Opinions

State v. Holkesvig (consolidated w/20140210) 2015 ND 105
Docket No.: 20140209
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Misdemeanor
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: The district court has the inherent authority to stem the abuses of the judicial process when a litigant has engaged in a clear pattern of frivolous, repetitive litigation.
Statute provides the district court with the specific authority to dismiss on its own frivolous post-conviction relief applications.

Filkowski v. N.D. Dep't of Transportation 2015 ND 104
Docket No.: 20140290
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Law enforcement must send the director of the Department of Transportation a certified copy of the analytical report of a blood test for the department to have authority to suspend a person's driving privileges.
Whether a blood test was fairly administered is a preliminary question of admissibility left to the administrative hearing officer's discretion.
Expert testimony is not required to admit an analytical report using the word "ethanol" instead of "alcohol."

State v. Williams 2015 ND 103
Docket No.: 20140370
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: A search does not occur unless the government violates an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy.
An individual's expectation of privacy is diminished in the common areas of a multi-family dwelling.
A common hallway in a condominium building is not curtilage.

Howard v. State 2015 ND 102
Docket No.: 20140233
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: To resist summary disposition of a post-conviction relief claim, the non-moving party must present competent, admissible evidence capable of raising genuine issues of material fact.

State v. Jasmann 2015 ND 101
Docket No.: 20140322
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: It is not prosecutorial misconduct for the State to read an interview transcript into evidence at trial at the defendant's request when the defendant had reviewed the transcript and noticed it included a questionable statement.
A court's failure to give a jury instruction not requested does not qualify as a clear deviation from an applicable legal rule.

State v. Taylor 2015 ND 100
Docket No.: 20140318
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: Whether a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in a bedroom, separate and above that for a residence as a whole, must be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Stai-Johnson v. Johnson 2015 ND 99
Docket No.: 20140339
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: A district court may consider the effect of the separation of siblings in ruling on a motion to relocate.

Feist v. Feist 2015 ND 98
Docket No.: 20140323
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce - Property
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: A district court's distribution of marital property is reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard of review.
Separate property, even if it is inherited, must initially be included in the marital estate, but the property's origin may be considered when equitably dividing the estate.

Viscito, et al. v. Christianson, et al. 2015 ND 97
Docket No.: 20140252
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: A judgment dismissing a case without prejudice may be appealable if attorney's fees and costs are awarded as a sanction.
Objecting to a sanction in district court preserves the issue for appeal.
Attorney's fees and costs as a sanction under N.D.R.Civ.P. 16(f) are limited to the reasonable expenses incurred as a result of the failure to obey a pretrial order.

The Evangelical Good Samaritan Society v. N.D. Dep't of Human Services 2015 ND 96
Docket No.: 20140297
Filing Date: 4/28/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Administrative Proceeding
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: Public notice of future effective dates of federal regulations gives persons affected by the change in the law time to prepare to comply with the new rule.