Opinions

State v. Bauer 2010 ND 109
Docket No.: 20090212
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Assault
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: The nonexistence of self-defense instruction given by the trial court correctly provides that the burden of proof is on the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not acting in self-defense.
The pattern jury instructions are not controlling law, and are published with the caution that they are neither a restatement nor an encyclopedia of the prevailing law.

State v. Dahl (consolidated w/20090262) 2010 ND 108
Docket No.: 20090261
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Felony
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A criminal defendant is incompetent to stand trial when he lacks sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding or when he lacks a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him. The essence of being able to consult with a lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding is the ability to coherently confer with counsel and provide necessary and relevant information to formulate a defense.
When evaluating a defendant's competence to stand trial, the most recently completed psychological evaluation is not automatically given more weight than older evaluations. Absent other factors, the contents of a report are controlling.
Whether district court's failure on its own to hold a competency hearing constitutes obvious error requires analyzing four nonexclusive factors: 1) defendant's irrational behavior, 2) defendant's demeanor before the trial court, 3) any prior medical opinions on competence to stand trial and 4) trial counsel's questioning of defendant's competency before the trial court.

Eberle v. Eberle 2010 ND 107
Docket No.: 20090332
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: A fee for transcript preparation for appellate review is properly taxed by the clerk as a necessary disbursement for the prevailing party on appeal.
A district court's decision on parenting time is a finding of fact reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard of review.

State v. Clark (Consolidated w/20090234-20090238) 2010 ND 106
Docket No.: 20090233
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Theft
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: When no plea is taken and judgment is pronounced on the theory that a guilty plea has been entered, the judgment is a nullity and thus void.
When a defendant's knowledge that he was waiving his rights and voluntarily and knowingly pleading guilty is clearly reflected from the whole record, he is not denied the constitutional right to due process.

State v. Pixler (Consolidated w/20090311) 2010 ND 105
Docket No.: 20090310
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: The age, education, and mental capacity of the defendant, his background and experience, and his conduct at the time of the alleged waiver are probative factors bearing on whether an accused has validly waived counsel and pled guilty.
Some degree of mental disorder does not necessarily mean a defendant is incompetent or incapable of knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entering a guilty plea.

Estate of Eggl 2010 ND 104
Docket No.: 20100048
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Probate, Wills, Trusts
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: In an unsupervised probate, a district court order settling all of a claimant's claims is appealable without a N.D.R.Civ.P. 54(b) certification.
A court's primary objective in construing a will is to ascertain the testator's intent.
Whether a will is ambiguous is a question of law.
A will is ambiguous if, after giving effect to each word and phrase, its language is susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation.
In a "per capita" distribution, the members of the designated class receive equal shares.

Interest of D.H. (CONFIDENTIAL) 2010 ND 103
Docket No.: 20100109
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Juvenile - Termination of Parental Rights
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: Parental rights may be terminated when a child is deprived, and the court finds (1) that the conditions and causes of the deprivation are likely to continue, and (2) that such continued deprivation will probably cause the child to suffer serious physical, mental, moral, or emotional harm.

M.M., et al. v. Fargo Public School Dist. #1, et al. 2010 ND 102
Docket No.: 20090121
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Personal Injury
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: The recreational use immunity statutes do not bar suits against school districts brought by students injured on school grounds during the school day.
A person can "suggest" without making a statement.
A district court is not required to instruct the jury in the exact language sought by a party if the court's instructions correctly and adequately inform the jury of the applicable law.

State ex. rel. Schlect v. Wolff 2010 ND 101
Docket No.: 20100034
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: An appellate court will not engage in unassisted searches through parties' briefs for a rationale supporting a court's decision.
A district court must provide an explanation of its decision sufficient to inform the parties and allow a proper review of its decision.

Paulson v. Paulson 2010 ND 100
Docket No.: 20090225
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce - Property
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: Because a discretionary trust interest is an expectancy that gave no assurance of any future benefit, the trial court did not err in excluding the trust from the marital estate.
The trial court may consider how long the parties have lived together and then marry in its spousal support determination.