Justia North Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Karim Sabur Kabir Muhammad appealed after he was found guilty of gross sexual imposition - victim unaware. On appeal, Muhammad argued the district court erred by admitting recordings of Muhammad’s interrogations as evidence without requiring the recordings be published to the jury, by not publishing admitted evidence in open court he was denied the right to a public trial, and by excluding relevant evidence of his prior sexual contact with the victim. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Muhammad" on Justia Law

Duane Landrus appeals from an amended criminal judgment and order for restitution after a jury found him guilty of aggravated and simple assault. Landrus was involved in a violent altercation involving David Roberts, Summer Tippett, and Jason Conn, among others. Roberts testified he and Tippett fell asleep by the firepit after hosting a cook-out. They awoke sometime after 2:00 a.m. and began cleaning up when they discovered Landrus in a storage shed on the property. A fight between Landrus and Roberts ensued, and Roberts suffered a stab wound from a knife later found at Landrus’s residence. Landrus punched Tippett when she tried to intervene. The neighbor, Conn, also tried to intervene and suffered minor cuts. Two other witnesses corroborated the stories of the injured parties. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Landrus" on Justia Law

The City of West Fargo appealed a district court order suppressing evidence of Tyler Williams’ refusal to submit to a chemical test, arguing N.D.C.C. 39-20-02 contemplated an arrestee only has a statutory right to an independent test if he has already submitted to the chemical test requested by law enforcement. The North Dakota Supreme Court agreed that a plain reading of N.D.C.C. 39-20-02 required that the right to an additional independent test only arises when the driver submits to the chemical test requested by law enforcement. The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed the district court’s order suppressing evidence and remanded for further proceedings. View "City of West Fargo v. Williams" on Justia Law

Lorenzo Pemberton appealed a district court’s criminal judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of aggravated assault, interference with an emergency call, felonious restraint, attempted murder, and child neglect. Pemberton was part of an incident involving his girlfriend, which occurred during the night of February 22 and extended into February 23, 2018. During the incident, Pemberton and the victim’s argument escalated and the victim eventually placed a 911 emergency call. Following the call, the argument became physical and Pemberton was alleged to have struck the victim and pushed her to the ground. While they were struggling on the ground, the victim saw a screwdriver on the floor, picked it up, and allegedly struck Pemberton with it. Pemberton obtained control of the screwdriver from the victim and struck her with it. Eventually law enforcement arrived at the scene, and Pemberton was taken into custody and placed under arrest. Pemberton argued the district court erred in granting the State’s motion to amend the criminal information one week before trial, the jury was provided improper instructions, the jury was provided with an improper verdict form, and the district court failed to properly admonish the jury before each break in the trial proceedings. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Pemberton" on Justia Law

In March 2015, Cody Atkins pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition. Following the imposition of sentence, Atkins appealed the criminal judgment and the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. Atkins later filed two applications for post-conviction relief; one in March of 2016 which was dismissed, and another in September of 2016 which was dismissed and later affirmed on appeal. Additionally, Atkins filed a motion to reduce his sentence in July 2017, a motion to dismiss the GSI charge in November 2017, a motion to “vacate” his guilty plea in February 2018, and a motion for a new trial in March 2018. The district court considered the February 2018 and March 2018 motions constituted a singular third application for post-conviction relief. Then in November 2018, Atkins filed another application for post-conviction relief, the subject of this appeal, claiming 10 grounds for relief, alleging: (1) he was presented an unlawful arrest warrant; (2) he made an involuntary or coerced confession; (3) inconsistent statements made by everyone during the interrogation process; (4) the prosecution was using false evidence; (5) the sexual assault kit indicated no signs of injury; (6) law enforcement officers did not knock and announce their presence; (7) judicial bias; (8) malicious prosecution; (9) illegal information; and (10) an illusory plea. On December 3, 2018, the State filed an answer asserting affirmative defenses of misuse of process and res judicata and moved, under N.D.R.Ct. 3.2, to dismiss the application. Four days later, on December 7, 2018, the district court issued an order denying Atkins’ application for post-conviction relief, concluding Atkins was procedurally barred from raising the claims contained in his application due to the doctrines of misuse of process and res judicata. The Supreme Court reversed the district court order as to this latest application for post-conviction relief, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Atkins v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

Cody Atkins appealed a district court order denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and his motion for a new trial. In March 2015, Atkins pled guilty to gross sexual imposition. In June 2015, Atkins was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with the North Dakota Department of Corrections, with five years suspended for a period of 10 years of supervised probation with credit for time served. Atkins argued the district court erred by: (1) classifying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea as a post-conviction relief proceeding, and (2) finding he was procedurally barred from raising his N.D.R.Crim.P. 11 claims under misuse of process and res judicata. Atkins also argued the district court abused its discretion by finding he did not meet the burden required to show the existence of newly discovered evidence in his motion for a new trial. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Atkins" on Justia Law

Joshua Michael Peterson appealed from an order denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. In 2015, the State filed a complaint charging Peterson with class B felony burglary. After review of the issues raised on appeal, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Peterson’s motion. View "North Dakota v. Peterson" on Justia Law

Jessy Olson appeals a district court order denying his application for postconviction relief. In May 2015, Olson and others were involved in a fight outside a bar in Fargo. Three individuals sustained serious injuries, including Joey Gaarsland, who later died from his injuries. Olson was arrested and charged with murder and three counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. Olson argued on appeal: (1) accomplice to murder was not a cognizable offense; and (2) he received ineffective assistance of counsel and his guilty pleas to the charges of accomplice to murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault were not voluntary. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "Olson v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

Brent Vigen appealed a criminal judgment entered after his conditional guilty plea to driving under the influence. Vigen argued the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress after the court’s finding that a modified implied consent advisory satisfied the requirements of N.D.C.C. 39-20-01(3)(a). The North Dakota Supreme Court agreed and reversed judgment. The matter was remanded for further proceedings to allow Vigen to withdraw his guilty plea. View "North Dakota v. Vigen" on Justia Law

Edward Morales appealed a district court order summarily dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. Morales was driving a mini-van in an RV park when he collided with a goose-neck trailer. His wife, a passenger in the mini-van, died as a result of this collision. A blood test indicated Morales had a 0.209 percent blood alcohol concentration. Morales was charged with a class A felony of causing a death while operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in violation of N.D.C.C. 39-08-01.2(1). Morales conditionally pled guilty to causing his wife’s death while operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. In his application for post-conviction relief, he alleged he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court summarily dismissed the application, reasoning that Morales had raised only conclusory allegations and generic claims. Finding no reversible error in that decision, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order. View "Morales v. North Dakota" on Justia Law