The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will hear three oral arguments at the UND School of Law on Friday, March 24, 2006, beginning at 2:00 p.m. in the Baker Courtroom. All three arguments are open to the public.
The court will hear the appeal of the State of Minnesota, et al. v. John Hoeven, et al., regarding the State of North Dakota enacting a series of hunting regulations related to nonresident hunting during the waterfowl season.
Earlier the district court granted summary judgment in favor of North Dakota, finding that although the restrictions on nonresidents seem unwise, they do not violate the Constitution.
On appeal, Minnesota argues that the new regulations violate the Privileges and Immunities Clause and the Commerce Clause. Nine states have jointly filed an amicus brief in support of the state of North Dakota. This argument will begin approximately 2:30 p.m.
In addition, they will hear two appealed case from South Dakota. The case of the United States v. James Allen Gregg regarding the use of a firearm during a crime of violence will be heard first beginning at 2:00 p.m. The issues on appeal are: (1) the court erred in limiting his ability to introduce evidence of Fallis's violent character which he contends was necessary to explain his mental state at the time of the shooting, and (2) the sentence is unreasonable in light of his past history, including honorable service in highly dangerous missions in Iraq, and the victim conduct.
The second South Dakota case is Oakley Bernard Engesser v. Robert Dooley, Warden, et al. regarding a conviction by a jury in state court of one count of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular battery. The district court denied his petition, but granted a certificate of appealability on the issues of prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, and Fourth Amendment violations relating to a warrantless blood test without Engesser's permission. Engesser requests oral argument. This case will be heard at approximately 3:00 p.m.
For each case, a panel of three judges will participate. The Eighth Circuit Judges participating in the arguments include Judge Kermit E. Bye, Fargo; Senior Status Judge Myron H. Bright, Fargo; Judge William Jay Riley, Omaha, NE and Judge Lavenski R. Smith, Little Rock, AR. Judge Bye is an alumnus of the University of North Dakota School of Law.
March 22, 2006