Opinion ID: 1905193
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Fardan's Trial and the Stipulation Evidence

Text: On December 6, 2005, a Hennepin County grand jury indicted Fardan with one count of first-degree felony murder, Minn. Stat. § 609.185(a)(3) (2008); one count of second-degree felony murder, Minn.Stat. § 609.19, subd. 2(1) (2008); and one count of first-degree aggravated robbery, Minn. Stat. § 609.245, subd. 1 (2008), in connection with Brown's death. Fardan was also indicted with 15 other crimes committed against other victims later on the night of Brown's death. On January 26, 2006, the district court certified Fardan to be tried as an adult. In a pretrial motion, Fardan asked to sever the three counts surrounding Brown's death from the other counts; the court granted the motion and severed the trial into two parts, with the trial for Brown's murder to be tried second. On October 3, 2007, in his first trial, a Hennepin County jury found Fardan guilty of 13 crimes and not guilty of 3 crimes. The district court convicted Fardan according to the jury's guilty verdicts and imposed a 486-month sentence, which the court of appeals upheld. [3] State v. Fardan, No. A08-0364, 2009 WL 1851404, at  (Minn. App. June 30, 2009), review granted and stayed (Minn. Sept. 16, 2009). Fardan's murder trial began on May 5, 2008. The State moved to admit evidence of other offenses Fardan committed the night of Brown's murder to show intent to kill and the absence of accident. Over defense objection, the court admitted the evidence. After the court decided to admit the evidence, the court, prosecutor, and defense counsel drafted a stipulation of facts that was read to the jury. The stipulation describes the other offenses committed during the early morning hours of October 10 and after the events surrounding Brown's death. [4] The court gave a limiting instruction both before the stipulation was read and during jury instructions. Before the stipulation was read, the court told the jury that the evidence in the stipulation was being offered for the limited purpose of assisting you in determining whether the defendant acted with the intent to kill Bernard Brown[,] and that the evidence may not be used to decide intent under any other element or count or for any other purpose. The judge reminded the jury during the limiting instruction that Fardan was not being tried for and may not be convicted of any offenses other than the charged offenses. You are not to convict the defendant on the basis of these later occurrences. To do so might result in unjust, double punishment. The jury found Fardan guilty of all three counts related to Brown's death. The district court adjudicated Fardan guilty on the counts, and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the first-degree felony murder conviction to be served consecutively to his 486-month sentence. The district court did not impose sentences for the second-degree felony murder and first-degree aggravated robbery convictions. This direct appeal follows.
We turn first to Fardan's argument that his statement to police was not admissible. The State may introduce incriminating statements made by a criminal suspect during a custodial interrogation only if it shows that the defendant knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his rights. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). The validity of a juvenile's Miranda waiver depends on the totality of the circumstances. State v. Jones, 566 N.W.2d 317, 324 (Minn.1997). The factors considered in evaluating the totality of the circumstances include the juvenile's age, maturity, intelligence, education, physical deprivations, prior criminal experience, the presence or absence of parents, the length and legality of detention, the adequacy of warnings, and the nature of the interrogation. State v. Williams, 535 N.W.2d 277, 287 (Minn.1995). The trial court's findings of fact surrounding those factors will not be reversed unless clearly erroneous. State v. Burrell, 697 N.W.2d 579, 591 (Minn.2005). Legal conclusions based on those findings are reviewed de novo. Id. Fardan challenges the adequacy of the warning he received and he asserts that the district court did not properly evaluate the impact of his father's absence during questioning. Finally, Fardan argues that, under an analysis of the totality of the circumstances, the district court erred in concluding that his waiver was voluntary. We examine each argument in turn.