SUPREME COURT APPROVES NUMEROUS RULE AMENDMENTS
SUPREME COURT APPROVES NUMEROUS RULE AMENDMENTS
ANDY FORWARD Attorney at Law
Over the past few months, the North Dakota Supreme Court has approved amendments to the following rules:
North Dakota Rules of Appellate Procedure
Rule 35.1 – Summary Disposition Rule 35.1( a)( 4) was amended to allow the Supreme Court to affirm a decision of an administrative agency or local governing body if the administrative agency or local governing body did not abuse its discretion. Paragraph( a)( 9) was added to allow the court to affirm a decision of a local governing body supported by the required standard of proof. The amendments to Rule 35.1 took effect on March 1.
Rule 28 – Briefs Rule 28( h) was amended to remove the requirement of a short statement explaining why oral argument would be helpful to the court. The amendment to Rule 28 took effect on June 1.
North Dakota Rules of Court
Rule 6.4 – Exhibits Rule 6.4 was amended to establish a uniform method of handling large exhibits
28 THE GAVEL and sensitive exhibits. Subdivision( b) was amended to require an exhibit too large for filing be represented by one or more photos and returned to the offering party. A new subdivision( c) was created to establish a procedure for handling sensitive exhibits, such as toxic substances, flammable materials, firearms, and other dangerous weapons. The amendments to Rule 6.4 took effect on June 1.
Rule 8.6 – Parenting Investigators Rule 8.6( b) was amended to change the initial requirements to qualify as a parenting investigator. A new subdivision( c) was added to require parenting investigators to report continuing training hours every three years. A new subdivision( h) was added to address record retention. The amendments to Rule 8.6 took effect on June 1.
North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure
Rule 7 – The Indictment and the Information Rule 7 was amended in response to HB 1032, passed by the 69th Legislative Assembly. HB 1032 created a new chapter on municipal courts, N. D. C. C. ch. 40.1-18. Rule 7 was amended to change the statutory reference in the rule to N. D. C. C. ch. 40.1-18. The amendment to Rule 7 took effect on Aug. 1.
North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rules
Rule 58 – Vexatious Litigation Rule 58 was amended following the passage of SB 2382. The legislation codified Rule 58 and changed the definition of“ vexatious litigant,” added a requirement that the vexatious litigant pay the costs of the litigation, including attorney’ s fees, and added a requirement the vexatious litigant roster be provided to the United States District Court of North Dakota. Sections 2( d)( 1), 3( d), and 9 of the rule were amended consistent with the legislation. The amendments to Rule 58 took effect on April 3.
Rule 16 – Appeals from Municipal Courts; Rule 30 – Minimum Standards for Municipal Courts in North Dakota Rules 16 and 30 were amended in response to HB 1032, which created a new chapter on municipal courts. The statutory references were amended in Rules 16 and 30 to change N. D. C. C. ch. 40-18 to 40.1-18. The amendments to Rules 16 and 30 took effect on August 1.
Rule 41 – Access to Court Records Rule 41 was amended in response to three bills, HB 1489, HB 1166, and SB 2238. HB 1489 created a new chapter on civil protection orders, N. D. C. C. ch. 14-07.7, including disorderly conduct restraining orders, domestic violence protection orders, and sexual assault restraining orders. HB 1166 created N. D. C. C. § 12-60.1- 05 to close criminal records dealing with nonconviction, such as a dismissal or an acquittal of all criminal charges in a case. SB 2238 created N. D. C. C. § 47-32-05 to seal eviction records after certain conditions are satisfied.
Section 3( b)( 6) of the rule was amended to address HB 1489 on civil protection orders, HB 1166 on closing nonconviction criminal records, and SB 2238 on sealing eviction records. The amendments to Rule 41 took effect on Aug. 1.
North Dakota Rules of Juvenile Procedure
Rule 10.2 – Admissions; Rule 18 – Disposition; Conditions Rules 10.2( b)( 5)( A) and 18( f) were amended in response to HB 1030, which changed“ drug court” to“ treatment court.” The amendments to Rules 10.2 and 18 took effect on Aug. 1.
The link to access the court rules is available on the North Dakota Supreme Court website, www. ndcourts. gov.