The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled this week that even when a person is threatened or under attack, they can’t use a deadly weapon if it’s “reasonably possible to retreat.”

The decision stems from a case involving an altercation between people involving a knife and machete in downtown Minneapolis in 2021. It raised the question of whether a person can claim self-defense when they’re charged with felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Under state law, a person commits second-degree assault — which can involve fear of assault — by acting with the “specific intent to cause them to fear immediate bodily harm.”

Earley Romero Blevins, of Minneapolis, got into an altercation with a man and woman on a light rail train platform near U.S. Bank Stadium. The man was armed with a knife and told Blevins to come inside the platform shelter that was outside the view of surveillance cameras so he could “slice Blevins’ throat.”

Blevins pulled a machete out of his waistband and moved toward the man and woman while holding the weapon. When another man tried to intervene, Blevins started yelling and swinging the machete at them for about a minute, causing them to retreat.

Justice Margaret Chutich, in a 4-2 majority opinion, wrote that Minnesota law says a person needs to retreat when reasonably possible, even when being threatened with bodily harm. She wrote that the idea that people can stand their ground, escalate the situation, and brandish a deadly weapon as Blevins argued “in the uncertain hope that it will cause the initial aggressor to back down — is unsound.”

Chutich also added that the court sees this as a “narrow” extension of the added responsibility to retreat when possible and is limited to second-degree assault and doesn’t include cases without a dangerous weapon.

Justices Paul Thissen and Karl Procaccini dissented. Thissen called the decision “unprecedented.” He also added that Minnesota’s self-defense statute says reasonable force can be used against someone to resist an offense, arguing that Blevins’ conviction should be reversed and a new trial should be held to see if his threatening behavior was reasonable.

“As far as I’m aware, the rule has never been adopted anywhere in the United States,” Thissen wrote. “Until now, the collective wisdom of judges nationwide over hundreds of years has never imposed a duty to retreat before making threats to deter an aggressor.”

Justices Natalie Hudson, Anne McKeig and Gordon Moore agreed with the majority, while Justice Sarah Hennsey didn’t participate. Chutich’s last day on the court was Wednesday. Justice Theordora Gaitas started her term Thursday.

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