision of Minn.St. 609.02, subd. 9(6), is unconstitutional:
'Criminal intent does not require proof of knowledge of the age of a minor even though age is a material element in the crime in question.'
We hold that on the record before us we cannot determine whether or not the statute has been unconstitutionally applied and are therefore obliged to affirm.
All of the issues raised by defendant were considered and disposed of adversely to him in State v. Morse, 281 Minn. 378, 161 N.W.2d 699. Nevertheless, defendant cites the last paragraph of that opinion as authority for granting relief (281 Minn. 385, 161 N.W.2d 703):
Because defendant pled guilty, there is no record other than a transcript of the arraignment and the hearing conducted at the time of sentencing. Consequently, the only facts here presented have been elicited from defendant. We do not have the benefit of any testimony on the part of the girl involved or others having knowledge of the circumstances. From defendant's version of the facts as stated to the court, it appears that he is of Moroccan birth and a national of Israel. He married a resident of Minneapolis and came to Minnesota with her early in 1967 at the age of 21. Apparently he had Bachelor of Arts degrees from a university and a teachers' school in Israel. Shortly after coming to Minnesota he was divorced but retained his residence in Minneapolis, where he was employed as a Hebrew teacher.
In some manner, not clear in the record, a 16-year-old girl named Laura came to his apartment and remained there for some weeks. Laura told defendant at the time she arrived that she was pregnant by some other man. Defendant claims that he called the police to determine whether...
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Marciano v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
...to three-years imprisonment and that his conviction was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota on April 3, 1969. See State v. Marciano, 283 Minn. 200, 167 N.W.2d 41. He contends, however, that such conviction does not form a basis for deportation for the reasons hereinafter Petitioner c......
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Breedlove v. State
...was 16 or 17 years old. The question of mens rea was laid to rest in State v. Morse, 281 Minn. 378, 161 N.W.2d 699; and State v. Marciano, 283 Minn. 200, 167 N.W.2d 41. 2. Defendant further asserts that his plea of guilty was induced by a confession coerced by promises of leniency and other......