This opinion will be unpublished and

may not be cited except as provided by

Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2014).

STATE OF MINNESOTA

IN COURT OF APPEALS

A15-1195

Julius Antwon Coleman, petitioner,

Appellant,

vs.

State of Minnesota,

Respondent.

Filed May 2, 2016

Affirmed

Schellhas, Judge

Ramsey County District Court

File No. 62-CR-10-10784

Cathryn Middlebrook, Chief Appellate Public Defender, Carol Comp, Special Assistant 

Public Defender, St. Paul, Minnesota (for appellant)

Lori Swanson, Attorney General, St. Paul, Minnesota; and

John J. Choi, Ramsey County Attorney, Kaarin Long, Assistant County Attorney, St. Paul, 

Minnesota (for respondent)

Considered and decided by Johnson, Presiding Judge; Worke, Judge; and Schellhas, 

Judge. 
2

U N P U B L I S H E D O P I N I O N

SCHELLHAS, Judge

Appellant challenges the denial of his postconviction-relief petition, which sought 

withdrawal of his guilty plea to fifth-degree controlled-substance crime based on 

deficiencies at the St. Paul Police Department Crime Laboratory. We affirm. 

FACTS

On September 29, 2010, police officers observed appellant Julius Antwon Coleman

make at least three “hand-to-hand exchange[s]” outside a St. Paul residence. When officers 

approached Coleman, he attempted to flee on foot, and officers quickly apprehended him. 

Officers performed a search incident to arrest and found a small baggie containing “white 

crystal particles” and a glass pipe with residue in Coleman’s pants pockets.

In a Mirandized statement, Coleman admitted that he is an addict who smokes 

methamphetamine frequently, that he had been at the residence “for a good portion of that 

day getting high,” and that he had had “less than a gram of methamphetamine” on his 

person. The St. Paul Police Department Crime Laboratory (crime lab) tested particles in 

the baggie and residue in the pipe, which “tested positive for the presence of 

methamphetamine, with a total net weight of .13 grams.”

Respondent State of Minnesota charged Coleman with fifth-degree controlledsubstance crime (possession of methamphetamine). Coleman pleaded guilty as charged as 

part of a negotiated resolution of the controlled-substance offense and an unrelated 

weapons offense. On July 8, 2011, the district court sentenced Coleman to 24 months’ 

imprisonment for fifth-degree controlled-substance crime as a subsequent controlled-
3

substance offense, to be served concurrently with a 60-month prison sentence for the 

weapons offense. Coleman did not file a direct appeal of his conviction or sentence.

At a subsequent consolidated hearing on the admissibility of evidence in three 

unrelated cases, defendants Matthew David Jensen, Daniel Ralph Sawyer, and Cecelia 

Rose Jackson presented evidence of serious training and process deficiencies at the crime 

lab (crime-lab deficiencies).1 On July 17, 2014, Coleman petitioned the district court for 

postconviction relief. He alleged crime-lab deficiencies, sought withdrawal of his guilty 

plea to fifth-degree controlled-substance crime, claimed applicability of the newlydiscovered-evidence and interests-of-justice exceptions to the two-year time limit for filing 

a petition, and requested an evidentiary hearing. The postconviction court concluded that 

Coleman had failed to show that either exception applied and summarily denied Coleman’s 

petition. This appeal follows.

D E C I S I O N

“[A] person convicted of a crime, who claims that . . . the conviction obtained or the 

sentence or other disposition made violated the person’s rights under the Constitution or 

laws of the United States or of the state . . . may commence a proceeding to secure 

relief . . . .” Minn. Stat. § 590.01, subd. 1 (2012). A postconviction petitioner is not entitled 

to an evidentiary hearing if “the petition and the files and records of the proceeding 

conclusively show that the petitioner is entitled to no relief.” Minn. Stat. § 590.04, subd. 1 

(2012). “[Appellate courts] review a postconviction court’s decision to deny a petition, 

 

1 The hearing began on July 16, 2012, and ended on May 3, 2013.
4

including its decision to deny the petition without granting an evidentiary hearing, for an 

abuse of discretion.” State v. Whitson, 876 N.W.2d 297, 303 (Minn. 2016). “In determining 

whether the postconviction court abused its discretion, [appellate courts] review the 

[postconviction] court’s factual findings for clear error and its legal conclusions de novo.” 

Id.

“No petition for postconviction relief may be filed more than two years after . . . the 

entry of judgment of conviction or sentence if no direct appeal is filed[.]” Minn. Stat. 

§ 590.01, subd. 4(a) (2012). But a postconviction petition that was filed outside of the twoyear period is not time-barred if

the petitioner alleges the existence of newly discovered 

evidence, including scientific evidence, that could not have 

been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence by the 

petitioner or petitioner’s attorney within the two-year time 

period for filing a postconviction petition, and the evidence is 

not cumulative to evidence presented at trial, is not for 

impeachment purposes, and establishes by a clear and 

convincing standard that the petitioner is innocent of the 

offense or offenses for which the petitioner was convicted.

Minn. Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(b)(2) (2012). Neither is such a petition time-barred if “the 

petitioner establishes to the satisfaction of the court that the petition is not frivolous and is 

in the interests of justice.” Minn. Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(b)(5) (2012). “Any petition 

invoking [such] an exception must be filed within two years of the date the claim arises.” 

Minn. Stat. § 590.01, subd. 4(c) (2012).

In his postconviction petition, Coleman argued that the evidence of crime-lab 

deficiencies provides five distinct grounds for plea-withdrawal relief: newly discovered 

evidence, Brady violations, due process violation, manifest injustice, and ineffective 
5

assistance of counsel. On appeal, Coleman argues that the postconviction court abused its 

discretion in summarily denying his untimely petition, claiming that he has established the 

applicability of the newly-discovered-evidence and interests-of-justice exceptions to the 

two-year time limit and that, at a minimum, he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing.

Newly-discovered-evidence exception

The newly-discovered-evidence exception

requires that the petitioner show that the evidence (1) is newly 

discovered; (2) could not have been ascertained by the exercise 

of due diligence by the petitioner or the petitioner’s attorney 

within the 2-year time-bar for filing a petition; (3) is not 

cumulative to evidence presented at trial; (4) is not for 

impeachment purposes; and (5) establishes by the clear and 

convincing standard that petitioner is innocent of the offenses 

for which he was convicted.

Riley v. State, 819 N.W.2d 162, 168 (Minn. 2012). “All five criteria must be satisfied to 

obtain relief.” Id. Neither the second nor the fifth criterion is satisfied in this case.

To begin, Coleman has not demonstrated that the evidence of crime-lab deficiencies 

could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence by him or his counsel 

within two years of his conviction and sentence. The state alleged in its complaint that 

“[t]he suspected controlled substance was submitted to the Saint Paul Police Department 

Crime Laboratory and tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine, with a total 

net weight of .13 grams.” The complaint thereby placed Coleman on notice that the state 

based the controlled-substance charge on the results of the crime-lab test. Coleman could 

have investigated and challenged the foundational reliability and/or validity of the test 

results. See Roberts v. State, 856 N.W.2d 287, 291 (Minn. App. 2014) (reaching same
6

conclusion on similar facts in reliance on, among other things, Minn. Stat. § 611.21(a)

(2004), Minn. R. Crim. P. 9.01, subd. 1(4), 11.02, .04), review denied (Minn. Jan. 28, 

2015). He chose to plead guilty rather than do so.

Moreover, the evidence of crime-lab deficiencies does not establish by a clear and 

convincing standard that Coleman is innocent of fifth-degree controlled-substance crime. 

“The innocence prong . . . requires more than mere ‘uncertainty’ about a petitioner’s guilt. 

Under the clear and convincing standard, the proffered evidence must be unequivocal, 

intrinsically probable, and free from frailties.” Rhodes v. State, 875 N.W.2d 779, 798

(Minn. 2016) (citation omitted).

In Roberts, we considered the innocence prong as follows:

Roberts’s new evidence regards the “sufficiency of the 

training, knowledge, and practices of laboratory employees” at 

the crime lab. But Roberts does not offer evidence regarding 

the chemical composition of the particular substance in his 

case. In fact, Roberts has never claimed—in district court, 

during postconviction proceedings, or on appeal—that the 

substance was not cocaine.

. . . .

[T]here was nonscientific evidence of guilt. The complaint 

suggested that the arresting officer suspected that the substance 

was crack cocaine based on its appearance. The complaint also 

indicated that Roberts ran from the officer after the substance 

fell out of his pant leg, and flight is evidence of “consciousness 

of guilt.” These circumstances are fatal to Roberts’s attempt to 

establish actual innocence based on speculation regarding the 

validity of the test results in his case.
7

856 N.W.2d at 291–92 (citation omitted). Like Roberts, Coleman attempted to flee from 

police officers, exhibiting consciousness of guilt. And like Roberts, Coleman did not offer 

evidence regarding the chemical composition of the substance that was in the baggie and 

pipe recovered from his pockets. Coleman never has claimed that the substance was not 

methamphetamine; in fact, he admitted in a police statement that the substance was

methamphetamine. Finally, at his plea hearing, Coleman responded affirmatively when 

asked whether officers had found “some methamphetamine” in his pocket.

We conclude that the evidence of crime-lab deficiencies, tempered by the wealth of 

nonscientific evidence that Coleman possessed methamphetamine, cannot establish by the 

clear and convincing standard that Coleman is innocent of fifth-degree controlledsubstance crime. See id. at 292 (stating that “[t]he identity and weight of a suspected 

controlled substance may be proved . . . , in certain situations, circumstantially with . . . 

nonscientific evidence,” and concluding that evidence of crime-lab deficiencies did not 

establish Roberts’s innocence in light of nonscientific evidence of his guilt). We therefore 

conclude that the postconviction court did not err by refusing to consider Coleman’s

untimely petition under the newly-discovered-evidence exception.

Interests-of-justice exception

“To satisfy the interests-of-justice exception, . . . a petitioner must satisfy two 

requirements: (1) that the petition is not frivolous, and (2) that the petition is in the interests 

of justice.” Wallace v. State, 820 N.W.2d 843, 849 (Minn. 2012) (quotations omitted). 

Application of the exception “is reserved for exceptional cases.” Taylor v. State, 874 

N.W.2d 429, 431 (Minn. 2016) (quotation omitted).
8

[I]n deciding whether to grant relief in the interests of justice, 

courts should weigh the degree to which the party alleging 

error is at fault for that error, the degree of fault assigned to the 

party defending the alleged error, and whether some 

fundamental unfairness to the defendant needs to be addressed. 

[Courts] have also acted in the interests of justice when 

necessary to protect the integrity of judicial proceedings.

Gassler v. State, 787 N.W.2d 575, 587 (Minn. 2010). “[T]he factors identified in Gassler

do not form a rigid test,” and “[d]ifferent factors may be dispositive in the unique 

circumstances of each case.” Carlton v. State, 816 N.W.2d 590, 608 (Minn. 2012).

In this case, Coleman appears to argue that the interests-of-justice exception is 

satisfied in part because he has meritorious claims, specifically referring to three of the five 

substantive claims that he made in his postconviction petition and continues to pursue on 

appeal. But the interests-of-justice exception “relate[s] to the reason the petition was filed 

after the 2-year time limit in subdivision 4(a), not the substantive claims in the petition.” 

Sanchez v. State, 816 N.W.2d 550, 557 (Minn. 2012). “In other words, the interests-ofjustice exception is triggered by an injustice that caused the petitioner to miss the primary 

deadline in subdivision 4(a), not the substance of the petition.” Id. Accordingly, we need

not review the merits of Coleman’s claims in order to consider the applicability of the 

interests-of-justice exception.

Coleman also argues that “it was the fault of the State that the information [regarding 

crime-lab deficiencies] was not disclosed earlier,” that “[t]here is a fundamental unfairness 

that needs to be addressed” here, and that “th[is] court must apply th[e interests-of-justice] 

exception in order to protect the fairness, integrity, and public reputation of judicial 

proceedings.” However, in Roberts, we reasoned that “Roberts had the opportunity to 
9

investigate the validity of the test results in his case, and he declined to do so,” which meant 

that he was “at fault for his failure to discover the problems at the crime lab before he 

pleaded guilty.” 856 N.W.2d at 293. We further reasoned that there is “no fundamental 

unfairness that needs to be addressed” because “it is not fundamentally unfair to hold 

Roberts accountable for his choice to accept the state’s scientific evidence at face value 

and resolve his case with a guilty plea in exchange for a reduced sentence.” Id. We also 

reasoned that we did not need “to act in the interests of justice to protect the integrity of 

the judicial proceedings” because Roberts’s post-plea discovery of the crime-lab 

deficiencies did “not stem from a flaw in the judicial process” but stemmed instead “from 

Roberts’s decision to waive his right to challenge the state’s evidence against him.” Id. Our 

reasoning in Roberts applies with full force to this case, whose facts are remarkably similar 

to those before us in Roberts. We conclude that the postconviction court did not err by 

refusing to consider Coleman’s untimely petition under the newly-discovered-evidence 

exception.

Evidentiary hearing

“A postconviction court may summarily deny a petition for postconviction relief 

when the petition is time barred.” Wayne v. State, 866 N.W.2d 917, 919 (Minn. 2015)

(quotation omitted). Thus, a postconviction petitioner is not entitled to an evidentiary 

hearing on an untimely petition unless he demonstrates the applicability of an exception to 

the two-year time limit. Townsend v. State, 867 N.W.2d 497, 500 (Minn. 2015). Coleman’s 

petition was untimely, and he has failed to demonstrate the applicability of any exception; 
10

consequently, we conclude that the postconviction court did not err in denying Coleman’s 

request for an evidentiary hearing.

Affirmed.