Nguyen v. State
Annotate this CaseIn 1999, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 2002, Appellant unsuccessfully sought postconviction relief. In 2006, the Supreme Court issued its decision in State v. Heemstra, in which the Court held that if the act causing willful injury is the same act that causes the victim's death, the former is merged into the murder and therefore cannot serve as the predicate felony for felony-murder purposes. In 2009, Appellant filed another application for postconviction relief, arguing that, under Heemstra, he would not have been convicted of felony-murder, and Heemstra should be applied retroactively. The application was filed after the statute of limitations had expired but within three years of the Court's decision in Heemstra. The district court granted the State's motion for summary disposition, finding that the three-year limitations bar applied. The Supreme Court reversed because Appellant raised a ground of fact or law that could not have been raised within the applicable time period. Remanded.
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