State v. Vang
Annotate this CaseThe State filed a delinquency petition charging Appellant, who was then fourteen years old, with first-degree felony murder (drive-by shooting), second-degree felony murder (drive-by shooting), and attempted first-degree felony murder (drive-by shooting). Defendant pled guilty to the murder charges, but the Supreme Court vacated the convictions. On remand, the case proceeded to trial, and a jury found Appellant guilty of all three counts. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court had original and exclusive jurisdiction over Appellant’s offenses; (2) sufficient evidence supported Appellant’s convictions; (3) assuming that the district court improperly instructed the jury on the elements of drive-by shooting, Appellant did not establish that the error affected his substantial rights; (4) Appellant’s mandatory life sentence with the possibility of release was not unconstitutional under the principles of Miller v. Alabama; (5) the district court did not abuse its discretion by imposing a longer sentence upon Appellant after his trial and conviction; and (6) the postconviction court did not err when it summarily denied Appellant’s petition for postconviction relief.
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