Minnesota Supreme Court Agrees to Review Stearns County Man’s Case

(KNSI) — A Stearns County man who had his murder conviction overturned will have his case heard before the Minnesota Supreme Court.

In 2014, Robert John Kaiser was accused of shaking his baby, William, so hard that he suffered severe brain injuries and died.

During the trial, six doctors who examined and treated William testified that there was no way the child could have sustained brain injuries except for violent shaking. Kaiser testified in his own defense, saying the baby fell out of his stroller a month before and had “suffered a bout of prolonged vomiting” before being admitted to the hospital. Another medical expert testified and said William’s injuries were older, and the absence of skull or neck trauma “weighed against but did not preclude a diagnosis” of abusive head trauma.

Kaiser was convicted in 2016 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He appealed, and his attorneys had several independent medical experts look at the evidence. Those experts said there was no criminal element to William’s death, and he had an undiagnosed medical condition known as cerebral venous thrombosis, which causes clotting in the brain’s venous system.

That evidence, along with flawed testimony and ineffective advice from counsel, was enough to support the claim that Kaiser was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial, and the conviction should be overturned. A Stearns County judge agreed and vacated the conviction in May of 2022. Prosecutors fought that ruling, but in February, the Court of Appeals upheld it. Now, the Supreme Court has agreed to review the case.

The State will submit its brief to the Supreme Court, and then Kaiser’s defense team will submit a response brief. After this, the defense and prosecution will participate in a hearing in front of the Justices. A timeline for a hearing date was not given.

Kaiser’s attorneys say the “team continues to work on his case to ensure his innocence is proven once-and-for-all and his freedom is guaranteed.” An email sent to KNSI says:

“We are thrilled with the Court of Appeals decision to uphold the district court’s order setting aside the conviction. After conducting an extensive investigation, we firmly believe in Robert’s innocence and that he should not have spent nearly eight years behind bars. However, the prosecution is still determining what they will do next, and we cannot make any additional comments while the case is still pending.”

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