Opinions

N.D. Dept. of Human Services v. Ryan 2003 ND 196
Docket No.: 20030156
Filing Date: 12/19/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Administrative Proceeding
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: Related administrative regulations are construed together and in conjunction with enabling legislation to harmonize and give meaning to each provision.
An individual who has been terminated through a reduction-in-force may appeal the hiring authority's decision not to reemploy the individual if no more than one year has elapsed since the individual lost employment due to the reduction-in-force.
In deciding whether to reemploy an individual who has been terminated within one year under a reduction-in force, a hiring authority may conduct personal interviews to determine the minimum qualifications established for the particular position.

Linser v. Office of Attorney General, et al. 2003 ND 195
Docket No.: 20030184
Filing Date: 12/19/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Administrative Proceeding
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: An applicant for Medicaid benefits must prove eligibility.
Assets in a support trust are deemed to be available to the applicant and considered to be part of the applicant's assets in determining Medicaid eligibility. However, assets in a discretionary trust are considered available only to the extent amounts are actually distributed to the beneficiary.
An asset to which an applicant has a legal entitlement is not unavailable simply because the applicant must initiate legal proceedings to access the asset.

Zander v. Workforce Safety and Insurance 2003 ND 194
Docket No.: 20030129
Filing Date: 12/19/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Workers Compensation
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: Clear and convincing evidence means evidence which leads to a firm belief or conviction that the allegations are true.

Benson v. Workforce Safety and Insurance 2003 ND 193
Docket No.: 20030155
Filing Date: 12/19/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Workers Compensation
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: If an appellant fails to serve the notice of appeal from an administrative order to the district court as required by the Administrative Agencies Practice Act, the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and the appeal must be dismissed.

State v. Parizek 2003 ND 192
Docket No.: 20030125
Filing Date: 12/19/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Conviction of possession of drug paraphernalia is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(4).

State v. Sabinash (Consolidated w/20030220) 2003 ND 191
Docket No.: 20030219
Filing Date: 12/19/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Conviction of drug offenses and an order denying motion to suppress summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(3).

Judicial Vacancy in District Judgeship No. 4, East Central Judicial Dt 2003 ND 190
Docket No.: 20030333
Filing Date: 12/19/2003
Case Type: Judicial Administration - Rule - Rule
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Judgeship retained at Fargo.

Judicial Vacancy in District Judgeship No. 1, Northeast Central Judicial Dt. 2003 ND 189
Docket No.: 20030326
Filing Date: 12/19/2003
Case Type: Judicial Administration - Rule - Rule
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Judgeship retained at Grand Forks.

Paul v. Workforce Safety and Insurance (cross-ref. w/20010290) 2003 ND 188
Docket No.: 20030199
Filing Date: 12/2/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Workers Compensation
Author: Neumann, William

Highlight: The vocational rehabilitation statutes are designed to return an injured employee to substantial gainful employment as quickly and with as little retraining as possible.
Workforce Safety and Insurance's decision to terminate rehabilitation benefits must be based upon evidence that jobs exist which provide the applicant a reasonable opportunity for employment and not on a burden-shifting presumption that such jobs exist.

State v. Dodson 2003 ND 187
Docket No.: 20030042
Filing Date: 12/2/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: There must be a nexus between the place to be searched and the contraband sought to establish probable cause to issue a search warrant.
State courts apply the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule in a manner that is consistent with United States Supreme Court precedent when evaluating whether evidence should be excluded due to a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Under the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule, exclusion of evidence is not the proper remedy when an officer has acted upon objectively reasonable reliance that a warrant was properly issued by a neutral and detached magistrate.