Justia Criminal Law Opinion Summaries

Dondarro Watts was convicted by jury of indecent exposure. Watts argued on appeal: (1) the district court abused its discretion regarding an evidentiary ruling; (2) the jury did not have sufficient evidence to convict him; (3) the court erred by providing misleading jury instructions; and (4) the court abused its discretion by requiring him to register as a sexual offender. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Watts" on Justia Law

Chad Isaak died after appealing a criminal judgment entered against him. His counsel argued the case should have either been dismissed because the judgment was not yet final, or the appeal should have been decided on the merits. The State argued the appeal was moot and the judgment should stand. No one sought substitution on Isaak’s behalf. The victims’ families did not assert a constitutional right to have the appeal proceed to disposition on the merits. The district court did not order restitution or fees. Absent any of these occurrences, and with no other apparent collateral consequences from a decision by the North Dakota Supreme Court, the Supreme Court concluded the appeal was moot and dismissed it. The judgment stood as issued by the district court. View "North Dakota v. Isaak" on Justia Law

Brian Sternberg appealed a district court order civilly committing him as a sexually dangerous individual. In 1992, Sternberg was convicted of corruption of a minor. He was incarcerated in late 1993 and remained on probation until January 1994. In 2000, the State charged Sternberg with committing three or more sexual acts with a child who was then his stepdaughter and under the age of fifteen. Sternberg was charged with one class A felony and five class C felonies. He also has convictions involving deceitful behavior, including financial fraud and bad checks. The court sentenced him to incarceration from October 2000 to February 2021. Peter Byrne, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist who conducted Sternberg’s evaluation, testified that there was no record of Sternberg’s having undergone treatment to deal with his “sexual interest or arousal to children” and reported that at the end of treatment it was recommended Sternberg continue sexual offender specific treatment. Sternberg has both pedophilic and antisocial personality disorders, which predisposed him to intense sexual fantasies and urges and to disregard “the rights and wishes of others.” The district court held a commitment hearing and granted the State’s petition for civil commitment. The court reported that its biggest concern with releasing Sternberg is that he has been living in a supervised environment while incarcerated and “[i]mmediate release into the community without support or supervision would ‘very likely result in a serious difficulty controlling his behaviors.’” On appeal, Sternberg argues the district court erred in finding the State had met its burden in proving that he is likely to engage in further acts of sexually predatory conduct and that he has serious difficulty in controlling behavior. The North Dakota Supreme Court determined the trial court record did not support a finding by clear and convincing evidence that Sternberg presently had a serious difficulty controlling behavior. Judgment was reversed and the matter remanded for further proceedings. View "Interest of Sternberg" on Justia Law

Joshua Bowen appealed a criminal judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the district court did not err in finding Bowen failed to make a clear and unambiguous request for an independent chemical test and in admitting the chemical breath test results without requiring the State to produce the state toxicologist at trial. View "North Dakota v. Bowen" on Justia Law

Trevon Thompson appealed a judgment and order denying a motion to suppress. In late 2021, the Devils Lake Police Department received a call about possible drug activity at a Devils Lake motel. The Department provided the information to the Lake Region Narcotics Task Force. The task force surveiled the motel and search warrants were obtained for two rooms at the motel. Officers ultimately found cash and baggies of oxycodone. The State charged Thompson with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and refusing to halt. Thompson moved to suppress the evidence obtained during execution of the three warrants, and entered a conditional guilty plea, reserving his right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to suppress. Thompson argued the warrants were issued without probable cause. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court did not err in finding sufficient probable cause supported issuance of warrants I, II, and III. Sufficient additional probable cause existed to execute warrants I and II at night. The information used to obtain warrant III was not poisoned by prior illegal searches. Therefore, the evidence seized during execution of warrant III was not obtained unlawfully. View "North Dakota v. Thompson" on Justia Law

Stefan Dunn appealed after he pled guilty to three counts of violation of a domestic violence protection order and a single count of preventing arrest. The district court then asked Dunn multiple questions regarding his rights, if he understood the open plea agreement, and if he understood he would not be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea if accepted by the court. Dunn answered affirmatively to these questions. Dunn pled guilty, was sentenced, and released. On July 20, 2022, Dunn wrote a letter to the district court requesting to withdraw his guilty plea because new evidence supported his innocence. The letter stated the victim attempted to drop the order for protection on numerous occasions but that it took approximately six months to do so, and that other defendants had their orders dropped much sooner. For those reasons, Dunn argued he was not guilty. The court issued an order denying his request. The court found that Dunn had not established a manifest injustice because the factual arguments in his letter were known by the parties and court during the plea and sentencing phases, and were taken into consideration at that time. The court also found that Dunn understood his plea was an open one, what consequences would result by agreeing to it, that he was giving up specific rights, and that he fully understood the plea. The district court determined Dunn entered his plea freely, knowingly, and voluntarily. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Dunn" on Justia Law

Shilo Knutson petitioned for a supervisory writ to overturn the district court’s order denying summary judgment and to direct the court to grant his motion for summary judgment on his post-conviction relief application. Because Knutson’s arguments could be reviewed on appeal from a final judgment disposing of his post-conviction relief application, or could potentially have been reviewed in a direct appeal from the underlying criminal case’s order revoking probation, the North Dakota Supreme Court declined to exercise discretion to grant supervisory relief. The Court therefore denied his petition. View "Knutson v. Foughty, et al." on Justia Law

Steven Rademacher appeals from criminal judgments after a jury found him guilty of murder, attempted murder and terrorizing. On July 29, 2019, a vehicle driven by Rademacher struck three people. At trial Rademacher conceded that the incident occurred, and that three individuals were struck by his vehicle. The issue for the jury was whether Rademacher had the requisite intent for the charged crimes. Rademacher claimed the district court violated his right to be present during trial on two occasions—prior to jury deliberations and after the jury started deliberations. He also argued the North Dakota Supreme Court should amend N.D.R.Crim.P. 43 because it was internally contradictory. To the latter, the Court declined, and finding no other reversible error, judgment was affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Rademacher" on Justia Law

The State appealed from a district court order granting a motion to suppress evidence in a case against Shawnee Krall. The State charged Krall with murder and gross sexual imposition. Krall entered a plea of not guilty. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court’s findings were supported by sufficient competent evidence. The Court also concluded the inventory-search exception and the inevitable-discovery doctrine did not apply to provide an exception to the exclusionary rule. The Court therefore held the district court did not err in granting Krall’s motion to suppress. View "North Dakota v. Krall" on Justia Law

De’Jonte Smith was convicted by jury of reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for reckless endangerment, concluding the district court did not err by failing to include a self-defense jury instruction. The Court reversed the felony conviction for tampering with physical evidence, concluding the omission of an essential element of the tampering charge was an obvious error and there was insufficient evidence that Smith substantially obstructed, impaired, or perverted prosecution for a felony. The case was remanded for the district court to enter a judgment of acquittal on the charge of tampering with physical evidence. View "North Dakota v. Smith" on Justia Law