Joint Procedure Committee Meeting

Scheduled on Thursday, May 6, 1999 @ 11:00 AM

The Agenda retains page numbers for convenience of referring to the printed materials, even though they are irrelevant to accessing the documents on the Web.
Not all committee documents are available on the Web at this time (because they are not presently available in an electronic format).
The Committee's printed drafts contain line numbers which do not convert to the Web. Some additional formatting may be lost.
Questions or comments may be directed to Joint Procedure Committee Staff Attorney Gary Raedeke - GaryR@ndcourts.gov.

I. Roll Call

II. Minutes of January 28-29, 1999, Meeting 1

III. Old Business

A. Rule 11.1, N.D.R.Ct.; Nonresident Attorneys

The Committee will continue working on a motion procedure for a nonresident attorney to obtain permission to appear in a North Dakota state trial court proceeding. The Committee will consider what constitutes an appearance and when the motion must be filed.

1. Memorandum on Rule 11.1 17
2. Provisions Governing Unauthorized Practice of Law 19
3. Proposed N.D.R.Ct. 11.1; Nonresident Attorneys 20

B. Alternative Dispute Resolution

The Committee will consider an amendment to N.D.R.Civ.P. 16 providing for discussion at a pretrial conference of the desirability of using an alternative dispute resolution process. The Committee will consider whether a rule should be adopted providing for a roster of ADR neutrals.

1. Memorandum on ADR 23 
2. Proposed N.D.R.Civ.P. 16; Pretrial Conferences 25 
3. Memorandum 2 on ADR 28 
4. Provisions From Other Jurisdictions 33 
5. Erickson Mediation Institute 76 
6. Memorandum on Rule 8.8 83 
7. Proposed N.D.R.Ct. 8.8; Roster of ADR Neutrals 85
8. Letter from ADR Committee 88
9. Proposed N.D.R.Ct. 8.8; Roster of ADR Neutrals 91 
10. AR 28; Qualifications for Court-Appointed Mediators 94

C. Predeliberation Discussion by Jurors

The Committee will consider whether predeliberation discussion by jurors should be allowed in a civil case.

1. Memorandum on Juror Discussion 96 
2. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 39(f) 98
3. Minutes of the Joint Procedure Comm. 9-11 (May 1, 1998) 99
4. Memorandum 2 on Juror Discussion 102 
5. Memorandum 106
6. 45 UCLA L.Rev. 845 (1998) 112
7. North Dakota Trial Court Benchbook 147
8. N.D.C.C. §§ 28-14-16, 29-21-27, and 29-21-28 149
9. Letter from SBAND Board of Governors 151a 
10. Proposed N.D.R.Ct. 6.11; Predeliberation Discussion 152

IV. New Business

A. Last Minute Settlements and Plea Changes

The Committee will discuss potential solutions to the problems associated with last minute settlements and plea changes including the assessment of costs unnecessarily incurred.

1. Memorandum on Plea Changes 154
2. Letter from Judge Vukelic 155 
3. U.S. Dist. Ct. Rules N.D. Fla. 16.2 156 
4. Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 121 157
5. Proposed N.D.R.Civ.P. 68; Notice of Settlement 158 
6. Proposed N.D.R.Ct. 4.2; Notice of Settlement 164 
7. Proposed N.D.R.Ct. 4.2; Notice of Settlement 166

B. AR 13; Judicial Referees

The Committee will consider whether the requirement for a judge to review the findings of a referee should be changed to only require review when requested by one of the parties.

1. Memorandum on Referee Review 168 
2. Council of Presiding Judge's Minutes 170 
3. Proposed AR 13; Judicial Referees 171

C. Technical Amendments

The Committee will consider several stylistic amendments.

1. Memorandum on Rule 603 176 
2. Proposed N.D.R.Ev. 603; Oath or Affirmation 177 
3. Memorandum on Rule 11.2 179 
4. Proposed N.D.R.Ct. 11.2 180

D. N.D.R. Local Ct. P.R. § 10; Effective Term of Local Court Rules

The Committee will consider whether a Local Court Procedural Rule or Administrative Rule governing case assignment procedure should remain in effect until otherwise ordered, instead of just remaining in effect for 5 years.

1. Memorandum on Case Assignment 182 
2. Proposed N.D.R. Local Ct. P.R. § 10; Effective Term 183

E. Rule 31, N.D.R.Crim.P.; Verdict

The Committee will consider whether jurors should be polled individually when polling is requested.

1. Memorandum on Rule 31 184 
2. Fed. R. Crim. P. 31(d) 185 
3. N.D.C.C. § 28-14-23 186 
4. Proposed N.D.R.Crim.P. 31; Verdict 187

F. Rule 33, N.D.R.Crim.P.; New Trial

The Committee will consider what event should start the time running for moving for a new trial in a criminal case.

1. Memorandum on Rule 33 193 
2. Fed. R. Crim. P. 33 195 
3. U.S. v. Reyes, 49 F.3d 63 (2^nd Cir. 1995) 197 
4. Proposed N.D.R.Crim.P. 33; New Trial 203

G. Rule 615, N.D.R.Ev.; Exclusion of Witnesses

The Committee will consider whether the court should be allowed to exclude someone from trial who is authorized to be present by statute.

1. Memorandum on Rule 615 208 
2. Fed. R. Ev. 615 209
3. Proposed N.D.R.Ev. 615; Exclusion of Witnesses 210

H. Rule 3, N.D.R.Civ.P.; Commencement of Action

The Committee will consider whether a civil action should be commenced by filing the complaint instead of by serving a summons.

1. Memorandum on Case Commencement 212 
2. Letter from Judge Christofferson 215
3. N.D.C.C. 28-01-38 216
4. Proposed N.D.R.Civ.P. 3; Commencement of Action 217 
5. Comments 218