Minneapolis attorney, Max Keller of Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys presented oral arguments to the Minnesota Supreme Court on May 7, 2018. The case, State of Minnesota, Respondent vs. Christopher Lee Holloway involved Christopher Holloway, who was charged with third-degree and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for an incident with a 14-year-old.
(Listen to Max Keller’s oral argument)
On appeal to the Supreme Court, Keller presented the following issues:
- whether the limitation on who may raise a mistake of age defense in Minnesota violates federal and state constitutional rights to equal protection or substantive due process; and
- whether Minn. Stat. §§ 609.344, subd. 1(b), and 609.345, subd. 1(b), are strict liability offenses.
Below is the Summary of Issues prepared by the Supreme Court Commissioner’s Office:
Monday, May 7, 2018
Courtroom 300, Minnesota Judicial Center
State of Minnesota, Respondent vs. Christopher Lee Holloway, Appellant – Case No. A16-1489: Appellant Christopher Holloway was charged with third-degree and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for an incident with a 14-year-old. At the time of the incident, Holloway was 44 years old. For both offenses, the State is required to prove that at the time of the offense, the complainant was at least 13 years old but less than 16 years old and that the defendant was older than the complainant by more than a specified number of months. See Minn. Stat. §§ 609.344, subd. 1(b), 609.345, subd. 1(b) (2016).Mistake of age is a defense, but only if a defendant is no more than 120 months older than the complainant. See Minn. Stat. §§ 609.344, subd. 1(b), 609.345, subd. 1(b). Following a trial, a jury found Holloway guilty of both counts. The court of appeals affirmed his conviction.
On appeal to the supreme court, the following issues are presented: (1) whether the limitation on who may raise a mistake of age defense in Minn. Stat. §§ 609.344, subd. 1(b), and 609.345, subd. 1(b), violates federal and state constitutional rights to equal protection or substantive due process; and (2) whether Minn. Stat. §§ 609.344, subd. 1(b), and 609.345, subd. 1(b), are strict liability offenses. (Olmsted County)
