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Court of Appeals Opinions

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IMPORTANT NOTICE

Appellate Courts will begin transmitting all notices, orders, and opinions electronically.

Beginning no later than July 1, 2011, the appellate courts will send notices, orders, opinions, and correspondence related to pending cases to attorneys in those cases by e-mail rather than postal mail.  All attorneys with pending appellate cases who have not already registered an e-mail address should do so immediately.  Unrepresented parties with pending appellate cases may also participate in this e-notification system by registering an e-mail address.  Please visit the Clerk of Appellate Courts page for instructions on how to register your e-mail address.
 

Opinion Policies

Minnesota Court of Appeals opinions are issued weekly and are available to the public at 10 a.m. CST/CDT every Monday.

On Wednesday of every week, the Court of Appeals will mail a notice that informs counsel, pro se parties, and court personnel associated with a case that an opinion will be released the following Monday.  Opinions are available online or by visiting the Clerk of Appellate Courts, 305 Minnesota Judicial Center, 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, after the Monday release time.  Copies of the opinions are mailed to involved parties on Mondays.

In certain time-sensitive cases, the Court of Appeals may issue opinions on a business day other than Monday.  In these instances, involved parties will be contacted just prior to the special release.

Please visit the Minnesota State Law Library's Appellate Opinions Archive for previously released Court of Appeals Opinions.

NOTE: If you are having trouble accessing the tabs on your mobile device, you may view all Opinions on a single page.

Published OpinionsBy statute, the Court of Appeals issues a published opinion only in the most important and complex cases. Published opinions include an extensive analysis of the facts and law. They will be considered and used by courts faced with similar issues in the future, and they are published in books found in most law libraries.

DECISIONS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS
FILED Monday, April 16, 2018



A17-0609       State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Cesar Rosario Lopez-Ramos, Appellant.                            
                        Nobles County District Court, Hon. Gordon L. Moore, IIII.
            I.   When an interpreter contemporaneously translates a criminal defendant's foreign-language statement to law enforcement, absent a motive to mislead or distort, or other facts indicating miscommunication or inaccuracy, the interpreter's translation may be regarded as the statement of the defendant.
            II.   When the state seeks to admit into evidence a criminal defendant's admission made through an interpreter, upon a Confrontation Clause or hearsay objection, a district court must determine as a preliminary fact question whether the interpreter's translation can fairly be attributable to the defendant, or whether the interpreter is an independent declarant.  
            III.   When a defendant is deemed the declarant of his or her translated statement, the Confrontation Clause is not implicated, and the statement is admissible as a party admission under Minn. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(A).
            Affirmed.  Judge Denise D. Reilly.

 
Unpublished OpinionsUnpublished opinions are issued in cases that are less complicated, that involve legal issues that have already been decided in published opinions, or that will affect only the parties to that particular case. These opinions are usually shorter, do not contain extensive discussion of the facts, and are not generally relied on by other courts to the same degree as published opinions.

UNPUBLISHED OPINIONS
FILED Monday, April 16, 2018

Pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2014)


1.         A17-1388
            Herbert B. Fick, Respondent, vs. Eric J. Edwardson, et al., Appellants.
            Affirmed.  Chief Judge Edward J. Cleary.
            Dakota County District Court, Hon. Jerome B. Abrams.

2.         A17-0906
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Oscar Barrios-German, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Jill Flaskamp Halbrooks.
            Ramsey County District Court, Hon. Richard H. Kyle, Jr.

3.         A17-0994
            Demiteras Al Cooper, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota, Respondent.
            Affirmed.  Judge Renee L. Worke.
            Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Fred Karasov.

4.         A17-0992
            Western National Mutual Insurance Company, Appellant, vs. Prospect Foundry,
            Respondent.
            Affirmed.  Judge Renee L. Worke.
            Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Michael K. Browne.

5.         A17-1204
            Amina Sheikh, Relator, vs. Employment Solutions Management, Inc., Respondent,
            Department of Employment and Economic Development, Respondent.
            Affirmed.  Judge Kevin G. Ross.
            Department of Employment and Economic Development.

6.         A17-0691
            Lana Schulz, et al., Appellants, vs. Power Movers of Minnesota, Inc., Respondent.
            Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.  Judge Kevin G. Ross.
            Olmsted County District Court, Hon. Debra A. Jacobson.

7.         A17-1570
            In the Matter of the Welfare of the Children of:  S. L. K.-S., Parent.
            Affirmed.  Judge Heidi S. Schellhas.
            Big Stone County District Court, Hon. Amy J. Doll.

8.         A17-1240
            In re the Custody of M. M. L. 
            Nathan Sands, Appellant, vs. Sue Lovick, Respondent. Dakota County, Respondent.
            Reversed and remanded.  Judge Heidi S. Schellhas.
            Dakota County District Court, Hon. Cynthia McCollum.

9.         A17-0879
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Curt Matthew Craven, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Heidi S. Schellhas.
            Douglas County District Court, Hon. Timothy M. Churchwell.

10.       A17-0789
            Lee Charles Bloomquist, petitioner, Respondent, vs. Jennifer Lynn Kimlinger, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman.
            Anoka County District Court, Hon. Bethany A. Fountain Lindberg.

11.       A17-1342
            David Berger, Respondent, vs. Timothy Wynes, et al., Appellants.
            Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.  Judge John R. Rodenberg.
            Dakota County District Court, Hon. David L. Knutson.

12.       A17-1118
            Berg, Debele, DeSmidt & Rabuse, P.A., f/d/b/a Walling, Berg & Debele, P. A.,
            Respondent, vs. Robert I. Burns, Jr., Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge John R. Rodenberg.
            Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Daniel H. Mabley.

13.       A17-1735
            In the Matter of the Welfare of the Child of A. G. and S. H., Parents.
            Affirmed.  Judge Carol A. Hooten.
            Mower County District Court, Hon. Kevin Siefken.

14.       A17-1655
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Thomas Brian Sobtzak, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Carol A. Hooten.
            Crow Wing County District Court, Hon. Eric J. Askegaard.

15.       A17-0930
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Alex Gordon Sillerud, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Carol A. Hooten.
            Ramsey County District Court, Hon. Leonardo Castro.

16.       A17-0875
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Eric Edward Nordstrom, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Denise D. Reilly.
            Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Jeannice M. Reding.

17.       A17-0598
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Lloyd Edward Pugh, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Peter M. Reyes, Jr.
            Carver County District Court, Hon. Kevin W. Eide.

18.       A17-0839
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Bradley Justin Miles, Appellant.
            Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.  Judge Tracy M. Smith.
            Pipestone County District Court, Hon. Terry S. Vajgrt.

19.       A17-1091
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Nicole Marie Poillon, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Diane B. Bratvold.
            Winona County District Court, Hon. Jeffrey D. Thompson.
 
20.       A17-1453, A17-1456
            In re Welfare of Children of: R. M. S. and N. K., Parents.
            Affirmed.  Judge James B. Florey.
            Redwood County District Court, Hon. Patrick R Rohland.

21.       A17-1460
            In re the Marriage of:  Anna Modeo, petitioner, Respondent, vs. Anthony Keith Price,
            Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge R. A. (Jim) Randall.*
            Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Kathleen D. Sheehy.
 
* Retired judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, serving by appointment pursuant to Minn. Const. art. VI, § 10.
 
Order OpinionsCases that involve a few simple issues may be decided by order opinions, which include little discussion of the facts of the case and a brief analysis of the laws that are involved.

RECENT ORDER OPINIONS
April 16, 2018



1.         A17-2002
            In the Matter of the Welfare of the Children of:  M. S. L. and B. N. L., Parents.
            Affirmed.  Judge Renee L. Worke.
            Brown County District Court, Hon. Todd William Westphal.

 

NO SPECIAL RELEASE OPINIONS FILED

Opinion SetsOpinion sets contain all published, unpublished, and order opinions. The sets are compressed into files that must be unpacked before opening them.

Opinion Sets For Opinions
Filed Monday, April 16, 2018

Opinion Set in a Zipped Word Document Format

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  2. Save the unzipped file to your computer.
  3. Choose the "Open" option on the Download Complete screen.
  4. Extract the files to a location of your choice.
  5. Open the extracted file.

Opinion Set in a Zipped Rich Text Format

  1. Click the above link.
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  4. Extract the files to a location of your choice.
  5. Open the extracted file.