2012-M-208           State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Betsy Marie Hanks, Appellant.

A jury found Betsy Marie Hanks guilty of first- and second-degree murder for the shooting death of her romantic partner, Matthew Albert.  In preparation for trial, Hanks sought and received funding from the district court to hire an expert witness on battered woman syndrome.  At trial, the district court granted the State’s motion to prohibit the expert from testifying.  After the guilty verdicts were returned, the district court convicted Hanks on both counts of murder. 

On appeal, Hanks asserts that the district court erred by excluding the battered woman syndrome expert testimony, by excluding other evidence, and by entering convictions on both first- and second-degree murder for a single act.  We affirm the conviction for first-degree murder.

HELD:  First,           the district court did not err when it excluded the proffered expert testimony on battered woman syndrome.

Second, the district court did not violate the defendant’s constitutional right to present a defense when it excluded some evidence of alleged threats made by the victim to harm the defendant and bruises on the defendant.

Meyer (Gildea, Page, Paul Anderson, Barry Anderson, Dietzen and Stras)

[MURDER]