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STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A08-167

Hennepin County

Meyer, J. Took no part, Magnuson, C.J.

Rene Julian McKenzie, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota, Respondent. Filed: August 7, 2008 Office of Appellate Courts

SYLLABUS Appellants claims in his petition for postconviction relief are barred by the rule of Knaffla. Affirmed. Considered and decided by the court en banc without oral argument. OPINION MEYER, Justice. Rene Julian McKenzie filed a petition for postconviction relief in July 2007. The postconviction court denied his petition without a hearing. We affirm.

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On December 2, 1992, a Hennepin County jury convicted McKenzie of firstdegree murder in the death of Perry Pajunen, and he was sentenced to life in prison.1 McKenzie appealed to this court in 1993, with the assistance of appellate counsel, raising three issues: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction; (2) whether the district court erred in admitting testimony from a witness who said that McKenzie told her he had killed before and would do it again; and (3) prejudicial misconduct in the prosecutors final argument. State v. McKenzie, 511 N.W.2d 14, 16-17 (Minn. 1994). We affirmed McKenzies conviction, concluding that any errors were harmless. Id. at 17. In July 2007, McKenzie filed a pro se petition for postconviction relief making two claims: ineffective assistance of trial counsel and jury nullification. He seeks a new trial, a reduction of his charge to second-degree murder, or his immediate release to the INS2 for deportation pursuant to a 1995 immigration court order. The postconviction court found that both claims were barred by the rule of State v. Knaffla, 309 Minn. 246, 243 N.W.2d 737 (1976), and denied the petition without an evidentiary hearing. McKenzie appealed. When a person convicted of a crime petitions for postconviction relief, the postconviction court must hold an evidentiary hearing unless the "files and records of the
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A comprehensive statement of the facts can be found in our decision on direct appeal, State v. McKenzie, 511 N.W.2d 14, 15-16 (Minn. 1994).
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The INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) no longer exists. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Security, is now charged with enforcing immigration laws.

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proceeding conclusively show that the petitioner is entitled to no relief." Minn. Stat.

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