MEMO
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Mike Hagburg
RE: Rule 23, N.D.R.Crim.P., Trial by Jury or by Court
Attached are proposed amendments to Rule 23. The amendments are form and style amendments in the spirit of the December 2002 federal criminal rule amendments and are based on the amendments to Fed.R.Crim.P. 23.
Rule 23 contains several sections not included in the federal rule. Revisions to these sections are based on the federal court rule drafting guidelines and the North Dakota legislative drafting guidelines.
The proposed changes are intended to be stylistic only.
The Committee may wish to discuss whether to accept the federal provision allowing a party to request the court, in a nonjury trial, to make specific findings of fact. The discussion at lines 51-55 of the explanatory note indicates that omitting this provision was a conscious choice.