State v. Kelley
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Appellant was convicted as an accomplice to first-degree aggravated robbery and third-degree assault. Appellant appealed, contending that he was entitled to a new trial because a jury instruction on accomplice liability plainly violated the newly announced rule in State v. Milton. The court of appeals affirmed, concluding that the accomplice liability instruction was legally erroneous but that Appellant was not entitled to relief under Minn. R. Crim. P. 31.02 because the law was unsettled at the time of the error and did not become settled in favor of Appellant until the time of appeal. The Supreme Court affirmed as modified, holding (1) Rule 31.02 is not limited to errors that were plain at the time of trial, but, rather, under this rule a court must examine the law in existence at the time of appellate review; but (2) Appellant in this case was not entitled to a new trial because the alleged error did not affect Appellant’s substantial rights.
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