Townsend v. State, 834 N.W.2d 736

Background

In 1992 Townsend accompanied Candis Koch-Wilson to purchase marijuana; Koch-Wilson was later shot and killed and L.J. was assaulted. Townsend was indicted for first-degree murder and related offenses.
A jury convicted Townsend of first-degree murder in 1994; he was sentenced to life with possibility of release. Seven months later he pled guilty to attempted second-degree murder of L.J. and received a consecutive 72-month sentence with 597 days jail credit applied to the 72-month term.
Townsend’s direct appeal and four postconviction petitions were previously denied and affirmed on appeal.
In 2012 Townsend filed a pro se motion under Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.03, subd. 9, asking (1) that the 72-month sentence run concurrent with the life sentence and (2) that the 597 days jail credit be applied to the life sentence.
The district court treated the filing as a postconviction petition under Minn. Stat. § 590.01 and denied it as time-barred and procedurally barred; Townsend appealed.

Issues

Issue	Townsend's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether the consecutive 72-month sentence was an unlawful departure requiring stated reasons	The consecutive 72-month sentence was a departure; court failed to state reasons and improperly relied on plea agreement	The 72-month consecutive sentence was presumptive under the guidelines for convictions against different victims, so no departure or extra reasons required	The 72-month sentence was presumptive under the then-applicable guidelines; no departure and reliance on plea agreement was permissible
Whether 597 days jail credit should apply to the life sentence (reducing overall imprisonment)	Jail credit should have been applied to the first sentence (life), giving Townsend 597 days credit against life	Applying the 597 days to the 72-month term was consistent with the parties’ positions at sentencing; applying it to the life term would produce only 352 days and would not shorten overall imprisonment	Applying jail credit to the life sentence would have yielded only 352 days (less than 597) and would not reduce overall imprisonment; attorney requested credit be applied to 72-month term, so no relief warranted
Whether the district court erred by treating the motion as a postconviction petition and invoking time/procedural bars	Towns end argued court erred in treating rule 27.03 motion as a postconviction petition and invoking Knaffla/time bar	State maintained the district court could treat the motion as a postconviction petition and deny on procedural/time grounds	Court declined to decide whether the time/procedural bars apply to rule 27.03 motions because Townsend’s substantive claims fail on the merits; affirmed denial
Whether relief under rule 27.03, subd. 9 is available to reduce overall imprisonment here	Motion sought reduction in aggregate imprisonment by changing concurrency and credit allocation	State opposed relief, arguing sentencing was lawful under then-applicable law and practice	Motion denied on merits; no reduction in overall imprisonment granted

Key Cases Cited

State v. Townsend, 546 N.W.2d 292 (Minn. 1996) (affirming conviction; discusses trial evidence issues)
State v. Knaffla, 243 N.W.2d 737 (Minn. 1976) (procedural bar for issues that could have been raised earlier)
Riley v. State, 819 N.W.2d 162 (Minn. 2012) (standard of review for denial of postconviction relief/motions to correct sentence)
State v. Fields, 416 N.W.2d 734 (Minn. 1987) (distinguishing rule 27.03 procedure from postconviction petitions)
State v. Garcia, 302 N.W.2d 643 (Minn. 1981) (plea agreements cannot supply substantial and compelling reasons for departure)
State v. Patricelli, 357 N.W.2d 89 (Minn. 1984) (jail credit should be applied to the first of consecutive sentences to avoid double credit)
State v. Givens, 544 N.W.2d 774 (Minn. 1996) (overruled Garcia but not applicable to offenses committed before that decision)
Bonga v. State, 765 N.W.2d 639 (Minn. 2009) (section 590.01 broad enough to encompass some rule 27.03 motions but court declined to decide scope)