Opinions

Nat'l Parks Conservation Assn., et al. v. ND Dep't of Environmental Quality, et 2020 ND 145
Docket No.: 20190095
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Administrative Proceeding
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: An agency’s reasonable interpretation of a regulation is entitled to deference, and an agency’s decision in complex or technical matters involving agency expertise is entitled to appreciable deference.

The legislature is presumed to be aware of judicial construction of a statute, and from its failure to amend a particular statutory provision, it is presumed the legislature acquiesces in that construction.

An agency’s permitting decision is entitled to greater deference than a decision after an adjudicative proceeding, and the final permitting decision is reviewed on appeal to determine whether it is arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable.

A decision is arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable if it is not the product of a rational mental process by which the facts and the law relied upon are considered together for the purpose of achieving a reasoned and reasonable interpretation.

State v. Pouliot 2020 ND 144
Docket No.: 20200060
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - DUI/DUS/APC
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: The 2019 amendment to N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01(3)(b) limits the scope of the exclusion of evidence “to proof of refusals” in an “administrative proceeding.”

A district court’s judgment denying a motion to exclude the chemical test results in a criminal proceeding is affirmed.

Franciere v City of Mandan 2020 ND 143
Docket No.: 20200018
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Other
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A judgment granting dismissal based on lack of personal jurisdiction due to insufficient service is modified to dismiss without prejudice, and affirmed as modified.

The district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied a motion to compel discovery when the discovery requests were not related to the issue of personal jurisdiction.

Issues raised for the first time on appeal normally will not be addressed.

Truelove v. State 2020 ND 142
Docket No.: 20190388
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: A district court’s order denying an application for post-conviction relief after finding that counsel’s representation was not ineffective was not clearly erroneous.

Kalmio v. State 2020 ND 141
Docket No.: 20200011
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Orders denying postconviction relief and a motion to reconsider are summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2) and (4).

Dale Exploration, et al. v. Hiepler, et al. 2020 ND 140
Docket No.: 20190338
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Oil, Gas and Minerals
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: Under the law of the case doctrine, a party cannot relitigate issues on a second appeal which were resolved in the first appeal or which would have been resolved if they had been properly presented in the first appeal.

A successor trustee may be substituted as a party in an action after the death of the trustee.

The death of the settlor and trustee of a revocable trust does not preclude a district court from ordering specific performance from trust property.

State v. Blake 2020 ND 139
Docket No.: 20190394
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Felony
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A criminal judgment entered after a jury verdict is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(3).

Poole v. State 2020 ND 138
Docket No.: 20200012
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A district court’s order dismissing an application for post-conviction relief is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(4).

Stoneart OFS LLC, et al. v. WSI 2020 ND 137
Docket No.: 20200063
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Workers Compensation
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A district court judgment affirming an administrative law judge’s order is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(5).

State v. James 2020 ND 136
Docket No.: 20190223
Filing Date: 6/29/2020
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: The deprivation of the right to counsel is a structural error. This Court reviews an alleged denial of a defendant’s right to counsel de novo.

Rule 11 (b)(1)(C) of the North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure does not extend beyond the procedure for accepting a plea of guilty.

Rule 11(b)(1)(C) of the North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure does not impose a duty on the court to inform non-indigent defendant that the court may appoint an attorney to represent him at his own expense if he was unable to retain his own attorney.

Rule 44(a)(3) of the North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure permits the court to appoint an attorney to represent a non-indigent defendant at their own expense if they are unable to retain their own attorney.

A defendant knowingly and intelligently waives their right to counsel when they are informed that they will be held to the same standards as an attorney.

Objections to a search warrant cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.

When an issue is not raised in the trial court, even a constitutional issue involving a defendant’s right to confront witnesses, this Court will not address the issue on appeal unless the alleged error rises to the level of obvious error.