Denial of a defendant’s motion to dismiss an indictment for first-degree murder for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is immediately appealable as of right.

State v. Ali, Minn.S.Ct. 10/12/2011.  The state charged Mr. Ali with the three shooting deaths at the Seward Market in Minneapolis.  The indictment alleged that Mr. Ali was seventeen years old on the date of the alleged offenses and thus automatically subject to trial in the district court.  Mr. Ali moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on his claim that he was only fifteen years old on the date of the alleged offenses.  The trial court denied his motion and the court of appeals concluded that this denial was not an appealable order.

The supreme court reversed the court of appeals.  The court held that the denial order was an appealable order and that the state had the burden of proof to establish Mr.Ali’s age by a preponderance of the evidence.

Rule 28.02, subdivision 2(2) has a laundry list of orders from which a defendant may immediately appeal as of right.  The order denying Mr. Ali’s motion to dismiss the indictment is not on that list.  Nonetheless, borrowing from the civil side, the supreme court says that an order denying a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction is immediately appealable as of right.  Establishing Mr. Ali’s age on the date of the alleged offenses does finally determine a claim – Mr. Ali’s right to be tried in juvenile court – that is separate from his guilt of innocence and is thus appealable as a matter of right.

The court also adopts a preponderance of the evidence standard of proof, rejecting Mr. Ali’s claim that the standard should be beyond a reasonable doubt.