State of Minnesota v. Shavelle Oscar Chavez-Nelson, 2016 Minn. LEXIS 421

Background

Around 1:00–2:00 a.m. at Nina’s Bar, Chavez-Nelson confronted Palagor Jobi after Jobi commented to Chavez-Nelson’s girlfriend; a physical altercation followed and Jobi punched Chavez-Nelson. Chavez-Nelson then drew a 9mm handgun and fired multiple rounds; Jobi died from eight gunshot wounds.
Crime-scene and BCA forensic testing connected the recovered 9mm pistol to the cartridge casings at the scene; DNA testing on the gun produced mixed profiles that did not exclude Chavez-Nelson. Witnesses identified Chavez-Nelson in a photo lineup. Chavez-Nelson fled in a vehicle and was later arrested; police recovered the weapon near where he was apprehended.
Chavez-Nelson was indicted on first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder; a jury convicted him of first-degree premeditated murder and he received life without release. He appealed directly to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Principal appellate claims: (1) denial of advisory counsel assuming full representation (Sixth Amendment and Rule 5.04); (2) evidentiary rulings (victim reputation, firearm-trace testimony, and an alleged prejudicial outburst by the girlfriend) and denial of mistrial; (3) refusal to give lesser-included heat-of-passion manslaughter instruction; plus multiple pro se claims.
Trial facts: advisory counsel were appointed shortly before trial; Chavez-Nelson discharged his appointed public defenders, declined their reappointment initially, proceeded pro se for voir dire, then reaccepted his original public defenders after jury selection and received full representation for the remainder of trial.

Issues

Issue	Chavez-Nelson's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Denial of request to have advisory counsel assume full representation under Minn. R. Crim. P. 5.04(2)(2)(b)	Rule gave him a right to have advisory counsel take over; denial violated the rule and Sixth Amendment	Request was effectively a late motion for substitute counsel; court properly denied substitute counsel given timing and Clark precedent	Court: District court erred under the rule by denying the request, but no Sixth Amendment violation; error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sixth Amendment right to counsel (structural error claim)	Denial of advisory counsel constituted structural denial of counsel requiring automatic reversal	No constitutional right to advisory counsel; defendant had opportunity to be represented and ultimately was; apply harmless-error review	Court: No Sixth Amendment violation; error not structural; harmless error.
Exclusion of evidence re: victim’s reputation for violence (self-defense relevance)	Reputation evidence would show victim was initial aggressor and support self-defense	Facts about initial physical aggression were undisputed (victim punched first), so probative value was minimal and risk of unfair prejudice high	Court: No abuse of discretion excluding reputation evidence; exclusion not prejudicial.
Admission of ATF firearm-trace testimony	Trace evidence was marginally relevant and suggested illegal possession; admission was improper	Evidence was relevant to origin of the gun and the witness did not assert illegal possession; not highly prejudicial	Court: Admissibility close but not an abuse of discretion; in any event not plain error.
Mistrial motion after witness’s outburst stating Chavez-Nelson "had abused me"	Statement was prejudicial and warranted mistrial	Statement was isolated, promptly struck, jury instructed to disregard; overall evidence against defendant strong	Court: Denial of mistrial not an abuse of discretion.
Lesser-included instruction (first-degree heat-of-passion manslaughter)	Evidence warranted instruction	Jury had option of first- and second-degree murder; convicting on first-degree premeditated murder indicates jury would not have convicted on heat-of-passion manslaughter	Court: No prejudice from refusing the instruction; conviction stands.

Key Cases Cited

State v. Clark, 722 N.W.2d 460 (Minn. 2006) (no constitutional right to a particular appointed lawyer; standards for substitute counsel)
Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461 (1997) (discusses structural errors vs. other constitutional errors)
State v. Dorsey, 701 N.W.2d 238 (Minn. 2005) (structural-error discussion)
State v. Kuhlmann, 806 N.W.2d 844 (Minn. 2011) (harmless-error framework for constitutional claims)
State v. Peltier, 874 N.W.2d 792 (Minn. 2016) (test for whether an error reasonably could have affected the verdict)
State v. Cooper, 745 N.W.2d 188 (Minn. 2008) (refusal to give heat-of-passion instruction not prejudicial where jury convicted of first-degree murder)
State v. Penkaty, 708 N.W.2d 185 (Minn. 2006) (admissibility of victim reputation evidence for self-defense and initial aggressor issues)
State v. Gassler, 505 N.W.2d 62 (Minn. 1993) (indigent defendants generally must accept court-appointed counsel)
State v. Dahlin, 695 N.W.2d 588 (Minn. 2005) (standard for lesser-included offense instruction)
State v. Manthey, 711 N.W.2d 498 (Minn. 2006) (mistrial standard; need reasonable probability outcome would differ)