Post Conviction Court Has Discretion To Raise Limitations Issue On Its Own Motion

Weitzel v. State, Minn.S.Ct., 8/10/2016.  Mr. Weitzel filed a post conviction petition.  The state did not raise a limitations claim in its response, but the post conviction court raised it on its own. Without giving the parties the opportunity to address the limitations issue the court found that the petition was untimely and summarily dismissed it. On appeal to the court of appeals Mr. Weitzel said that the post conviction court was required to consider the merits of his petition because the state had forfeited its right to assert a limitations defense. The court of appeals said that while the post conviction court should have given the parties a heads up of what it was considering doing - denying the petition as untimely  - and allow them to stake out their positions it didn't really matter because the court went on to address the merits of the claim. 

Justice Dietzen concludes that the post conviction court has the discretion to raise the limitations issue on its own motion it must provide the parties notice and the opportunity to be heard before ruling on the issue.  The Justice remanded the case back to the post conviction court to provide that opportunity.

In an odd pairing, Chief Justice Gildea and Justice G. Barry Anderson dissent.  The Chief said that she would have held the state to its failure to assert limitations as a defense and would not have allowed them to raise it. She would remand the case back to the post conviction court to consider the merits of the claim.