Justia North Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The State charged Sheldon Davis with murder, endangering by fire or explosion, and arson after a body was discovered in his apartment following a fire. He was convicted intentional or knowing murder, endangering by fire, and arson. Davis argued on appeal that his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation was violated when the district court admitted testimonial hearsay statements made by the victim under the theory of forfeiture by wrongdoing. Davis also argued the court erred by ordering him to pay restitution without holding a restitution hearing. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the original judgment of conviction, reversed the amended criminal judgment, and remanded for a restitution hearing. View "North Dakota v. Davis" on Justia Law

Cori Willard appealed after she conditionally pleaded guilty to five drug-related offenses. She argued the district court erred in denying her motion to suppress because the arresting officer had no legal basis to stop her and the officer’s mistake of law was not objectively reasonable. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Willard" on Justia Law

Robert Bolinske Sr. was convicted by jury of harassment. In October 2019, Robert Bolinske Jr. reported several threatening voicemails left on his office answering machine by Bolinske Sr. A Sheriff’s Deputy, who was working with Bolinske Sr. on a separate investigation, reviewed the voicemails. The deputy called Bolinske Sr. and asked him to come to the Sheriff’s Department. Bolinske Sr. refused. On Friday, the deputy again called Bolinske Sr. and asked him to come to the department. Bolinske Sr. said he was busy working but would come in the next week. Instead of waiting, the deputy said he would come to the place Bolinske Sr. was working to have him sign paperwork pertaining to the separate investigation. The deputy went to where Bolinske Sr. was working, asked Bolinske Sr. to sign the paperwork, and arrested him for terrorizing and harassment based on the voicemails left at Bolinske Jr.’s office. After the arrest, Bolinske Sr. asked to speak to a lawyer and to be taken directly to the Burleigh County Courthouse to see a judge and have bail assessed. The deputy instead transported Bolinske Sr. to the Burleigh Morton Detention Center. By the time Bolinske Sr. was booked into the detention center, it was Friday evening and the courthouse was closed. Bolinske Sr. remained in jail over the weekend and made his initial appearance the following Monday afternoon. The complaint against Bolinske Sr. was signed by the district court the same day. On appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court, Bolinske Sr. argued the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss based on a delayed probable cause determination and outrageous government conduct. Bolinske Sr. also argued the district court erred in declining to give his proposed jury instructions and receive his trial exhibits. The Supreme Court affirmed that part relating to jury instructions and exhibits, and remanded in part for further proceedings. View "North Dakota v. Bolinske, Sr." on Justia Law

Rodney Friesz appealed a district court’s order summarily dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. Friesz was convicted of manslaughter and arson following a jury trial in February 2016. In 2017, Friesz appealed his convictions based on insufficiency of the evidence. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed his convictions. In May 2018, Friesz filed his first application for post-conviction relief. The application was denied and affirmed on appeal by the Supreme Court. In May 2020, Friesz filed a second application for post-conviction relief alleging: ineffective assistance of trial counsel; denial of effective assistance of counsel on his post-conviction appeal with appellate counsel; insufficiency of evidence to sustain a conviction; denial of his fourth amendment rights regarding the warrantless search of the residence, the seizure of a firearm, and the failure of the court to grant his motion to suppress; and failure to disclose DNA evidence by the prosecution. The district court dismissed the second application for post-conviction relief. In March 2021, the Supreme Court reversed the court’s denial and remanded the case to allow Friesz the 14 days to respond to the State’s motion for summary dismissal. On remand, Friesz was given additional time, well over 30 days, to respond. The district court again dismissed the second application for post-conviction relief, finding: Friesz’s application was filed well beyond the two-year statute of limitations, and neither his application nor his response to the State’s motion identified any competent evidence to support his allegation that the State failed to disclose DNA evidence. The court found the hearsay statement contained in his response was not competent evidence. Further, the court reasoned it could not determine that the newly discovered DNA evidence, when reviewed in light of the evidence as a whole, would establish that Friesz did not engage in the criminal conduct, “especially given the fact that the jury was presented with an interview in which [Friesz] confessed to the crimes.” Appealing the district court's second dismissal, Friesz argued the district court erred in summarily dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. Finding no reversible error in this second dismissal, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the district court. View "Friesz v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

Charles Mayland appealed his conviction for being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence. Mayland entered a conditional plea of guilty, preserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. He argued he was read the implied consent advisory before being arrested in violation of N.D.C.C. 39-20-01(2), and the statutory remedy for the violation was the exclusion of evidence. Because the statutory exclusion of evidence provided within N.D.C.C. § 39-20-01(3)(b) was limited to the proof of the refusal to submit to testing in administrative proceedings, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Mayland" on Justia Law

Emile Dargbeh appealed after he was convicted by jury on two counts of forgery. In March and April 2020, Dargbeh cashed three forged checks from Dacotah Paper Company. Each check was written out to Emile Dargbeh in an amount ranging from $1,900 to $2,180. The State obtained video showing Dargbeh cashing two of the three checks. The State charged Dargbeh with one count of forgery for each check recorded on video but did not include a third count for the third check not recorded on video. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, concluding that the court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence and testimony in relation to the third, uncharged check, and that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the conviction. View "North Dakota v. Dargbeh" on Justia Law

Brent Castleman was convicted by jury of child abuse. At trial, the mother testified she was in her daughter’s bedroom when Castleman entered the room, screamed at her, held her by the neck, and pushed her face into a pillow. Their daughter was on the bed with the mother during the incident. The mother testified her daughter was “really scared,” “shaking,” and “cr[ied] a little bit.” The mother recorded audio of the incident using her phone, which was hidden under a pillow. The recording was played for the jury. The recording includes Castleman threatening, arguing with, and yelling at his wife. The daughter can be heard crying for a few seconds during the recording. Castleman argued on appeal there was insufficient evidence to establish a mental injury. The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed, finding that the evidence in the record here was limited to the mother’s testimony that her daughter was shaking and crying, and the audio recording of a few seconds of the child crying. "There is no evidence that there was any lasting effect on the child’s psychological, emotional, or mental health." View "North Dakota v. Castleman" on Justia Law

Joshua Roberts appealed a judgment finding him guilty of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, fentanyl. Roberts argued there was insufficient evidence to corroborate the testimony of an accomplice, and the jury should have received an instruction regarding the State’s burden to provide corroboration of an accomplice’s testimony. After review, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the State provided sufficient evidence to corroborate the testimony of the accomplice, and any error in failing to provide a jury instruction was harmless. View "North Dakota v. Roberts" on Justia Law

The State appealed a district court order dismissing a charge of class C felony unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia against Damian Carrillo for lack of probable cause. The State charged Carrillo with felony unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving under suspension following an arrest in March 2021. At the preliminary hearing on the paraphernalia charge, Officer Jerad Braaten was the only witness. Officer Braaten testified he initiated a traffic stop on March 2, 2021; Carrillo was driving, and two other passengers were in the vehicle at the time. Carrillo was driving on a suspended license; dispatch informed the officer Carrillo had a history of drug-related activity. Officer Braaten testified he detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle; he requested assistance from a canine unit, which alerted on Carrillo’s vehicle. Officers then conducted a probable-cause search of the vehicle. On cross-examination, Officer Braaten stated the paraphernalia was not discovered until after Carrillo had been removed from the vehicle. He also acknowledged that the other passengers “were unsupervised in the suspect vehicle even for a brief period of time.” Officer Braaten testified that Carrillo had physical access to the location where the needle was found, but the other passengers could “throw anything through a car.” The district court dismissed the charge for possession of paraphernalia for lack of probable cause. The North Dakota Supreme Court determined the State produced sufficient evidence to establish probable cause for the charge. Accordingly, judgment was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings. View "North Dakota v. Carrillo" on Justia Law

John Bridges appealed a district court order denying his applications for postconviction relief. In 2012, Bridges pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping. The district court sentenced him to life in prison without parole. In 2013, Bridges pleaded guilty to attempted murder and possession of contraband by an inmate. The court sentenced him to twenty years’ imprisonment on each count. n January 2019, Bridges filed applications for postconviction relief in both criminal matters. He alleged he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia that prevented him from filing a timely application for relief. He alleged he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and took psychotropic medication before his incarceration and while in custody. He alleged prison officials coerced him “to say things that would ultimately discredit his history of mental illness.” He alleged he was injected with a powerful antipsychotic drug before sentencing. Bridges sought to withdraw his guilty pleas. The district court held a hearing on Bridges’ applications, allowing him to present evidence related to his mental status. The court found Bridges’ mental status was not newly discovered evidence because his competency was fully evaluated at the time of his convictions. The court found Bridges’ applications were untimely and denied him relief. On appeal of the denial of relief to the North Dakota Supreme Court, Bridges claimed his mental illness prevented him from understanding the charges against him or aiding in his defense. He also claimed his mental illness prevented him from filing a timely application for relief. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court. View "Bridges v. North Dakota" on Justia Law