State v. Fairbanks
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder of a peace officer, four counts of first-degree assault, and other offenses connected with the shooting death of a county deputy sheriff officer. The Supreme Court reversed one of the first-degree assault convictions but otherwise affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion when it transferred venue to Polk County; (2) the murder prosecution was not barred by the common law “year-and-a-day rule” because the victim died eighteen months after the shooting, as the year-and-a-day rule does not apply to the Minnesota law of homicide; (3) the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting into evidence certain photographs; and (4) the evidence was insufficient to support Defendant’s conviction on one of the first-degree assault counts.
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