Latest Case: State v. Branch (Criminal Law)

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SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb considers what people mean when they say that a sexual assault allegation seems “out of character” for a particular person and explains why that reasoning is logically flawed. Focusing on differences between how people behave publicly and privately, Colb argues that the lack of an observed pattern of sexual misconduct is not evidence that a person did not engage in sexual misconduct on a specific occasion.

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State v. Branch

Docket: A18-1055

Opinion Date: May 6, 2020

Judge: Lorie Skjerven Gildea

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentences for drive-by shooting at an occupied vehicle and second-degree assault, holding that Minn. Stat. 609.035 did not prohibit the sentences for both offenses when the crimes arose from a single behavioral incident. The district court sentenced Defendant to forty-eight months for drive-by shooting at an occupied vehicle and thirty-six months for second-degree assault and imposed the two sentences to run concurrently. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that, under this Court's analysis in State v. Ferguson, 808 N.W.2d 586 (Minn. 2012), the district court properly imposed multiple sentences in this case.