Justia North Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Melanie Vagts appealed after the district court denied her motion to suppress evidence and she conditionally pled guilty to a charge of actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. After review of her case, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded law enforcement officers’ encounter with Vagts was not an illegal search and seizure, but an officer’s implied consent advisory did not substantively comply with the statutory requirements of N.D.C.C. 39-20-01(3)(a) and the results of her breath test were not admissible under N.D.C.C. 39-20-01(3)(b). Judgment was reversed and the matter remanded to allow Vagts to withdraw her conditional guilty plea. View "City of Bismarck v. Vagts" on Justia Law

Omar Kalmio appealed after the district court entered a judgment on remand again denying his post-conviction relief application. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court on remand did not clearly err in finding Kalmio failed to show he was prejudiced in his direct appeal when his appellate counsel did not brief the issue of the admissibility of prior bad acts testimony. Furthermore, the Court concluded the district court did not err in denying him an additional evidentiary hearing on remand. View "Kalmio v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

William Hoehn appealed after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and giving false information to law enforcement. Hoehn was in a relationship with Brooke Crews. Crews killed Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind by cutting open her abdomen and removing her pre-term baby. Hoehn arrived at the home he shared with Crews after Crews had killed Greywind and taken the baby. He then helped to clean up evidence of the crime, including hiding Greywind’s body in a closet, wrapped in garbage bags. Hoehn also helped Crews hide the baby from Greywind’s family and law enforcement. Hoehn carried the baby around in a book bag when in public. The district court found Hoehn had previously been convicted of a similar offense and sentenced him as a dangerous special offender to life in prison. On appeal, Hoehn argued the district court erred in its dangerous special offender finding, in applying a life expectancy table not authorized by statute, in failing to advise him of the maximum sentence prior to accepting his guilty plea, and in listing kidnapping rather than conspiracy to commit kidnapping on the amended judgment. Though the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, it vacated the sentence, and remanded for resentencing without application of the dangerous special offender statute. View "North Dakota v. Hoehn" on Justia Law

John Casson appealed a criminal judgment entered after his conditional plea of guilty to possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. On appeal, Casson arged the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because law enforcement lacked reasonable suspicion to detain him and unlawfully seized him by stating a K-9 unit would be called to complete a “sniff” of Casson’s vehicle. After review, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded that although Casson was seized, sufficient reasonable suspicion existed to detain Casson. The district court judgment was affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Casson" on Justia Law

In 2018, a district court referee entered two temporary disorderly conduct restraining orders against Donna Kenny, which were sought by two of her neighbors. The neighbors lived in the same five-unit condominium complex. A deputy sheriff served Kenny with the orders on the same day. The orders prohibited Kenny from having any physical contact with or coming within 100 feet of the two neighbors. A hearing on the temporary orders was scheduled for October 8, 2018. On September 28, 2018, Kenny approached the two neighbors at a backyard fire to ask who had parked in her spot in the common parking lot of the condominium complex. According to the neighbors, they advised Kenny she was not allowed to speak to them. Both neighbors testified that Kenny replied with either “shove it up your ass” or “stick it up your ass.” The neighbors called the police, and Kenny was arrested for violating the restraining orders. The North Dakota Supreme Court found N.D.C.C. 12.1-31.2-01(5) did not violate Kenny’s constitutional right to due process, N.D.C.C. 12.1-31.2-01 was not unconstitutionally overbroad, and sufficient evidence existed to convict her of violating the disorderly conduct restraining orders. View "North Dakota v. Kenny" on Justia Law

Kanakai Poulor was convicted by jury of gross sexual imposition. After review of his appeal, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the State did not violate the Confrontation Clause when it presented a video recorded forensic interview with the 8-year old minor complainant; the court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the complainant’s out-of-court statements about sexual abuse into evidence; and sufficient evidence supported the conviction for gross sexual imposition. View "North Dakota v. Poulor" on Justia Law

In 2014, Lorry Van Chase was convicted by jury of gross sexual imposition. He appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court, and the conviction was affirmed. In 2016, Chase applied for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel. After an evidentiary hearing, the court denied the application, making findings on each specific allegation of ineffective assistance. Chase appealed the post-conviction court’s denial of relief again to the Supreme Court, and the order was summarily affirmed based on Chase’s failure to supply a transcript of the evidentiary hearing. In 2018, Chase filed a N.D.R. Civ.P. 60(b) motion for relief from judgment, seeking relief from the order denying him post-conviction relief. In 2019, relief was again denied, finding Chase’s motion was actually a second application for post-conviction relief, and therefore barred by res judicata and misuse of process. The Supreme Court determined the district court did not err in treating Chase’s Rule 60(b) motion as a successive application for post-conviction relief. However, the Court found summary dismissal of Chase’s original application for post-conviction relief was not appropriate, and reversed and remanded for further proceedings as to that point. The Court determined all other issues raised were without merit or otherwise unnecessary to its opinion here. View "Chase v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

In October 2013, a jury found Sean Kovalevich guilty of two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of corruption of a minor. The conviction resulted from sexual acts occurring in 2012 at the Canad Inn in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Kovalevich was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 10 years of supervised probation. Kovalevich appealed and his conviction was affirmed on appeal. Arguing on appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court, Kovalevich argued the district court erred in summarily dismissing: (1) a motion for relief from an order denying an application for post-conviction relief; and (2) an application for post-conviction relief on the grounds of newly discovered evidence. The court concluded Kovalevich could have raised the arguments presented in his motion and application in earlier proceedings. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "Kovalevich v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

Jessica Nelson appealed after she was sentenced to three years in jail for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver methamphetamine. She argued on appeal the district court erred in denying her request to withdraw her guilty plea, and erred by considering a prior dismissed deferred imposition of sentence when imposing the mandatory minimum sentence. The North Dakota Supreme Court found that a completed deferred imposition of sentence that resulted in the dismissal of charges may not be used to enhance a sentence unless the State sufficiently pleads and proves the underlying case. The Court reversed judgment and remanded for resentencing. View "North Dakota v. Nelson" on Justia Law

Bradley Joe Morales appealed a district court criminal judgment following a jury verdict finding him guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend. Morales argued a motion hearing, evidentiary hearing, and parts of his trial were closed to the public without the pre-closure analysis required by Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39, 48 (1984), thus violating his right to a public trial guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. The North Dakota Supreme Court concurred and reversed judgment. The matter was remanded for a new trial. View "North Dakota v. Morales" on Justia Law