N.D.R.Crim.P.
RULE 3. THE COMPLAINT
(a) General. The complaint is a written statement of the essential facts constituting the
elements of the offense charged and is the initial charging document for all criminal
offenses. The complaint must be sworn to and subscribed before an officer authorized
by law
to administer oaths within this state and be presented to a magistrate
(b) Magistrate review. The magistrate may examine on oath the complainant and other witnesses and receive any affidavit filed with the complaint. If the magistrate examines the complainant or other witnesses on oath, the magistrate shall cause their statements to be reduced to writing and subscribed by the persons making them or to be recorded.
(c) Amendment. The magistrate may permit a complaint to be amended at any time before a finding or verdict if no additional or different offense is charged and if substantial rights of the defendant are not prejudiced.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Rule 3 was amended, effective January 1, 1995; March 1, 1996; March 1, 2006; March 1, 2007;_____________________________.
Subdivision (a) was amended, effective January 1, 1995, to allow a complaint to be subscribed and sworn to outside the presence of a magistrate. An effect of this amendment is to allow facsimile transmission of the complaint. For a listing of officers authorized to administer oaths, see N.D.C.C. § 44-05-01. The amendment does not preclude a magistrate from examining a complainant or other witnesses under oath when making the probable cause determination.
Subdivision (a) was amended, effective March 1, 1996, to clarify that the complaint is the initial document for charging a person with a misdemeanor or felony.
Subdivision (a) was amended, effective March 1, 2007, to specify that the complaint must contain a statement of the facts that establish the elements of the offense charged.
Subdivision (a) was amended, effective _____________, to reflect a statutory amendment to N.D.C.C. 29-04-05 that allowed complaints, indictments, informations and citations to be used as initial charging documents in criminal matters.
Subdivision (c) is similar to Rule 7(e).
Rule 3 was amended, effective March 1, 2006, in response to the December 1, 2002, revision of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.
Sources: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of _____________________; April 24-25, 2003, pages 25-26; January 26-27, 1995, pages 3-5; April 28-29, 1994, pages 20-22; January 27-29, 1972, pages 4-7; September 27-28, 1968, pages 1-2; November 17-18, 1967, page 2.
Statutes Affected:
Superseded: N.D.C.C. §§ 29-01-13(1), 29-05-02 to the extent that it requires a complaint to be subscribed and sworn to before a magistrate, N.D.C.C. §§ 29-05-03, 33-12-03, 33-12-04, 33-12-05, 33-12-16, 33-12-25.
Considered: N.D.C.C. §§ 12-01-04(12), 29-01-14, 29-02-06, 29-02-07, 29-05-01, 29-05-05.
Cross Reference: N.D.R.Civ.P. 7 (The Indictment and the Information).