Opinions

Wilson v. State 2003 ND 40
Docket No.: 20020353
Filing Date: 3/26/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A judgment summarily denying an application for post-conviction relief is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(1) and (6).

Murchison v. State 2003 ND 38
Docket No.: 20020273
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: A court may deny a post-conviction application on the grounds of misuse of process when a defendant inexcusably fails to pursue an issue leading to judgment of conviction, inexcusably fails to pursue an issue on appeal having raised the issue in the trial court, or inexcusably fails to raise an issue in an initial post-conviction proceeding.
A court may deny a post-conviction application on the grounds of res judicata if the same claims have been fully and finally determined in a previous proceeding.

Hegland v. McKechnie 2003 ND 37
Docket No.: 20020199
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Discipline - Attorney - Original Proceeding
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: The details of prior private discipline should not be alleged in a petition for public discipline.
Expert testimony about whether or not a rule of professional conduct has been violated is inappropriate in disciplinary proceedings.

State v. Jahner 2003 ND 36
Docket No.: 20020143
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Homicide
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: Failure to raise an appropriate objection in the trial court waives the right, and the issue cannot be raised for the first time on appeal. Waiver applies to all rights and privileges to which a person is legally entitled when they are for the benefit of and rest in the individual who waived them.
A trial court is neither required to nor prohibited from instructing the jury on proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Strict standards of logical consistency need not be applied to jury verdicts in criminal cases. The standard for reconciling a jury verdict is whether the verdict is legally inconsistent.

City of Jamestown v. Tahran 2003 ND 35
Docket No.: 20020238
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Violation of City Ordinance
Author: Neumann, William

Highlight: A criminal ordinance prohibiting the storage of junk on any private property, except in an enclosed building or on the premises of a licensed junk dealer, in a city is not a zoning ordinance.

Berger v. Holt 2003 ND 34
Docket No.: 20020139
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: A parent's legal obligation to support his or her child continues when the child is placed in foster care.

Superpumper, Inc. v. Nerland Oil, et al. 2003 ND 33
Docket No.: 20020214
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: Lack of finality in an arbitration decision is not sufficient ground to overturn an award.
An arbitration decision may be upheld on appeal even if it is based on a mistake of fact or law or has a possibility of being brought to court at some later date on an issue not fully addressed by the arbitrator.

D.D.I., Inc., et al. v. State Tax Commissioner 2003 ND 32
Docket No.: 20020241
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Constitutional Law
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: A facially discriminatory tax may survive Commerce Clause scrutiny if the tax is a compensatory or complementary tax designed to make interstate commerce bear a burden already born by intrastate commerce.
For a facially discriminatory tax to be a valid compensatory tax, the state must identify the intrastate tax burden for which the state is attempting to compensate, the tax on interstate commerce must be shown roughly to approximate, but not exceed, the amount of the tax on intrastate commerce, and the events on which the interstate and intrastate taxes are imposed must be substantially equivalent.
In determining whether a tax is discriminatory, the risk of multiple taxation may be considered in assessing a Commerce Clause claim and the internal consistency doctrine does not require other states to actually impose a tax similar to the challenged tax.
N.D.C.C. 57-38-01.3(1)(g) is unconstitutional.

Simpson, et al. v. Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co., et al. 2003 ND 31
Docket No.: 20020171
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Personal Injury
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: A trial court's discovery decision and denial of a motion for new trial will not be reversed on appeal unless the court abused its discretion.

State v. Anderson 2003 ND 30
Docket No.: 20020229
Filing Date: 3/5/2003
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: Even if there was a motion in limine, failure to object at trial operates as a waiver of the claim of error unless the alleged error amounts to an obvious error affecting the substantial rights of the defendant.
A trial court does not err in admitting letters a defendant wrote to the victim if the letters were evidence of the ongoing course of conduct between the defendant and the victim with which the defendant was charged in the complaint.