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STATE OF MINNESOTA
IN SUPREME COURT
C3-03-321

Hennepin County Page, J. Took no part, Anderson, G. Barry, J.
Mwati P. Mckenzie, petitioner,
Appellant,
vs. Filed:  October 21, 2004 Office of Appellate Courts State of Minnesota,
Respondent.
S Y L L A B U S
Petition for postconviction relief is properly denied when claims raised in petition are barred under State
v. Knaffla , 309 Minn. 246, 252, 243 N.W.2d 737, 741 (1976), and when petitioner fails to meet his burden of
establishing by a preponderance of the evidence facts that warrant a reopening of the case. Affirmed.            Considered and decided by the court en banc without oral argument.
O P I N I O N PAGE, Justice.
            In October 1993, Mwati P. Mckenzie was convicted of first-degree murder for his role in the shooting death of Minneapolis Police Officer Jerome Haaf. In State v. Mckenzie, we affirmed the conviction on direct appeal and the underlying facts of the case were set forth in that decision. 532 N.W.2d 210, 213-17 (Minn. 1995).  In 1997 and 1999, Mckenzie petitioned for postconviction relief.  The 1997 petition was denied and on appeal we affirmed. Mckenzie v. State, 583 N.W.2d 744 (Minn. 1998).  The 1999 petition was denied and no appeal was taken.
            In August 2002, Mckenzie filed his third petition for postconviction relief wherein he asserted that the trial court improperly handled two jury notes sent to the judge during deliberations. Mckenzie claimed that this violated his right to be present at every stage of trial.  The petition was denied by the postconviction court without an evidentiary hearing.  On appeal, we remanded to the postconviction court with instructions to hold an evidentiary hearing with respect to how the trial court handled the notes in question, as well as when Mckenzie and/or his counsel first knew or should have known about the issues raised by the handling of those notes. Mckenzie v. State, 670 N.W.2d 582 (Minn. 2003).
On remand, the postconviction court heard testimony from the two attorneys who represented Mckenzie at trial, the prosecutor who represented the state, and the trial court judge who presided over Mckenzie

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Minnesota Law