Lead Opinion
Appellant Mahdi Hassan Ali (“Mahdi”)
Because Miller and Montgomery involved the imposition of a single sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and the United States Supreme Court has not squarely addressed the issue of whether consecutive sentences should be viewed separately when conducting a proportionality analysis under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, we decline to extend the Miller/Montgomery rule to include Mahdi and other similarly situated juvenile offenders. Mahdi also forfeited his equal protection claim when he failed to raise the claim in the district court. In addition, our review of sentences received by other juvenile offenders who were convicted of murdering multiple, victims indicates that Mahdi’s three consecutive sentences do not unfairly exaggerate the criminality of his conduct. For these reasons, we affirm.
I.
Appellant Mahdi Hassan Ali was charged with the shooting deaths of three men during a robbery of the Seward Market in Minneapolis on January 6, 2010. Ali,
In September 2011, a jury found Mahdi guilty of three counts of first-degree felony murder while committing or attempting to commit aggravated robbery, one count of first-degree premeditated murder, and two counts of second-degree murder. Id. In October 2011, the district court sentenced him to two consecutive sentences of life with the possibility of release after 30 years for the felony murders of Mohammed and Warfa (Counts I and II), and a mandatory LWOR sentence for the first-degree premeditated murder of Elmi (Count III). Id. Mahdi filed a direct appeal, which we stayed to allow postconviction proceedings to proceed. Id. at 244, After the posteonviction court denied Mahdi’s request for relief, we consolidated his direct and postconviction appeals. Id.
In the consolidated appeal, we agreed that the mandatory sentence of LWOR was unconstitutional under Miller,
On remand, the State argued there was no need to hold a Miller hearing because the State had decided not to seek a LWOR sentence on Count III. Instead, the State “stipulated”
The district court determined that Mahdi’s argument regarding the necessity of a Miller hearing was “moot” because the State had agreed to a third sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of release after 30 years to be served consecutively to the sentences on Counts I and II. The district court also concluded that the imposition of consecutive sentences, even if they could be considered the functional equivalent of a sentence of LWOR, was not the same as a mandatory LWOR sentence imposed for a single offense.
As for Mahdi’s motion for the imposition of concurrent sentences, the district court reasoned that it was bound by our previous decision in Ali,
On January 25, 2016, the United States Supreme Court decided Montgomery, — U.S. -,
On April 5, 2016, Mahdi appealed from the district court’s January 6 sentencing order, asserting three arguments. First, he argues that the rule announced in Miller, and later clarified in Montgomery, should be extended to his case because his three consecutive sentences are, in the aggregate, the “functional equivalent” of LWOR. Second, he argues, for what he acknowledges is the first time on this appeal, that his consecutive sentences violate his right to equal protection under the Minnesota Constitution. Third, he argues that the district court abused its discretion in sentencing him to consecutive sentences because the resulting aggregate sentence unfairly “exaggerates the criminality” of his conduct. We consider each argument in turn.
II.
We first address Mahdi’s argument that we should extend the rule announced in Miller, and later clarified in Montgomery, to his case because his three consecutive sentences are, in the aggregate, the “functional equivalent” of LWOR. Mahdi
The State contends,
It would scarcely be competent for a person to assail the constitutionality of the statute prescribing a punishment for burglary, on the ground that he had committed so many burglaries that, if punishment for each were inflicted on him, he might be kept in prison for life. The mere fact that cumulative punishments may be imposed for distinct of-fences in the same prosecution is not material upon this question. If the penalty were unreasonably severe for a single offence, the constitutional question might be urged; but here the unreasonableness is only in the number of of-fences which the respondent has committed.
Id. at 331,
The State acknowledges that the above-quoted language from the United States Supreme Court’s opinion is dictum. Nevertheless, it contends that we should follow the dictum of O’Neil because it is well reasoned, as evidenced by the many federal and state courts that have accepted its logic. See Pearson v. Ramos,
Whether a criminal sentence violates the Eighth Amendment is a question of law that we review de novo. State v. Gutierrez,
In recent years, the United States Supreme Court has decided a line of cases acknowledging that fundamental differences between juveniles and adults affect the proportionality analysis under the Eighth Amendment, and therefore most juveniles are categorically less deserving of the harshest punishments. However, none of these cases have involved challenges to consecutive sentences.
For example, in Roper v. Simmons, a defendant was convicted of and sentenced to death for a single murder committed when he was 17 years old.
More recently, in Miller, the Court considered an Eighth Amendment challenge in a consolidated appeal involving two 14-year-old offenders.
Finally, in Montgomery, the Court considered an Eighth Amendment challenge to a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole that was imposed nearly 50 years before the Court decided Miller. Montgomery, — U.S. at -,
Because Roper, Graham, Miller, and Montgomery did not involve challenges to consecutive sentences, the Court has not squarely addressed the issue presented in this case: whether the Miller/Montgomery rule should be extended to cases in which a juvenile homicide offender receives consecutive sentences of life imprisonment with the possibility of release that the juvenile contends are, in the aggregate, the “functional equivalent” of LWOR. In addition, the Court has not revisited the more general issue of whether consecutive sentences should be viewed separately when conducting a proportionality analysis under the Eighth Amendment.
A number of other courts have, however, addressed Eighth Amendment challenges that were based on arguments of functional equivalency. These cases can be divided into two general categories: cases involving a lengthy term-of-years sentence imposed for a single crime, see, e.g., State v. Ragland,
In contrast, when courts have failed to acknowledge the Court’s dictum in O’Neil, they have split on the issue of whether the Miller/Montgomery rule applies to consecutive sentences that are, in the aggregate, the “functional equivalent” of a life imprisonment without the possibility of parole sentence. Compare Starks v. Easterling,
We acknowledge that, as the United States Supreme Court has explained, fun
III.
We- next address Mahdi’s equal protection argument. For the first time on appeal, as Mahdi himself acknowledges, he contends that the district court denied, him equal protection under the United States Constitution and the Minnesota Constitution. According to Mahdi, the court sentenced him to the functional equivalent of a LWOR sentence without holding a Miller hearing, thus treating him differently from the petitioners in Miller, even though they were similarly-situated juvenile offenders. In response, the State emphasizes that Mahdi’s equal protection claim should not be considered for the first time on appeal. We agree with the State.
We have repeatedly stated that “[t]he law is clear in Minnesota that the constitutionality of a statute cannot be challenged for the first time on appeal.” State v. Moore,
IV.
Mahdi’s last contention is that, even if the three consecutive sentences are constitutional, the district court abused its discretion on remand because sentencing Mahdi, a juvenile, to a lengthy aggregate sentence based on multiple victims unfairly exaggerates the criminality of his conduct. Mahdi argues that he is less culpable because his actions were the result of his youth and its attendant characteristics.
As we discussed in his previous case before this court, Mahdi’s sentences are similar to those received by other juvenile offenders convicted of multiple murders. Ali,
To the extent that Mahdi is arguing that the district court abused its discretion when it resentenced him by not providing an opportunity for Mahdi’s counsel to advocate, with expert testimony, how Mahdi’s youth should lessen his culpability, Mahdi is essentially claiming that the district court abused its discretion by failing to hold a Miller hearing before imposing a third consecutive life sentence. Because we hold that Miller and Montgomery do not apply here, this argument is without merit.
Moreover, in the district court’s ■ resen-tencing order, the district court noted that it had considered “[a] plethora of information regarding [Mahdi’s] youthful age, personal background, and unique circumstances” at the first sentencing hearing. At the resentencing hearing, the court also offered both parties opportunities to speak, and Mahdi’s counsel did not request to provide additional witness testimony or evidence.
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court’s sentencing decision.
Notes
. We referred to appellant by his first name in his previous appeal, State v. Ali,
. Before his trial, Mahdi claimed he was 15 years old at the time of the murders. After a 3-day age-determination hearing, however, the district court found that the evidence established that Mahdi was at least 16 years old when the murders were committed, State v. Ali,
. At the resentencing hearing, Mahdi's counsel denied having agreed to the State’s "stipulation” and asked to preserve his arguments regarding resentencing and the request for a Miller hearing for appeal.
. Mahdi also asserts that Montgomery “dictates that [his] aggregate sentence be found to be cruel or ... unusual under the state constitution.” He, however, fails to articulate how Montgomery impacts our previous holding in Ali,
., On October 26, 2016, the State moved to file a substitute brief under Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 127 to correct several typographical errors in its brief filed August 29, 2016. Mahdi did not oppose the motion. We grant the State’s motion.
. The dissent contends that in the absence of any opinion by a state supreme court or federal circuit court discussing the interplay between O’Neil and Montgomery, we should extend Montgomery to consecutive sentences. We decline to do so because the discussion from O’Neil is the only explanation from the United States Supreme Court we have on the interplay between the Eighth Amendment and consecutive sentences. In light of O’Neil and the lack of authority from other courts, we take a cautious approach today.
.. The dissent contends that the dictum in O'Neil "runs headlong into the essence of Miller and Montgomery." We disagree. O'Neil addresses the scope of a court’s proportionality review, explaining that consecutive sentences should be considered separately, whereas Miller and Montgomery address the nature of a court’s proportionality review in cases involving juvenile offenders, explaining that the review must include a consideration of whether the juvenile’s crime reflected unfortunate yet transient immaturity. Because O'Neil addresses a separate and distinct Eighth Amendment question, it does not "run headlong into the essence of Miller and Montgomery."
. Accordingly, we also note that Montgomery does not impact our holding in State v. Williams,
, In Mahdi's reply brief, he argues for the first time that the district court's failure to hold a Miller hearing is a structural error that "necessitates vacating the sentence.” Under the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure, the reply brief is confined to new matter raised in the brief of the respondent. Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 128.02, subd. 3. Because the State did not raise this matter in its brief, it was not a proper subject matter for Mahdi’s reply brief. "[W]e have declined to consider issues raised for the first time in a reply brief, particularly when the theory was not raised at the district court level.” Moorhead Econ. Dev. Auth. v. Anda,
Dissenting Opinion
DISSENT
(dissenting).
Children are “constitutionally different from adults in their level of culpability.” Montgomery v. Louisiana, — U.S. -,
As the majority recognizes, the United States Supreme Court has decided a line of cases establishing that children are “constitutionally different from adults in their level of culpability” and are thus “less deserving of the most severe punishments.” Montgomery, — U.S. -,
In Roper, the Supreme Court adopted a categorical ban on death sentences for juveniles.
Based on these differences, the Court determined that a juvenile offender’s “irresponsible conduct is not as morally reprehensible as that of an adult” and that “a greater possibility exists that a minor’s character deficiencies will be reformed.” Id. at 570,
In Graham, the Court reaffirmed Roper and banned life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for juvenile nonhomi-cide offenders.
The Court explained that retribution cannot support the imposition of the second most severe penalty on juvenile non-homicide offenders because they are less culpable than adults. Id. at 71-72,
Two years after Graham was decided, the Court struck down mandatory sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole as excessive for juvenile offenders, even for those who have committed murder. Miller,
Miller, a consolidated case, involved two boys who committed murder when they were 14 years old and were then sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Id. at 465,
According to the Court, before sentencing a juvenile to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a senteneer is required to provide a hearing where the senteneer “take[s] into account how children are different, and how those differences counsel against irrevocably sentencing them to a lifetime in prison.” Id. at 489,
Most recently, in Montgomery, decided after the district court resentenced Mahdi following his previous appeal, the Court announced that its -holding in Miller is a substantive ban on life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for all juvenile offenders except for “the rarest of juvenile offenders, those whose crimes reflect permanent incorrigibility.” Montgomery, — U.S. -,
The Court then explained that the purpose of a Miller/Montgomery hearing
In light of what this Court has said in Roper, Graham, and Miller about how children are constitutionally different from adults in their level of culpability, ... prisoners like Montgomery must be given the opportunity to show their crime did not reflect irreparable corruption; and, if it did not, their hope for some years of life outside prison walls must be restored.
Id. at -,
Viewed as a whole, the Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence dictates that sentencing courts must hon- or the -constitutional differences between children and adults and treat juvenile offenders differently. As the Court stated in
To be consistent with the underlying principles and logic of Roper, Graham, Miller, and Montgomery, the characteristics of youth and the prospects for rehabilitation must be evaluated before a juvenile offender is condemned to a lifetime in prison, no matter whether the juvenile committed one offense or multiple offenses. I agree with the New Jersey Supreme Court, which recently held, following Montgomery, that when sentencing juvenile defendants, “[t]he proper focus belongs on the amount of real time a juvenile will spend in jail and not on the formal label attached to his sentence.” State v. Zuber,
Following Montgomery, state supreme courts have addressed the question of whether the holding in Miller applies to juvenile defendants sentenced to the practical equivalent of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. A majority have concluded that the principles of Roper, Graham, Miller, and Montgomery apply equally to any juvenile offender who faces a lifetime in prison. See, e.g., Atwell v. State,
The State cites the Supreme Court’s dictum in O’Neil v. Vermont,
The majority states that, in cases involving consecutive sentences that are the functional equivalent of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, “every state supreme court and federal circuit that has acknowledged the United States Supreme Court’s dictum in O’Neil has rejected an Eighth Amendment challenge to consecutive sentences.” But most of the eases cited to support this statement considered sentences imposed on adult offenders, not juveniles. See United States v. Aiello,
I would therefore hold that the Eighth Amendment, as interpreted by Miller and Montgomery, requires that a juvenile offender receive an individualized hearing to determine whether that offender belongs to the group of juveniles whose crimes demonstrate permanent incorrigibility before consecutive sentences are imposed that result in the functional equivalent of life imprisonment without the possibility of release. Because of the passage of time since Mahdi was first sentenced, it is not possible to hold a fan- and meaningful Miller/Montgomery hearing in this case. See Jackson v. State,
I note, however, that even if Mahdi received three concurrent sentences, he would not necessarily experience life in the community again. With three concurrent sentences of life imprisonment with the possibility of release after 30 years, Mahdi would not be eligible for release before he turns 47 years old. The current statutory scheme requires that a community investigation report be completed before supervised release is authorized. See Jackson,
In sum, the principle that children are constitutionally different from adults in their level of culpability has been firmly established by a line of decisions of the United States Supreme Court that begins with Roper and culminates in a substantive rule announced in Miller that was affirmed
. To be consistent with the majority opinion, my dissent will also refer to Mahdi Ali by his first name.
. Because Montgomery changed the nature of the Miller hearing, I use the term "Miller/Montgomery hearing” to refer to a hearing that is used to determine whether a juvenile offender who commits homicide falls within the group of "the rarest of juvenile offenders, those whose crimes reflect permanent incorrigibility.” Montgomery, — U.S. ——,
. Recently, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a denial of a writ of habeas corpus in a case involving a juvenile offender who was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences for nonhomicide crimes, Budder v. Addison,
