State v. Nording

485 N.W.2d 781, 1992 N.D. LEXIS 103, 1992 WL 95986
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedMay 12, 1992
DocketCr. 910326
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 485 N.W.2d 781 (State v. Nording) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Nording, 485 N.W.2d 781, 1992 N.D. LEXIS 103, 1992 WL 95986 (N.D. 1992).

Opinion

MESCHKE, Justice.

Larry Nording appealed from an order committing him to the North Dakota State Hospital after a jury found him not guilty of a criminal charge “by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.” The order also authorized forced medication as part of Nord-ing’s treatment. We affirm.

Nording assaulted his grandmother, causing her permanent injuries, and he was charged with the class C felony of aggravated assault. Under NDCC Ch. 12.1-04.1 and NDRCrimP 12.2, Nording filed a notice of intent to rely on the defense of lack of criminal responsibility because of mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense. At the trial on the criminal charge, the jury’s verdict found that Nord-ing committed the assault but that he was “not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.” NDCC 12.1-04.1-18(3). The trial court retained jurisdiction of Nording and committed him to the State Hospital for examination by mental health professionals. NDCC 12.1-04.1-21. Both Dr. Karl J. Ulrich of the State Hospital and Dr. Allan D. Zimmerman, a licensed clinical psychologist appointed by the court for Nording, reported that Nording continued to be mentally ill or defective, and that, because there existed a substantial risk of harm to others, inpatient treatment of Nording was necessary.

At a dispositional hearing under NDCC 12.1-04.1-22, the trial court found that Nording was mentally ill, that there was a substantial risk that he would commit a violent criminal act, and that Nording was not a proper candidate for conditional release. The court also found that Nording “had been refusing” medication which, when taken, “stabilized [Nording’s] delusions and behavior.” The court then committed Nording to the State Hospital for custody, and authorized forced medication for his treatment.

On appeal, Nording argues that his constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution 1 and Article I, Section 21 of the North Dakota Constitution 2 were infringed because he was not afforded the same rights and procedures under NDCC Ch. 12.1-04.1 as persons involuntarily committed to treatment facilities by civil proceedings under NDCC Ch. 25-03.1. To clarify Nording’s constitutional challenge, we briefly describe the differences in procedures under those separate statutes.

Under NDCC Ch. 25-03.1, an individual cannot be involuntarily committed for treatment unless the State proves by clear and convincing evidence that the patient is mentally ill and poses a serious risk of harm to himself, others, or property.. The North Dakota Rules of Evidence apply, the patient is entitled to be at the hearing, and there is a right to an expedited appeal.

*783 Under NDCC Ch. 12.1-04.1, on the other hand, when a jury finds a criminal accused not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, the trial court can detain that person by commitment to a treatment facility for examination. NDCC 12.1-04.1-21. After a dispositional hearing within ninety days, the court can involuntarily commit the person if the court finds that the person is mentally ill and that there is a substantial risk that the person will commit a criminal act of violence. NDCC 12.1-04.1-22. The burden of proof is on the detainee, 3 not the State, to demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence that the need for commitment or other involuntary treatment does not exist. Id. at subsection 4. Although the North Dakota Rules of Evidence do not apply, evidence used at the criminal trial and information from court-ordered examinations of the detainee, if relevant, are admissible. NDCC 12.1-04.1-26. A final order is appealable to this court, but there is no right to an expedited appeal. Jurisdiction of the trial court continues for a period equal to the maximum term of imprisonment that could have been imposed if the detainee had been found guilty. NDCC 12.1-04.1-20(1). Thus, the post-criminal-trial procedures for a detainee are different than those for initial commitment of an involuntary civil patient.

In his equal protection challenge, Nording objects that the detainee under NDCC 12.1-04.1-22 has the burden of proof, that the standard of proof is by a preponderance and not by clear and convincing evidence, that use of the rules of evidence is not required, and that the detainee has no right to an expedited appeal. 4

The standard of review for analyzing an equal protection claim depends upon the class allegedly discriminated against and the rights allegedly infringed by the classification. Not long ago, we summarized the standards of review for equal protection challenges:

We apply strict scrutiny to legislative classifications that are inherently suspect or infringe upon fundamental rights, and we strike down the challenged classification unless it promotes a compelling government interest and the distinction drawn is necessary to further its purpose.... If a legislative classification infringes upon important substantive rights, we apply an intermediate standard of review, and we uphold the classification if it bears a close correspondence to the legislative goals.... We apply a rational basis test to legislative classifications that are not inherently suspect, or do not infringe upon fundamental or important substantive rights, and we uphold the classification unless it is patently arbitrary and bears no rational relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose.

Kavadas v. Lorenzen, 448 N.W.2d 219, 221-222 (N.D.1989). [Citations omitted.] Nording urges that we should apply the strict scrutiny standard of review in this case because an order of involuntary commitment to a treatment facility affects the fundamental right of “liberty.” From decisions on similar equal protection challenges under the United States Constitution in the federal courts, we readily conclude that the appropriate equal protection analysis is something less than strict scrutiny.

The United States Supreme Court has not specifically spelled out which standard to use in these cases. Still, in Jones v. United States, 463 U.S. 354, 362 n. 10, 103 S.Ct. 3043, 3048 n. 10, 77 L.Ed.2d 694, 704 n. 10 (1983), the court implies that the rational basis test is appropriate:

*784 [1]f the Due Process Clause does not require that an insanity [detainee] be given the particular procedural safeguards provided in a civil-commitment hearing under Addington, then there necessarily is a rational basis for equal protection purposes for distinguishing between civil commitment and commitment of insanity [detainees].... We agree, and therefore address petitioner’s arguments in terms of the Due Process Clause.

[Emphasis added.] In United States v. Cohen, 733 F.2d 128, 134 (D.C.Cir.1984), the Court of Appeals applied the rational basis test:

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Bluebook (online)
485 N.W.2d 781, 1992 N.D. LEXIS 103, 1992 WL 95986, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-nording-nd-1992.