Opinions

State v. Welch 2019 ND 179
Docket No.: 20180444
Filing Date: 7/3/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Felony
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A district court does not abuse its discretion when in a criminal judgment it describes an inchoate crime by reference to both Chapter 12.1-06 and the statute specifying the underlying criminal offense.

Burden v. State 2019 ND 178
Docket No.: 20180353
Filing Date: 7/3/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: A motion for summary disposition on the pleadings in a post-conviction proceeding is analogous to a N.D.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) motion and looks at the application in the light most favorable to the applicant and accepts well-pleaded allegations as true.

General allegations in a State’s answer to a post-conviction application are insufficient to put the applicant to his proof on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim.

Lizakowski v. Lizakowski 2019 ND 177
Docket No.: 20180298
Filing Date: 7/2/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: In a divorce action, a spouse’s separate property, whether inherited or otherwise, must be included in the marital estate, and property brought into a marriage or acquired by gift or inheritance by one spouse may not be set aside to that spouse.

In dividing the marital estate, it is appropriate for the district court to consider the parties’ entire relationship when parties live together and then marry.

In a divorce action, the district court may award attorney’s fees when a party’s actions have unreasonably increased the time spent on a case.

State v. Wills 2019 ND 176
Docket No.: 20180342
Filing Date: 6/27/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Investigative detention may continue only as long as reasonably necessary to conduct duties resulting from a traffic stop and to issue a warning or citation.
Whether reasonable suspicion exists is assessed by taking into account the totality of the circumstances and inferences and deductions that an investigating officer makes based on training and experience.
Reasonable suspicion requires more than a “mere hunch” by law enforcement.

State v. Lyons 2019 ND 175
Docket No.: 20180270
Filing Date: 6/27/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: A conviction rests upon insufficient evidence only when no rational fact finder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution and giving the prosecution the benefit of all inferences reasonably to be drawn in its favor.

Claims for obvious error require an error that is plain and affects substantial rights, and the error must be a clear deviation from an applicable legal rule under current law.

State v. Norton 2019 ND 174
Docket No.: 20180378
Filing Date: 6/27/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: Individuals convicted of specified offenses against children have a statutory duty to register as offenders against children regardless of a prior court order or instructions by a court to register.

State v. Overholt 2019 ND 173
Docket No.: 20190033
Filing Date: 6/27/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Misdemeanor
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: For purpose of appeal, an order deferring imposition of sentence is equivalent to a judgment under N.D.R.Crim.P. 32(b).
Under N.D.R.Crim.P. 32.1, a case is automatically dismissed sixty-one days after a defendant’s probation has ended, unless the court has ordered otherwise before that date.
A district court errs in modifying an order deferring imposition of sentence on the basis of an case automatically dismissed under N.D.R.Crim.P. 32.1 without further evidence.

French v. N.D. Dep't of Transportation 2019 ND 172
Docket No.: 20180410
Filing Date: 6/27/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: The Department’s driving record, including its notations, for a driver is a regularly kept record and is prima facie evidence of its contents.

A hearing officer is not precluded from drawing inferences from the evidence presented based on common sense and experiences.

A district court may award reasonable attorney fees and costs to a prevailing claimant when an administrative agency has acted without substantial justification.

W.C. v. J.H., et al. (CONFIDENTIAL) 2019 ND 171
Docket No.: 20180387
Filing Date: 6/27/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Paternity
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Parties may obtain discovery regarding nonprivileged matters that are relevant to a party’s claim.
The district court abuses its discretion when it acts in an arbitrary, unreasonable, or unconscionable manner, or when its decision is not the product of a rational mental process leading to a reasoned determination.

Markegard v. Willoughby 2019 ND 170
Docket No.: 20180445
Filing Date: 6/27/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce - Property
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A party moving to terminate spousal support under N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24.1(3) has the initial burden to prove habitual cohabitation for a period of one year or more, and the party opposing the motion has the burden to prove any exceptions apply.

A spousal support provision of a marital termination agreement entered into after N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24.1(3) became effective that does not include language stating spousal support will continue even if the receiving spouse cohabits does not preclude termination of spousal support under the statute.

The district court has discretion in deciding when a spousal support obligation will terminate if the court finds the spouse receiving support is habitually cohabiting.