Opinions

State v. Loh (CONSOLIDATED W/20090099) 2010 ND 66
Docket No.: 20090098
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: Warrantless electronic monitoring and recording of a defendant's face-to-face conversations with a confidential informant, with the informant's consent, occurring in the informant's car does not violate North Dakota's constitutional search and seizure provision.
A defendant's two prior convictions for delivery of marijuana and methamphetamine and for delivery of marijuana qualify as prior offenses to trigger the 20-year mandatory minimum sentence for current convictions for two counts of delivery of methamphetamine.

Odom v. State (Consolidated w/ 20090249) 2010 ND 65
Docket No.: 20090248
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: On a post-conviction ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, if an appellant has failed to meet the first burden of proving that his counsel's representation fell outside of the wide range of reasonable professional assistance, it is unnecessary to address the argument that the appellant was prejudiced by his counsel's claimed deficient performance.

Estate of Fisk 2010 ND 64
Docket No.: 20090157
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Probate, Wills, Trusts
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: The review of fees paid or taken by a personal representative is left to the sound discretion of the district court.
The $3,000 funeral expense limit in N.D.C.C. 50-24.1-07(1) applies to a deceased medical assistance recipient's spouse's funeral expenses.
The Department of Human Service's right to recovery under N.D.C.C. 50-24.1-07 is limited to estate assets the medical assistance recipient had an interest in at the time of death, and does not extend to the surviving spouses's separately owned assets.

State v. Wolfer 2010 ND 63
Docket No.: 20090323
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - DUI/DUS/APC
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: The severity of a legal infraction is not relevant when determining whether the officer had reasonable and articulable suspicion to initiate a stop.
The validity of an investigatory stop depends on the reasonableness of the stopping officer's belief that a law had been broken, not on whether the grounds for the stop would ultimately result in conviction.
Whether an officer had reasonable and articulable suspicion that a driver violated North Dakota's practicable lane statute depends on the reasonableness of the officer's suspicion in light of the facts surrounding the stop, including the practicability of maintaining a single lane of travel.

Laib v. Laib 2010 ND 62
Docket No.: 20090284
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: An appellant who fails to raise an argument concerning a denied motion in an appeal cannot bring the same motion two years later and appeal its denial.

State v. Fickert 2010 ND 61
Docket No.: 20090224
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: Where a defendant seeks to plead guilty over interactive video network ("IVN"), if defense counsel appears from a site separate from the defendant, the district court must (1) make a finding on the record that the defense counsel's participation from a separate site is necessary; (2) confirm on the record that the defendant has knowingly and voluntarily consented to defense counsel's participation from the separate site; and (3) allow confidential attorney-client communication if requested.
Prior to accepting a defendant's guilty plea, the district court must determine whether there is a sufficient factual basis for the plea to ensure that the defendant is guilty of the crime charged.

RRMC Construction v. Bill Barth 2010 ND 60
Docket No.: 20090292
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A district court does not err when it decides between two permissible views of the evidence.
A district court does not abuse its discretion by denying a motion for a new trial when the district court's judgment is upheld on its merits and when an appellant presents identical arguments challenging the merits of the judgment and the denial of a new trial motion.

Wolfer v. N.D. Dept. of Transportation 2010 ND 59
Docket No.: 20090346
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: The Department of Transportation cannot unilaterally, without notice, decide to take the testimony of a witness telephonically at a hearing on the revocation or suspension of an individual's driving privileges.

Morton County Social Service Board, et al. v. Cramer 2010 ND 58
Docket No.: 20090185
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: A stricter statutory standard for modifying custody applies when a motion to modify custody is made within two years of a prior order establishing custody.
A district court's decision whether to modify custody is a finding of fact, which will not be reversed on appeal unless it is clearly erroneous.

State v. M.B. (CONFIDENTIAL) 2010 ND 57
Docket No.: 20090276
Filing Date: 4/6/2010
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: Whether a statute is unconstitutional is a question of law, and a statute will be upheld unless its challenger demonstrates the statute is unconstitutional.