Opinions

Mackey v. State (cross-reference 20100377) 2012 ND 159
Docket No.: 20120119
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: A court need not personally address a defendant when establishing the factual basis for the defendant's guilty plea.
The lack of a factual basis for a guilty plea is a fundamental defect that calls into question the validity and voluntariness of the plea.
The ideal means of establishing the factual basis for a guilty plea is for the district court to ask the defendant to state, in the defendant's own words, what the defendant did that he believes constitutes the crime to which he is pleading guilty.
A trial court may conclude that a factual basis exists from anything that appears on the record, including the facts gleaned from the plea agreement and plea colloquy, the factual findings relied upon in the presentence report, and any inferences fairly drawn from the evidence presented both post-plea and at the sentencing hearing.

State v. Perales 2012 ND 158
Docket No.: 20120114
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A defendant who violates a probation condition may be resentenced to any sentence available at the time of initial sentencing.
The district court may to impose only one additional period of probation following a violation of felony probation conditions.
When the district court revokes probation and resentences a defendant, the existing probationary period ends and the district court may not order the defendant to complete the unserved portion of the existing probationary term.

Kilber v. Grand Forks Public School District 2012 ND 157
Docket No.: 20110178
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: A school board may dismiss an individual as a teacher before the expiration of the individual's contract for certain statutorily specified causes, including insubordination and conduct unbecoming the position held by the individual.
Proceedings for a Board to discharge a teacher for cause from employment during the school year equire appointing an administrative law judge to preside over a hearing, which must be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Agencies Practice Act.
An argument implicating a due process issue presents a question of law, which is fully reviewable on appeal.
Due process requires a person be given notice and an opportunity to be heard before the government deprives the person of property.
Due process is flexible and must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, balancing the competing interests and assessing whether the basic due process requirement of fairness has been satisfied. To provide redress for a procedural violation, a party must demonstrate prejudice or harm.

State v. Lutz 2012 ND 156
Docket No.: 20120091
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - DUI/DUS/APC
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: N.D.R.Ev. 707, which must be interpreted with N.D.C.C. 39-20-07, requires the State to produce at trial the person who drew the defendant's blood sample.
N.D.R.Ev. 707 does not require the State to produce at trial the person who prepared the volatiles solution used in conducting a chemical test.
The prosecution has the burden of establishing the chain of custody of evidence; however, this does not mean that every person who laid hands on the evidence must be called as a witness.

Knudson v. Kyllo 2012 ND 155
Docket No.: 20110282
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Other
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: Copartners owe a duty of loyalty to each other and have a right to expect from their partners full, fair, open and honest disclosure of everything affecting the partnership.
A partner may not exclude another partner from an interest in properties which are the subject matter of the partnership by purchasing the property for the partner's individual account.

State v. Pavlicek 2012 ND 154
Docket No.: 20120012
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Felony
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: In sufficiency of the evidence challenges, the appellate court merely reviews the record to determine if there is competent evidence allowing the jury to draw an inference reasonably tending to prove guilt and fairly warranting a conviction.
Verdicts are not legally inconsistent if, when a jury fails to convict a defendant on a charge having a similar element to a charge on which the defendant is convicted, there is substantial evidence to support the charge on which the defendant is convicted.
The last sentence of N.D.C.C. 12.1-05-05(1), which addresses justification in use of force by a person responsible for caring for a minor, is not an exclusive listing, but merely a legislative acknowledgment that use of force creating a substantial risk of death, serious bodily injury, disfigurement, or gross degradation is per se unreasonable when purportedly used for disciplinary purposes.
Counsel for a party desiring more comprehensive jury instructions has a duty to draft a specific instruction and to submit the instruction in writing to the trial judge.

Interest of A.W. (CONFIDENTIAL) 2012 ND 153
Docket No.: 20120245
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Juvenile - Termination of Parental Rights
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: A child is a deprived child for purposes of termination of parental rights if the child has been abandoned by the child's parent, guardian, or other custodian.
Paying child support, alone, is not sufficient to prevent a finding of abandonment.
Adequate care from a foster parent or other source does not prevent a finding of deprivation.

Miller, et al. v. Walsh County Water Resource District 2012 ND 152
Docket No.: 20120018
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Administrative Proceeding
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: The legality of dikes is measured by the law in effect at the time the dikes were constructed.
A person asserting equitable or promissory estoppel must show on his own part lack of knowledge and of the means of knowledge of the truth as to the facts in question.
Mere negligence, oversight, or thoughtlessness does not create a waiver.

State, ex rel. Roseland v. Herauf, et al. 2012 ND 151
Docket No.: 20120170
Filing Date: 7/26/2012
Case Type: Original Proceeding - Civil - Writ of Supervision
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: The Supreme Court exercises supervisory jurisdiction only in extraordinary cases to rectify errors and prevent injustice when no adequate alternative remedy exists.
N.D.R.Ev. 707 must be interpreted in light of N.D.C.C. § 39-20-07, which governs the admission of analytical reports into evidence, because the rule and the statute are interconnected regarding analytical reports.
N.D.R.Ev. 707, construed with N.D.C.C. § 39-20-07, requires the State to produce the person who drew the defendant's blood sample at trial to satisfy the constitutional requirements of N.D.C.C. § 39-20-07.
The signed statement contemplated under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-07(10) is a testimonial statement subject to a defendant's right to confrontation.

Reiser, et al. v. Thorpe, et al. 2012 ND 150
Docket No.: 20120137
Filing Date: 7/19/2012
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Torts (Negligence, Liab., Nuis.)
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Judgment awarding $98,543.84 in costs and disbursements for defending against a negligence and breach of contract lawsuit is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(4).