MEMO
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Mike Hagburg
RE: Rule 10, N.D.R.Crim.P., Arraignment
Form and style amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure took effect Dec. 1, 2002. Attached are proposed amendments to N.D.R.Crim.P. 10 which are in the spirit of the federal form and style amendments. The primary purpose of the amendments is to make the rule easier to navigate and understand.
The Committee made some preliminary form changes to Rule 10 in 2002 when it added subdivision (c) on interactive television. In the proposed form amendments, one major change is the combination of elements in former subdivisions (a) and (b) into a new subdivision (a) which covers the steps to be taken in an arraignment.
The other major change is the addition of a new subdivision (b) which covers waiving an appearance at an arraignment. Subdivision (b) is similar to Fed.R.Crim.P. 10(b), which was added as part of the 2002 federal changes. Subdivision (b), however, also includes additional elements which reflect North Dakota's law on arraignment waivers. See City of Fargo v. Bommersbach, 511 N.W.2d 563, 565 (N.D. 1994).
Amendments to the explanatory note are also proposed, both to explain the changes to the rule text and to eliminate what seem to be obsolete items.
The proposed amendments to Rule 10 are attached.