Sontoya v. State
Annotate this CaseAfter a trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder while committing first-degree criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to life in prison. On appeal, Appellant challenged his conviction on several grounds but did not raise an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. The Supreme Court affirmed. Appellant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief, asserting a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The district court summarily denied Appellant's petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant's postconviction claim was barred by application of State v. Knaffla, which provides that claims that were not raised on direct appeal or were known or should have been known but were not raised on direct appeal, are procedurally barred.
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