Opinions

Ellis v. North Dakota State University 2010 ND 114
Docket No.: 20090313
Filing Date: 6/17/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Employer/Employee Dispute
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: When this Court has decided a legal question and remanded the case for further proceedings, the question will not be decided differently on a subsequent appeal in the same case where the facts remain the same.

Hanneman v. Nygaard 2010 ND 113
Docket No.: 20090278
Filing Date: 6/17/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Other
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: An involuntary dismissal of a plaintiff's action, which does not otherwise specify, operates as an adjudication on the merits.
Res judicata prevents relitigation of claims that were raised, or could have been raised, in prior actions between the same parties or their privies, but does not preclude litigation of additional new claims.
A district court must make findings of fact that are sufficient to enable an appellate court to understand the factual determinations made by the district court and the basis for the conclusions of law, and a district court's findings of fact should be stated with sufficient specificity to assist the appellate court's review and to afford a clear understanding of the district court's decision.

City of Mandan v. Gerhardt 2010 ND 112
Docket No.: 20090274
Filing Date: 6/15/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - DUI/DUS/APC
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: Permissible types of law enforcement-citizen encounters include: (1) arrests, which must be supported by probable cause; (2) "Terry" stops, seizures which must be supported by a reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity; and (3) community caretaking encounters, which do not constitute Fourth Amendment seizures.
Community caretaking allows law enforcement-citizen contact, including stops, without an officer's reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct.
Even a casual encounter can evolve into a seizure when a reasonable person would view a law enforcement officer's actions--if done by another private citizen--as threatening or offensive.
An officer may also develop a reasonable and articulable suspicion of unlawful conduct from the officer's initial community caretaking encounter.

State v. McKay (Consolidated w/20090296 - 20090298 & 20090342) 2010 ND 111
Docket No.: 20090295
Filing Date: 6/14/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Judgment of conviction for aggravated assault and order revoking probation are summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(3).

Martinson v. Martinson 2010 ND 110
Docket No.: 20090324
Filing Date: 6/10/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: In deciding a request for attorney fees and costs under N.D.C.C. 14-05-23, a court must balance one party's needs against the other party's ability to pay and consider whether either party's actions unreasonably increased the time and expenditures on the case.

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.