MEMO
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Mike Hagburg
RE: Rule 44, N.D.R.Crim.P., Right to and Appointment of Counsel
Attached are proposed amendments to Rule 44. 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. 44.
Rule 44 contains some material not included in the federal rule. Revisions to this material are based on the federal court rule drafting guidelines and the North Dakota legislative drafting guidelines.
The proposal includes a new subdivision (c) requiring an inquiry into joint representation. This subdivision was added to the federal rule in 1979 because of the possibility of conflicts of interest when one attorney defends multiple defendants in a single criminal action.