Motion To Reconsider Denial of Post Conviction Petition Does Not Toll Time to Appeal

Hohenwald v. State, Minn.S.Ct., 2/24/2016.  Mr. Hohenwald is serving two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of release.  On July 11, 2012, the supreme court affirmed his convictions.  Read about the facts here, although they have nothing to do with this exercise in counting days on a calendar.

Within the two year limitations period Mr. Hohenwald filed a pro se petition for post conviction relief.  The district court summarily denied that petition on October 24, 2014. On October 27, 2014 Mr. Hohenwald filed a pro se amended post conviction petition, which the trial court denied the next day.

On November 21, 2014 Mr. Hohenwald filed a motion to reconsider the October 27, 2014 order that denied the amended petition.  Then, on November 24, 2014, Mr. Hohenwald filed a motion to reconsider the order that denied the initial petition.  On January 16, 2015, the district court denied both motions to reconsider.

On March 16, 2015, now having obtained counsel, Mr.Hohenwald appealed from the October 2014 orders and from the January 2015 order.  The state said that the appeals from the October orders were untimely because the appeals were not filed within sixty days after entry of them; and they said that the January 2015 order was not appealable.

For those still reading this, here's the short (and, actually the only) version of what Justice Lillehaug says.  Unless the motions to reconsider tolled the sixty day time period for filing an appeal from the October orders, Mr. Hohelwald's appeals of those October orders are untimely.  The court looks to the rules of civil appellate procedure which plainly state that a motion to reconsider does not toll the time to appeal. Prior court opinions also establish that Mr. Hohenwald also cannot appeal from the denial of the motions for reconsideration because such orders are never appealable.  See Limongelli v. GAN Nat'l Ins. Co., 590 N.W.2d 167 (Minn.Ct.App. 1999).