State v. Bauer
471 N.W.2d 363, 1991 Minn. App. LEXIS 504, 1991 WL 80863 (1991)
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Rule of Law:
A state's fetal homicide statute does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment if it serves the secular purpose of protecting potential life and closing a gap in the criminal code. Assisting in a pregnant woman's suicide, which results in the death of the fetus, can serve as the underlying felony for a felony fetal homicide conviction.
Facts:
- Eighteen-year-old Rachelle Cazin was pregnant with a fetus of approximately six to six-and-one-half months.
- Justin Bauer, then 17, was the putative father and had made threats against Cazin because she was spreading rumors she was pregnant with his child.
- Cazin asked Bauer to meet her in the woods and to bring his gun.
- The two met and agreed to a suicide pact, and Bauer provided the loaded gun.
- After an initial attempt failed, Bauer claimed he tried to dissuade Cazin from shooting herself.
- As Bauer walked away from Cazin, he heard a gunshot; Cazin had died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
- Bauer hid Cazin’s body under a layer of brush, ran home, cleaned the gun, and disposed of the remaining shells.
- Later that evening, Bauer anonymously called a priest, admitting he had been part of a suicide pact and had hidden his girlfriend's body.
Procedural Posture:
- The State of Minnesota prosecuted Justin Bauer in trial court on several charges related to the death of Rachelle Cazin and her fetus.
- A jury found Bauer not guilty of second-degree (intentional) murder and intentional fetal homicide.
- The same jury found Bauer guilty of aiding a suicide and of felony fetal homicide.
- Bauer filed a motion for a post-trial examination of a juror (a Schwartz hearing), which the trial court denied.
- The trial court imposed concurrent sentences, granting a downward durational departure on the felony fetal homicide conviction.
- Bauer appealed his convictions to the Minnesota Court of Appeals (the appellant).
- The State cross-appealed, challenging the downward sentencing departure (the respondent/cross-appellant).
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Issue:
Do Minnesota's fetal homicide statutes violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?
Opinions:
Majority - Short, Judge.
No, the fetal homicide statutes do not violate the Establishment Clause. To survive an Establishment Clause challenge under the Lemon test, a statute must have a secular purpose, its primary effect must neither advance nor inhibit religion, and it must not foster excessive government entanglement with religion. The court found the statutes have a clear secular purpose: to rectify a perceived gap in the criminal code that previously did not allow for prosecution for the killing of a fetus. This purpose is not inherently religious, even if some religious groups support it. The imposition of criminal liability is a secular matter, and the state has a recognized ability to criminalize behavior affecting unborn children.
Analysis:
This decision solidifies the constitutionality of fetal homicide laws in Minnesota against an Establishment Clause challenge, affirming the state's secular interest in protecting potential life. It crucially clarifies that aiding a suicide can serve as the predicate felony for felony fetal homicide, expanding the scope of accomplice liability in such cases. By refusing to extend a pregnant woman's statutory immunity to an accomplice who assists in her suicide, the court prevents a potential loophole and reinforces that one can be held responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their criminal assistance.
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