Post Conviction Statute Still Precludes Relitigation of Issues Raised on Direct Appeal

Gail v. State, Minn.S.Ct., 12/28/2016.  Mr. Gail is serving a life sentence with possibility of release.  Mr. Gail shot and killed Yvain Braziel during a drug deal.  Mr. Gail has been consistently making the argument - too clever by half at least is the judicial sentiment up and down the system - that the state only proved that he was buying drugs and not selling them as he maintains the statute requires:

The State was required to prove that Gail “cause[d] the death of a human being with intent to effect the death of the person or another, while committing or attempting to commit . . . any felony violation of chapter  152 involving the unlawful sale of a controlled substance.” Minn. Stat. § 609.185(a)(3) (emphasis added).

When Mr. Gail raised this issue yet again in his second post conviction petition the district court summarily denied the petition, relying upon Minn.Stat. 590.04, which states that the court “may summarily deny a petition when the issues raised in it have previously been decided by the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court in the same case.”  That was more than enough for Justice Stras; the court affirms the summary denial.