Opinion
No. C9-96-2585.
Filed June 17, 1997.
Appeal from the District Court, St. Louis County, File No. KX-90-310571.
Gary Neill Robinson, (Appellant Pro Se).
Hubert H. Humphrey, III, Attorney General, (for Respondent).
Alan L. Mitchell, St. Louis County Attorney, Brian D. Simonson, Assistant County Attorney, (for Respondent).
Considered and decided by Lansing, Presiding Judge, Short, Judge, and Klaphake, Judge.
This opinion will be unpublished and may not be cited except as provided by Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (1996).
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
Pro se criminal appellant, Gary Neill Robinson, convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, challenges the district court's basis for denying his second petition for postconviction relief. He also raises issues of ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, denial of proper appellate review, newly-discovered evidence, and several constitutional claims. Because the issues raised by appellant were either decided in a previous appeal or were known but not raised in previous appeals, we affirm.
DECISION
A person may file a petition for postconviction relief after the time for direct appeal has expired if "the conviction obtained or the sentence or other disposition made violated the person's rights under the Constitution or laws of the United States or of the state." Minn. Stat. § 590.01, subd. 1 (1996). If the record "conclusively" demonstrates that the petitioner is entitled to no relief, the court may deny the petition without a hearing. See id. § 590.04, subd. 1. Further, the court may summarily deny successive petitions if the issues raised have been previously decided by an appellate court in the same case. Id. , subd. 3.
Here, all of the claims appellant raises in this appeal were known and could have been raised in appellant's direct appeal or his first postconviction appeal. See Fox v. State , 474 N.W.2d 821, 824 (Minn. 1991) (matters raised or known in first postconviction appeal not considered in subsequent postconviction appeals). But see Roby v. State , 531 N.W.2d 482, 484 (Minn. 1995) (matters known but not raised in direct appeal reviewed if "fairness so requires" and petition offers excuse for failure to raise matters in first appeal). Appellant offers no facts demonstrating that the issues he now raises merit consideration by this court. See id. at 484 (petitioner must present facts showing fairness requires court to consider issues known but not raised in earlier appeals); Fox , 474 N.W.2d at 825 (fairness required substantive review of postconviction petition where petitioner alleged inability to participate in trial defense due to prescribed anti-psychotic medication). Because appellant's claims of prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of trial counsel, and other constitutional violations could have been raised in his earlier appeals, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying this petition for postconviction relief. See Russell v. State , ___ N.W.2d ___, ___ (Minn. May 1, 1997) (postconviction appeals reviewed under abuse of discretion standard).
A claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel should be raised in a postconviction hearing to allow the court to review counsel's actions. See State v. Roby , 531 N.W.2d 482, 484 n. 1 (Minn. 1995). As this is appellant's second postconviction appeal, appellant did have the opportunity to raise the issue in a postconviction proceeding.
While appellant could not have raised the claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in his direct appeal, he could have done so in his first postconviction appeal. Id. at ___. Further, because appellant's claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel is "wholly unsubstantiated," he has failed to show that he is entitled to postconviction relief. See Hodgson v. State , 540 N.W.2d 515, 518 (Minn. 1995); see also Garasha v. State , 393 N.W.2d 20, 22 (Minn.App. 1986) ("right to effective assistance of appellate counsel does not require an attorney to advance every conceivable argument on appeal that the trial record supports").