Opinions

Markestad v. Markestad, et al. 2025 ND 230
Docket No.: 20250220
Filing Date: 12/31/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Parenting Responsibility
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: The district court must state its findings of fact with sufficient specificity to enable a reviewing court to understand the factual basis for its decisions.

Under the clearly erroneous standard of review, we do not reweigh the evidence or reassess the credibility of witnesses, and we will not retry a custody case or substitute our judgment for the district court's decision merely because we might have reached a different result. A fit non-custodial parent is routinely awarded some form of extended summer visitation unless the court has reason to deny it.

Appellate courts review the record and findings as a whole and if the controlling findings are supported by the evidence, they will be upheld on appeal notwithstanding immaterial misstatements in the lower court's decision.

A party is not entitled to attorney's fees on appeal if the issue is inadequately briefed or the appeal is not frivolous

State v. Jenkins 2025 ND 229
Docket No.: 20250308
Filing Date: 12/31/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - DUI/DUS/APC
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: This Court lacks jurisdiction to review untimely appeals.

Inadequately briefed issues are waived.

Wardner v. Porath, et al. 2025 ND 228
Docket No.: 20250256
Filing Date: 12/31/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Parenting Responsibility
Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan

Highlight: A district court has jurisdiction to modify a foreign custody determination, including visitation orders, when the child's home state is North Dakota and the child and parents no longer reside in the issuing jurisdiction.

Appellate courts have the authority and duty to determine the applicability of relevant statutes to legal controversies, even when the parties do not identify those statutes or argue for their application.

When a parent seeks to modify an existing nonparent visitation order, the court must apply the modification standards under the Uniform Nonparent Custody and Visitation Act.

When modifying an order granting nonparent visitation, the court must determine whether the nonparent rebutted in the initial proceeding the presumption that the parent's decision regarding visitation is in the child's best interest. If the nonparent rebutted the presumption in the initial proceeding, the presumption remains rebutted.

Geiger v. State 2025 ND 227
Docket No.: 20250236
Filing Date: 12/31/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: An order denying relief in a postconviction proceeding is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2).

Duffi v. State 2025 ND 226
Docket No.: 20250230
Filing Date: 12/31/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: An order denying postconviction relief is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2).

Myrick, et al. v. Holmes 2025 ND 225
Docket No.: 20250199
Filing Date: 12/18/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Protection/Restraining Order
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: An appeal from a disorderly conduct restraining order is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(8).

State v. Hamilton 2025 ND 224
Docket No.: 20250307
Filing Date: 12/18/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: The district court's order removing a condition from the defendant's criminal judgment that required money from his prison account to be applied to his child support obligations is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(4).

State v. Gaede 2025 ND 223
Docket No.: 20250313
Filing Date: 12/18/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Homicide
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: An order denying a North Dakota Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(a) motion to correct an illegal sentence is summarily affirmed under North Dakota Rule of Appellate Procedure 35.1(a)(7).

State v. Jaeger 2025 ND 222
Docket No.: 20250195
Filing Date: 12/18/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Child Abuse/Child Neglect
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: Pursuant to N.D.R.Crim.P. 36, a district court has authority to correct a clerical error in a written order that inaccurately states the court's oral pronouncement of sentence when the correction does not make the sentence more onerous than
the original sentence, but merely corrects the written order's failure to record accurately an earlier unambiguous oral pronouncement.

The failure to appoint a criminal defendant counsel to respond to a Rule 36 motion to correct a clerical error in a probation revocation proceeding does not violate the defendant's constitutional right to counsel because the process of
probation revocation is not a critical stage of a criminal prosecution.

Thornberg v. Thornberg, et al. 2025 ND 221
Docket No.: 20250203
Filing Date: 12/18/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contempt of Court
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: The district court's order holding the appellant in contempt of court for interfering with the appellee's parenting time is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2).

The district court's orders awarding compensatory parenting time and attorney's fees to the appellee are affirmed.

The appellee's motion for attorney's fees on appeal is denied.