COURT ADOPTS AMENDMENTS TO
CIVIL, CRIMINAL, AND JUVENILE RULES
MIKE HAGBURG
Attorney at Law
The Supreme Court recently adopted
amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure,
Criminal Procedure, and Juvenile Procedure.
Amendments to the civil and criminal
rules were made in response to the Aug. 1
adoption of the Uniform Unsworn Domestic
Declarations Act. The rule amendments took
effect Sept. 15. The act is contained in new
Chapter 31-15 of the North Dakota Century
Code and allows an unsworn declaration that
meets defined requirements to be used as an
alternative to a sworn declaration in most
cases.
Civil Procedure Rule 11 on pleadings,
motions, and other papers was amended
to remove language specifying the form of
an unsworn declaration, inserting instead
a reference to the new statutory form
requirements in N.D.C.C. § 31-15-05. The
rule had previously been amended in 2018
to state that notarization is not generally
required for documents filed in civil actions
and to provide a method for using unsworn
statements made under a penalty of perjury.
Criminal Procedure Rule 3 on complaints,
Rule 4 on arrest warrants and summonses,
and Rule 41 on search and seizure were
also amended effective Sept. 15. These
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rules had been amended in 2017 to allow
licensed peace officers to use written
declarations made under penalty of perjury
when submitting criminal complaints or
seeking warrants. The 2017 amendments
were intended to facilitate submission
of electronic documents to establish the
grounds for a complaint or warrant. The new
amendments remove the language limiting
the use of unsworn declarations to licensed
peace officers consistent with chapter 31-15,
which allows anyone to make an unsworn
declaration that has the same effect as a
sworn declaration.
Amendments to the Rules of Juvenile
Procedure took effect Oct. 1.
Juvenile Rule 2 on hearing time was
amended to clarify, if an initial hearing is
held, the adjudication hearing must occur
within 30 days. The amendments were
prompted by the Supreme Court’s decision
in Interest of M.M., 2019 ND 64, that the
previous hearing time requirements in Rule 2
were ambiguous.
Amendments were made to Rule 9 on
continuances to ease implementation of the
new deadlines in Rule 2. Now, a continuance
may be granted on motion of a party – or on
the court’s own motion – and an adjudication
or disposition hearing may be continued
when good cause is shown.
Juvenile Rule 6 on service of the summons
was amended to allow the court to order
service by publication on a website designated
by the court. This amendment was proposed to
help control the costs incurred by the juvenile
courts when service by publication is required.
Juvenile Rule 20 on use of restraints in the
courtroom was renumbered as Rule 10.1 to
place it in closer proximity with other rules
related to courtroom procedure.
Two new Rules of Juvenile Procedure were
adopted effective Oct. 1.
Rule 11.1 covers child competency to proceed
in a matter, notice of defense based on mental
condition, and mental examinations. It
contains detailed guidelines on how a court
should proceed when a child is believed
to be incompetent. The rule also provides
a procedure for notification when a child
plans to assert a defense based on lack of
responsibility.
Rule 18.1 on review of placement establishes
a defined procedure for evaluating child
placement in a residential treatment facility.
It also contains a mechanism for parties
who seek to challenge a specific placement.
The rule was adopted to provide a review
procedure that would comply with the
federal Family First Prevention Services Act’s
requirements.
The up-to-date text of all the new and
amended rules is available on the North
Dakota Court System website,
www.ndcourts.gov.