Justia North Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

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

Drew Sutton appealed a district court judgment affirming the Department of Transportation hearing officer’s decision revoking Sutton’s driver’s license for 180 days. Sutton argued the Report and Notice did not include a statement of reasonable grounds for why the police officer believed Sutton was driving under the influence of alcohol or why he believed Sutton’s body contained alcohol. Sutton argued both alleged failures fall below the statutory requirements. He also argued there was no evidence that he affirmatively refused the onsite screening test. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the district court judgment affirming the hearing officer’s decision. View "Sutton v. N.D. Dept. of Transportation" 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

Dylan Vetter appealed after he entered a conditional guilty plea to possession of controlled substances and drug paraphernalia. Vetter argued the deputy sheriff who stopped him for speeding lacked reasonable suspicion to believe Vetter’s car contained contraband and unlawfully expanded the scope of the traffic stop by inquiring whether there were any illegal items in Vetter’s vehicle and by conducting a canine sniff around the car. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the district court did not err in denying Vetter’s motion to suppress evidence because the stop was not expanded in violation of the Fourth Amendment. View "North Dakota v. Vetter" on Justia Law

Randy Jensen appeals from a district court order denying and dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. In June 2016, Jensen resolved three criminal cases by pleading guilty to several charges pursuant to a plea agreement under N.D.R.Crim.P. 11(c), and several charges were dismissed. In July 2016, Jensen appealed the criminal judgments and was assigned court-appointed counsel. In September 2016, Jensen’s court-appointed counsel filed a stipulation to withdraw and dismiss the appeals, signed by Jensen and his court-appointed counsel. In October 2016, Jensen, through counsel, filed a motion for reduction of sentence under N.D.R.Crim.P. 35(b) in each case. The district court denied his motions. In November 2016, Jensen filed a pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea in each case. The court denied his motions. In December 2016, Jensen filed an amended motion in each case to withdraw his guilty pleas under N.D.R.Crim.P. 11(d). In February 2017, the court denied his motions following a hearing. In April 2017, Jensen, pro se, filed a motion for credit for time served. The court denied his motion. After the court issued its order denying his motion, court-appointed counsel requested and was granted a hearing to address Jensen’s motion for credit for time served. Following that hearing, the court again denied his motion for credit for time served. In March 2018, Jensen, pro se, applied for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel as his only ground for relief. The State moved to dismiss based on res judicata and misuse of process. The State’s motion was granted. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order denying Jensen’s application for post-conviction relief. View "Jensen v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

J.M. appealed a district court order denying his petition for discharge and continuing his commitment as a sexually dangerous individual. J.M. was civilly committed as a sexually dangerous individual in October 2005 at the end of his incarceration for a 2001 conviction for gross sexual imposition involving a nine-year-old victim. J.M. unsuccessfully petitioned for discharge several times and has appealed his commitment on four prior occasions. He argued this time the State did not prove by clear and convincing evidence his antisocial personality disorder and sexual disorder were likely to result in a serious difficulty in controlling his behavior. Based on this record, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the State did not establish clear and convincing evidence of a nexus between J.M.’s disorder and his sexual dangerousness to others, and reversed. View "Matter of J.M." on Justia Law

Russell Craig appealed a district court order and amended order denying his motion to withdraw his 2007 guilty plea on murder charges. In August 2018, Craig filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea under N.D.R.Crim.P. 11(d)(2) and requested oral argument. The State did not respond. In September 2018, the district court issued a notice inquiring whether the State’s failure to respond to Craig’s motion was due to oversight. In that notice, the court also stated: “[t]he State shall notify the Court if it has waived a response or respond immediately to the motion or request additional time to respond if unable to do so immediately.” The court scheduled the oral argument for October 16, 2018. On October 5, 2018, the State filed a motion for extension of response time. The court granted the extension on October 11, 2018, and the State submitted its response to Craig’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea on October 12, 2018. Without explanation, the court cancelled the October 16, 2018 hearing. On October 24, 2018, the court denied Craig’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed the district court’s order, finding the lower court abused its discretion by failing to give a reason for dismissing Craig’s complaint without hearing. The matter was remanded for that hearing. View "North Dakota v. Craig" on Justia Law

Javonne Hunt appealed a district court order requiring him to pay $27,501.86 in restitution to Blue Cross Blue Shield (“BCBS”). In 2017, Hunt was playing basketball at the YMCA in Bismarck, North Dakota when he was involved in an altercation with an opposing player. Hunt intentionally struck the opposing player in the jaw causing a bone fracture. Hunt was charged and subsequently found guilty by a jury of aggravated assault. Following his conviction, Hunt agreed to pay as restitution the out-of-pocket medical expenses incurred by the injured individual in the amount of $3,233.07. BCBS provided evidence that it had paid an additional $27,501.86 for the medical treatment of the injured individual under the injured individual’s policy of insurance. The district court applied N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-08(1) in granting restitution to BCBS and ordered Hunt to pay a total of $30,734.93; $3,233.07 for the conceded out-of-pocket costs plus the $27,501.86 claimed by BCBS. Hunt argued BCBS is precluded from recovery of its expenditures in the criminal proceedings because the definition of “victim” under N.D. Const. art. I, section 25 was incompatible with a recovery by a corporation under the criminal restitution statute, N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-08(1). The North Dakota Supreme Court found no reversible error in the district court’s judgment and affirmed the order. View "North Dakota v. Hunt" on Justia Law