Whitmire v. Whitmire, 1999 ND 56 A court cannot impute income from an obligor's homestead in calculating income for child support purposes. An award of attorney fees must generally be supported by evidence upon which the court can determine the requested fees are reasonable and legitimate.
March 24, 1999
Weigel v. Weigel, 1999 ND 55 The reasons for a substitution of judge should be stated on the record. N.D.R.Civ.P. 63 requires a successor judge to certify familiarity with the record and to determine the case may be completed before that judge without prejudice to the parties.
March 23, 1999
State v. Beckman, 1999 ND 54 Under N.D.R.Crim.P. 32, a defendant must be given a chance to personally address the trial court before being sentenced. To substantially comply with N.D.R.Crim.P. 11, the trial court must fully advise the defendant of the constitutional rights the defendant waives with a plea of guilty. The purpose of the inquiry required by the second sentence of N.D.R.Crim.P. 11(c), is to ascertain whether the plea of guilty is the result of plea negotiations.
March 19, 1999
State v. Van Beek, 1999 ND 53 An order deferring imposition of sentence is appealable. Probable cause is not established for a no-knock search warrant where the reviewing court is given information indicating nothing more than probable cause an easily disposable drug is located in a suspect's residence; rather, officers must have some particularized basis for their suspicion drugs will be disposed of or destroyed if their presence is announced. The good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies when a no-knock warrant was issued on a per-se basis prior to State v. Herrick, 1997 ND 155, 567 N.W.2d 336.
March 18, 1999
City of Bismarck v. Towne, 1999 ND 49 Failure to object to parts or omissions of proposed jury instructions operates as a waiver under N.D.R.Crim.P. (30)(c) of the right on appeal to complain of instructions that were or were not given. To preserve sufficiency of the evidence in a jury trial for review on appeal, the defendant must move the trial court for a judgment of acquittal under N.D.R.Crim.P. 29. Johnson v. Job Service North Dakota, 1999 ND 42 An executive director's refusal to answer, without her attorney present, questions asked by her board of directors through its attorney was disqualifying misconduct under N.D.C.C. 52-06-02. Kerzman v. N.D. Workers Comp. Bureau, 1999 ND 44 A contractual stipulation must be construed as a whole to give meaning to each provision. A workers compensation claimant may agree to forego future disability benefits in exchange for a lump sum settlement. Under N.D.C.C. 28-32-12.2(1), a hearing officer means the entity presiding at an administrative hearing. Kjonaas v. Kjonaas, 1999 ND 50 The trial court abused its discretion in denying a continuance when a party failed to supplement discovery until the day before trial, thereby denying the opposing party a fair opportunity to prepare for trial. Narum v. Faxx Foods, Inc., 1999 ND 45 The statutory civil remedy for securities law violations does not allow purchasers who receive rescission offers which are later withdrawn an unlimited amount of time to sue the sellers to recover their investments. Reliance solely on knowledge of a pending lawsuit against third parties is not reasonable for purposes of equitable estoppel to preclude application of a statute of limitations if the relying party is not told to delay bringing suit until that litigation is resolved. Norwest Mortgage, Inc. v. Nevland, 1999 ND 51 To defeat summary judgment, a party asserting an affirmative defense must set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial on that defense. Conclusory statements concerning a depressed agricultural economy unsupported by specific facts are insufficient to raise the "confiscatory price defenses." Opp v. Source One Management, Inc., 1999 ND 52 Under the North Dakota Human Rights Act, a prima facie case of a sexually hostile work environment claim requires proof the employee belongs to a protected class, the employee was subject to unwelcome sexual harassment, the sexual harassment was based on sex, the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment, and the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take proper remedial action. Isolated incidents of simple teasing, offhand comments, gender-related jokes, or vulgar language lack sufficient severity or pervasiveness to alter the conditions of a victim's employment and create hostile work environment. A prima facie case of retaliatory discharge requires evidence the employee opposed an unlawful employment practice, the employer took adverse employment action, and a causal connection. A party's failure to secure a district court review of the clerk's taxation of costs bars review of the taxation of costs on appeal. State v. Berger, 1999 ND 46 Once the reliability of a prior conviction is established by showing the defendant had counsel, the burden shifts to the defendant to affirmatively show the conviction was deficient under N.D.R.Crim.P. 11. Rule 11 does not require a defendant be informed that a guilty plea may be used to enhance a future sentence under N.D.C.C. 39-08-01. State v. Martineau, 1999 ND 41 District court's order denying a motion to correct a sentence, imposed following a probation violation, is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(7). State v. Overby, 1999 ND 47 A warrantless search preceding arrest is a valid search incident to arrest provided probable cause to arrest existed before the search and the arrest and search are substantially contemporaneous. The odor of marijuana emanating from a suspect's vehicle provides probable cause to make a warrantless arrest of the suspect, where the suspect is alone in his vehicle when he is stopped, no other vehicles or people are in the vicinity, the vehicle's door is open as the officer approaches, and the officer is well-trained in identifying the odor of marijuana. State v. Palmer, 1999 ND 40 Order denying N.D.R.Crim.P. 35 motion to correct an illegal sentence summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(7). Symington v. Mayo, 1999 ND 48 A jury award of future economic damages will not be overturned if there is record evidence upon which the jury could infer with reasonable certainty the injured plaintiff will incur those future damages. A jury can infer the necessity of future nursing care based upon record evidence showing severe injuries sustained by the plaintiff and disabilities caused by those injuries. Woodworth v. Chillemi, 1999 ND 43 When requested by a party under N.D.R.Civ.P. 59(j), a trial court should clarify obvious inconsistencies and ambiguities in its judgments.