State v. Vang

I write separately because Part V of the court’s opinion relies on State v. Holmes, 281 Minn. 294, 161 N.W.2d 650 (1968), a case that has not stood the test of time. In Holmes, we held that when an appellate court overturns a conviction on appeal, “judicial policy” prevents a district court from imposing a longer sentence following a retrial for the same offense. Id. at 296, 161 N.W.2d at 652. In the years before and after Holmes, however, we have never *269invoked “judicial policy” as a reason to create another prophylactic criminal rule.1 Nor have we explained our authority to make “judicial…