RULE 32. SENTENCE AND JUDGMENT
(a) Sentence.
(1) Imposition of Sentence. Sentence must be imposed or other authorized disposition made without unreasonable delay.PendingUntil disposition, the court maycommit the defendant orcontinue or alterthebail or require the defendant to be held without bail. Before imposing sentence, the court shall:
(i)(A) determinethatthe defendant and the defendant's counselhavehadthean opportunity to read and discuss the presentence investigation report if made availablepursuant tounder subdivision (c)(3)(i)(4)(A) or a summarythereofmade availablepursuant tounder subdivision (c)(3)(ii)(4)(C);
(ii)(B) giveaffordcounsel an opportunity to speak on behalf of the defendant; and
(iii)(C)address the defendant personally, except as provided by Rule 43, todetermine whether the defendant wishes to make a statement in the defendant's own behalf or wishes to presentanyinformation in mitigation of punishment or information which would require the court to withhold pronouncement of judgment and sentence: if the defendant expresses a desire to do so, the court shall provide the defendant with that opportunity. The prosecution must be given an opportunity to be heard on any matter material to the imposition of sentence.
(2) Notification of Right to Appeal. After imposing sentence in a case that has gone to trialon a plea of not guilty, the court shall advise the defendant of the defendant's right to appeal and of the right of a person who is unable to pay the costs of an appeal to apply for appointment of counsel for purposes of appeal. The court is under no duty to advise the defendant of any right of appeal after sentence is imposed following a plea of guilty.
(b) Judgment. A judgment of conviction mustset forthinclude the plea, the verdict, and theadjudication ofsentence imposed. If the defendant is found not guilty or for any reason is entitled to be discharged, judgment must be entered accordingly. The judgment must be signed by the judge and entered by the clerk.
(c) Presentence Investigation.
(1) When Made. The court may order a presentence investigation and report at any time. Except with the written consent of the defendant, the report may not be submitted to the court or its contents disclosed unless the defendant has pleaded guilty or has been found guilty.
(2) Presence of Counsel. The defendant's counsel is entitled to notice and a reasonable opportunity to attend any interview of the defendant by parole and probation staff in the course of a presentence investigation.
(2)(3) Report.
(A) The report of the presentence investigation may contain any previous criminal record of the defendant andsuchinformation about the defendant's characteristics, including the defendant's family, educational, and social history, the defendant's employment history and financial condition and the circumstances affecting the defendant's behavioraswhich may be helpful in imposing sentenceor in granting probationor in the correctional treatment of the defendant, and any information required by the court.
(B) The following types of information may not be included in a presentence report, but may be submitted to the court as an addendum to the report:
(i) any diagnostic or prognostic opinion that, if disclosed, might seriously disrupt a program of rehabilitation;
(ii) information or sources of information obtained confidentially, but subject to disclosure by the court as provided in subdivision (C)(4)(A);
(iii) any sentence recommendation by parole and probation staff or the victim;
(iv) any victim impact statement;
(v) any other information, including medical, psychiatric, or psychological information, information relating to the victim or victims, and other matters the court may consider confidential, that if disclosed, might result in harm, physical or otherwise, to the defendant, to a victim, or to other persons.
(3)(4) Disclosure.
(i) At least 10 days before imposing sentence, unless this minimum period is waived by the defendant, the court shall provide the defendant, and the defendant's counsel if the defendant is so represented, with a copy of the report of the presentence investigation unless in the opinion of the court the report contains information which if disclosed would be harmful to the defendant or other persons; and the court shall afford the defendant and the defendant's counsel an opportunity to comment on the report and, in the discretion of the court, to introduce testimony or other information relating to any alleged factual inaccuracy contained in the presentence report.
(A) The presentence investigation report and any addendum to the report are confidential and may not be read or copied by the public or the parties unless permitted by the court in its discretion. If, the court is of the opinion, the report contains information that would be harmful to the defendant or other persons if disclosed, the court may not allow the public or the parties to read or copy that portion of the presentence investigation report or addendum.
(B) Any disclosure to the defendant of the presentence investigation report and addendum, or any part thereof, must occur at least 10 days before sentence is imposed unless this minimum period is waived by the defendant. Any disclosure to the defendant must be made by providing the defendant and the defendant's counsel with a copy of the material to be disclosed. The defendant and the defendant's counsel must be given an opportunity to comment on the disclosed material, and in the discretion of the court, to introduce testimony or other information relating to any alleged factual inaccuracy.
(ii)(C) If the courtis of the view thatfinds there is information in the presentence report or addendum,disclosure ofwhich would be harmful to the defendant or to other persons if disclosed, the courtin lieu of making the report or part thereof availableshall state orally or in writing a summary of the factual informationcontained thereinto be relied on in determining sentence, and shall give the defendant or the defendant's counsel an opportunity to commentthereon. The statement may be made to the parties in camera.
(iii)(D) Any materialthat may bedisclosed to the defendant and the defendant's counsel must also be disclosed to the prosecuting attorney.
(iv)(E) If the comments of the defendant and the defendant's counsel or testimony or other information introduced by them allege any factual inaccuracy in the presentence investigation report orthe summary of the report or part thereofany of the information summarized, the court, as to each matter controverted, shall make (i) a finding as to the allegation, or (ii) a determinationthatno finding is necessary because the matter controverted will not be taken into account in sentencing. A written record of those findings and determinations must be appended to and accompany any copy of the presentence investigation reportthereafterlater made available to the State Parole Board or to the pardon clerk.
(d) Plea Withdrawal.
(1) The court shall allow the defendant to withdraw a plea of guilty whenever the defendant,uponon a timely motion for withdrawal, provesthatwithdrawal is necessary to correct a manifest injustice.
(2) A motion for withdrawal is timely if made with due diligence, considering the nature of the allegationstherein, and is not necessarily barred because made subsequent to judgment or sentence.
(3) In the absence of a showingthatwithdrawal is necessary to correct a manifest injustice, a defendant may not withdraw a plea of guilty as a matter of right once the plea has been accepted by the court. Before sentence, the court in its discretion may allow the defendant to withdraw a plea for any fair and just reason unless the prosecution has been substantially prejudiced by reliance upon the defendant's plea.
(e) Probation. After conviction of an offense, the defendant may be placed on probation as provided by law.
(f) Revocation of Probation Where the Court Retains Jurisdiction Under the Law.
(1) Taking Into Custody.UponOn probable cause to believethata probationer has violated a condition of probation, any State parole and probation officer, or any peace officerupon direction ofdirected by a State parole and probation officer orupon direction ordirected by an order of the court having jurisdiction may take the probationer into custody andthereafter shall forthwithbring the probationer before the court that originally placed the probationeruponon probation for a hearing on the alleged violation. Costs incurred in bringing the probationer before the court must be borne by the countywhereinin which the probation was granted. The probationer may be admitted to bail pending the hearing.
(2) Hearing. The hearingshallmust be in open court with:
(i)(A)Thethe probationer present,
(ii)(B)Aa prior written notice of the alleged violation given to the probationer, and
(iii)(C)Representationrepresentation by retained or appointed counsel unless waived.
If the violation is contested, the prosecution shall establish the violation by a preponderance of the evidence.UponAfter the hearing, the court, subject to limitations imposed by law, may revoke an order suspending a sentence or an order suspending the imposition of sentence, or continue probation on the same or different conditions, as the circumstances warrant. A record of the proceedings must be madein such manner that it can be transcribed as needed.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Rule 32 was amended, effective January 1, 1980; March 1, 1986; March 1, 1990; March 1, 1992, on an emergency basis; July 14, 1993; March 1, 1999.
Rule 32 was amended, effective March 1, 1999, to address whether a presentence investigation report and any addendum may be inspected by the public or the parties.
When conducting a presentence investigation, parole and probation staff must be mindful they cannot make a binding promise of complete confidentiality as to information included in the addendum to a presentence report. The promise of confidentiality is subject to the court's discretion to allow the parties to inspect the addendum.
Rule 32 is similar to FRCrimP 32.
Subdivision (a) deals with sentencing and follows the federal rule with the addition of a provision for bail pending disposition of sentence and the deletion of a provision requiring the clerk of court, if requested by the defendant, to file a notice of appeal on behalf of the defendant.
Subdivision (a)(1), as amended effective March 1, 1986, requires the court to determine that the defendant and the defendant's counsel have had an opportunity to read and discuss the presentence report or summary. This change follows the federal rule as amended in 1983.
Subdivision (b)provides for judgment, and follows the language of the federal rulefollows Rule 32(d), Fed.R.Civ.P.; but the words "or findings" are omitted from the first sentence as unnecessary. Section 1-01-41, NDCC, includes in the definition of "verdict," findings of fact by the judge.Subdivision (b) of the federal rule includes a provision for a judgment of criminal forfeiture which authorizes the Attorney General to seize the property subject to forfeiture.
Subdivision (c)(1) makes a presentence investigation and report discretionary with the court and differs from its federal counterpart which makes a presentence report mandatory subject to waiver by the defendant or a specific finding by the court that the record includes sentencing discretion.
Subdivision (c)(2) is similar to its federal counterpart. Although this subdivision does not contain explicit language dealing with information concerning victims of the offense, as the federal rule does, the language is intended to be broad enough to include that information.
Subdivision (c)(3) follows its federal counterpart as amended in 1983 and provides for the disclosure of the presentence report to the defendant and the defendant's counsel a reasonable time before sentencing. This provision permits the defendant and the defendant's counsel to have an opportunity to review the report for any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information and to point it out to the court and, effective January 1, 1980, at the discretion of the court, introduce testimony or other information.
Subdivision (c)(3)(iv), as amended effective March 1, 1986, follows the 1983 amendment to the federal rule, and requires the sentencing court to make a finding as to any alleged factual inaccuracies in the presentence report or to determine that no finding is necessary because the issue controverted will not be taken into account in sentencing. The rule is intended to insure an accurate presentence report for sentencing purposes and for later custody or parole determinations.
Subdivision (d) is adapted from A.B.A. Standardsrelatingfor Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to Pleas of Guilty, §§ 2.1(a), 2.1(a)(i) and 2.1(b). (Approved Draft, 1968).
Subdivision (e) deals with probation. Whenever a sentence for a felony is suspended (Section 12-53-06, NDCC) or is deferred (Section 12-53-13, NDCC) the court shall place the defendant on probation. Section 12-53-04 provides that the court may place the defendant on probation or parole as part of an order suspending a sentence of imprisonment in a county jail upon a conviction for a misdemeanor.
Subdivision (f) has no counterpart in FRCrimP 32; however, FRCrimP 32.1 deals with the same subject in a different way. Subdivision (f) is not intended to include those situations in which the court no longer has jurisdiction over the individual.
Subdivision (f)(1) is adapted from and supersedes NDCC § 12-53-15.The subdivision, as amended effective January 1, 1980, clarifies that a probationer may be admitted to bail pending the hearing.
Subdivision (f)(2) is adapted in part from the A.B.A. Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to Probation, § 5.4 at 65 (Approved Draft, 1970).
An appeal from revocation of probation is not precluded under Section 12-53-20, NDCC. See State v. Lesmeister, 288 N.W.2d 57 (N.D. 1980); NDCC § 29-28-07(5).
Subdivisions (a), (c), (d) and (f) were amended, effective March 1, 1990. The amendments are technical in nature and no substantive change is intended.
Subdivision (c) was amended, effective March 1, 1992, to track the federal rule.
SOURCES: Procedure Committee Minutes of January 29-30, 1998, pages 10-11; September 25-26, 1997, pages 3-6; January 30, 1997, pages 2-6; September 26-27, 1996, pages 6-8; April 25, 1996, pages 16-18; November 7-8, 1991, page 4; October 25-26, 1990, pages 15-16; April 20, 1989, page 4; December 3, 1987, page 15; November 29, 1984, pages 15-18; April 26, 1984, page 6; December 7 8, 1978, pages 15-23; October 12-13, 1978, pages 10-14; December 11-15, 1972, pages 5-16; November 20-21, 1969, pages 5-6; May 15-16, 1969, pages 1-2; February 20-21, 1969, pages 5-14; FRCrimP, Rule 32; 48 F.R.D. 553, 612 (1970); 52 F.R.D. 409, 454 (1951); Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure: Criminal, § 521-550; 8A Moore's Federal Practice, Chapter 32 (Cipes, 2d Ed. 1970); A.B.A. Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to Pleas of Guilty (Approved Draft, 1968), Standards Relating to Probation (Approved Draft, 1970).
STATUTES AFFECTED:
SUPERSEDED: 12-53-15, 29-14-22, 29-26-01, 29-26-02, 29-26-15, 29-26-19, 33-12-26, 33-12-27, 33-12-29, NDCC.
CONSIDERED: 1-01-41, 12-53-03, 12-53-04, 12-53-05, 12-53-06, 12-53-10, 12-53-11, 12-53-12, 12-53-13, 12-53-14, 12-53-17, 12-53-20, 12-55-30, 29-26-03, 29-26-11, 29-26-12, 29-26-13, 29-26-14, 29-26-16, 29-26-17, 29-26-18, 29-26-20, 29-26-23, 33-12-28, NDCC.