On January 4, 2024, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued its opinion in State v. Yennie, a criminal appeal where appellant argued that the applicable laws regarding vehicle registration, license plate, and insurance unconstitutionally infringed on his right to travel and that the district court lacked personal jurisdiction over him, among others. Attorney Alina Schwartz of Campbell Knutson, P.A., argued on behalf of the State. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and issued an Order Opinion rejecting Yennie’s argument that the registration and insurance requirements were unconstitutional, rejecting Yennie’s argument that the district court lacked personal jurisdiction, and determining that Yennie waived his other arguments.
On March 4, 2024, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued its opinion in State v. Menasi, where appellant argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Attorney Schwartz handled the appeal on behalf of the State. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and issued an Order rejecting Menasi’s argument. It held that appellant did not have a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel in a petty-misdemeanor, non-criminal case. The court further elaborated that even if this was a criminal case, appellant’s claim would fail where Menasi’s arguments were matters of trial strategy, which the appellate court does not review. Even if they are not, Menasi’s arguments failed to demonstrate that his attorney’s actions fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and there was no evidence that the outcome of this trial would have been anything besides a finding of guilt.