State v. Kuhlmann, 806 N.W.2d 844

Kuhlmann was charged with two counts of domestic assault and one count of test refusal after a 2008 incident in Sauk Centre.
Defense counsel stipulated on the record that Kuhlmann had the required previous convictions for each charged offense and asked that the jury not be informed of those elements.
Kuhlmann personally acknowledged that he had the qualifying previous convictions.
The jury ultimately found him guilty on two counts; the trial court sentenced him and stayed execution.
On appeal, the court of appeals held the trial court erred by not obtaining a personal waiver for the previous-conviction elements.
The supreme court affirmed, holding the error was not structural and the result would have been the same even with a personal waiver.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether stipulating to prior-conviction elements requires a personal jury-waiver	Kuhlmann was denied a jury trial on the stipulated elements	Counsel’s stipulation implied a waiver and Kuhlmann did not personally waive	No structural error; trial error; personal waiver not obtained but harmless
What standard of review applies to the error	Plain error review applies due to unobjected error	Not argued; the error was non-structural	Plain error applied; error did not affect substantial rights
Whether the error affected Kuhlmann’s substantial rights or the trial’s fairness	Stipulation removed prejudice and protected against prejudicial citation of prior convictions		Error did not prejudice the outcome; stipulation aided fairness
Whether a defendant’s on-record personal waiver is required or can be implied by ratification	Personal waiver required by Minn. R. Crim. P. 26.01	Counsel’s conduct in defendant’s presence can ratify and serve as waiver (Ford lineage)	Stipulation can ratify as personal waiver; presence may suffice under Ford; but ultimately not necessary to reverse here

State v. Berkelman, 355 N.W.2d 394 (Minn. 1984) (prior conviction element may be stipulatable to avoid prejudice)
State v. Davidson, 351 N.W.2d 8 (Minn. 1984) (stipulation to prior convictions to keep jury from learning history)
State v. Pietraszewski, 283 N.W.2d 887 (Minn. 1979) (waiver context under Minn. R. Crim. P. 26.01; knowing, intelligent, voluntary)
State v. Ford, 276 N.W.2d 178 (Minn. 1979) (affirmative waiver through counsel in defendant’s presence can suffice (entrapment issue))
State v. Dettman, 719 N.W.2d 644 (Minn. 2006) (waiver must be knowing, intelligent, voluntary)
Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1999) (defect in procedure not a structural error)
State v. Grilli, 304 Minn. 80 (Minn. 1975) (waiver must be by defendant; counsel action alone insufficient)
State v. Ford, 276 N.W.2d 178 (Minn. 1979) (ratification of counsel waiver by defendant present may render waiver personal)
State v. Griller, 583 N.W.2d 736 (Minn. 1998) (plain-error framework for non-structural errors)