Criminal Appeal Brief - North Dakota

IN THE SUPREME COURT

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA

DRAFTING TEMPLATE — REMOVE ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND UNUSED OPTIONS BEFORE FILING. Current North Dakota appellate rules require paragraph-numbered briefs, paragraph references in the contents and authorities tables, and record citations in the Rule 30 format. The appellate appendix requirement was eliminated in 2022.

APPELLANT'S BRIEF

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Statutes

Rules

I. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES

1. Whether the district court erred in [________________________________].

2. Whether [________________________________].

3. [________________________________].

II. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

4. Jurisdiction. This is a defendant's appeal from ☐ a guilty verdict ☐ a final judgment of conviction ☐ an order refusing arrest of judgment ☐ an order denying a new trial ☐ a postjudgment order affecting a substantial right. See N.D.C.C. §§ 29-28-02, 29-28-03, and 29-28-06. The appealed disposition was entered on [__/__/____]. (R[____]:[____].)

5. Timeliness. The notice of appeal was filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court on [__/__/____]. (R[____]:[____].) The applicable Rule 4(b) calculation is: [DESCRIBE ENTRY DATE, ANY TIMELY RULE 33 OR 34 MOTION, PREMATURE-NOTICE ISSUE, OR EXTENSION].

6. Charging instrument. On or about [__/__/____], an ☐ information ☐ indictment was filed in the District Court, [________________________________] County, charging Defendant-Appellant with:

7. Proceedings. [Summarize material pretrial proceedings, motions, rulings, plea proceedings, and the trial type.] (R[____]:[____].)

8. Disposition. On [__/__/____], the ☐ jury returned a verdict ☐ court entered findings ☐ defendant entered a plea of [________________________________]. (R[____]:[____].)

9. Judgment and sentence. On [__/__/____], the district court entered [IDENTIFY JUDGMENT / SENTENCE / ORDER], providing: [________________________________]. (R[____]:[____].)

III. STATEMENT OF FACTS

10. Facts material to Issue One. [State the relevant facts neutrally and cite each factual proposition using Rule 30's register-of-actions format.] (R[____]:[____]:¶[____].)

11. Facts material to Issue Two. [________________________________]. (R[____]:[____].)

12. Recording citations, if any. [Identify each audio or video recording and give the specific time-coded location required by Rule 30(a)–(b)(2).]

IV. ARGUMENT

A. [ISSUE ONE HEADING IN CAPS]

13. Standard of review. [State the issue-specific standard and cite current controlling authority. Do not reuse a generic standard for evidentiary, sentencing, constitutional, statutory, or sufficiency issues without checking the precise issue.]

14. Preservation or grounds for review. [Cite the exact objection, motion, offer of proof, requested instruction, ruling, and register-of-actions location showing preservation. If the issue was not preserved, state the supported ground for review, including any N.D.R.Crim.P. 52(b) obvious-error theory.] (R[____]:[____].)

15. Governing law. [State the rule and current authority.]
16. Application to the record. [Apply the governing law to the relevant facts and address material contrary authority.] (R[____]:[____].)

17. Prejudice and relief. ☐ The preserved error affected substantial rights under the governing harmless-error standard because [________________________________]. ☐ The unpreserved error satisfies the governing obvious-error standard because [________________________________]. The issue-specific relief requested is [________________________________].

B. [ISSUE TWO HEADING IN CAPS]

18. Standard of review. [________________________________].

19. Preservation or grounds for review. [________________________________]. (R[____]:[____].)

20. Governing law. [________________________________].

21. Application to the record. [________________________________]. (R[____]:[____].)

22. Prejudice and relief. [________________________________].

C. [ADDITIONAL ISSUE HEADING IN CAPS]

23. Standard of review. [________________________________].

24. Preservation or grounds for review. [________________________________]. (R[____]:[____].)

25. Governing law. [________________________________].

26. Application to the record. [________________________________]. (R[____]:[____].)

27. Prejudice and relief. [________________________________].

V. CONCLUSION

28. For the foregoing reasons, Defendant-Appellant respectfully requests that this Court exercise its authority under N.D.R.App.P. 35(b) to:

☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction.
☐ Reverse the judgment and remand for a new trial.
☐ Modify the judgment as follows: [________________________________].
☐ Vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.
☐ [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

29. Pursuant to N.D.R.App.P. 32(d), I certify that this brief complies with the applicable page limitation. The filed electronic document contains [________________________________] pages. This is a ☐ principal brief subject to the 38-page limit ☐ reply brief subject to the 12-page limit ☐ other brief or document governed by [IDENTIFY AUTHORITY].

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

30. I, [________________________________], certify that on [__/__/____], at or before filing, I served the foregoing Appellant's Brief on the following parties by the method indicated:

☐ Supreme Court electronic filing system on registered users
☐ Email or other electronic means authorized by N.D.R.App.P. 25(e)
☐ Authorized paper service under N.D.R.App.P. 25(e)(2): ☐ personal ☐ mail ☐ third-party commercial carrier

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

NORTH DAKOTA APPELLATE CONTROL SHEET — REMOVE BEFORE FILING

Jurisdiction and Deadline

☐ Confirm the challenged verdict, judgment, or order is appealable by the defendant under N.D.C.C. § 29-28-06. Sections 29-28-02 and 29-28-03 authorize the parties and make a qualifying appeal to the Supreme Court a matter of right.

☐ Calculate the notice deadline under every applicable part of N.D.R.App.P. 4(b). The general defendant deadline is 30 days after entry, but timely Rule 33 or Rule 34 motions, a premature notice, a N.D.R.Crim.P. 35(a) motion, mistaken filing, or an extension request can change the analysis.

☐ Confirm the notice was filed with the clerk of the Supreme Court and that the caption, party designations, appealed disposition, and district court information match the record.

Brief Schedule, Filing, and Service

☐ Under N.D.R.App.P. 31(a), calculate the appellant's brief deadline from the transcript filing date or, if no transcript was ordered, from the notice-of-appeal filing date. Separately calendar the appellee and reply deadlines.

☐ Unless an exception or leave applies, file through the Supreme Court electronic filing system. Do not substitute district-court Odyssey eFileND for the appellate system. Follow N.D.R.App.P. 25, Rule 31, and the current electronic-filing requirements.

☐ Serve every party at or before filing and include proof of service. Use electronic service for registered users and the other current Rule 25 methods only when their conditions are satisfied.

Current Brief Architecture

☐ Use paragraph references in the table of contents and table of authorities. Number every brief paragraph consecutively with Arabic numerals. N.D.R.App.P. 28 and 32.

☐ For each issue, state the standard of review and cite the record showing preservation, or state the supported ground for reviewing an unpreserved issue. N.D.R.App.P. 28(b)(7)(B).

☐ Cite the record under current Rule 30—for example, (R156:12) and, when applicable, (R156:12:¶3) or a time-coded recording reference. Do not prepare or cite an appellate appendix; Rule 30 eliminated the appendix requirement effective March 1, 2022.

☐ Confirm Rule 32 form requirements, including cover contents and colors, paper size, margins, 12-point-or-larger type, double spacing, paragraph numbering, and page numbering. A principal brief is limited to 38 pages and a reply to 12 pages, excluding an addendum; the certificate states the filed electronic document's page count.

☐ Insert hard page breaks between the cover, table of contents, table of authorities, and brief body. N.D.R.App.P. 25(c)(2).

Argument, Oral Argument, and Disposition

☐ Analyze prejudice under the issue-specific current authority. N.D.R.Crim.P. 52(a) requires harmless errors not affecting substantial rights to be disregarded; Rule 52(b) permits consideration of qualifying obvious error even if not raised below.

☐ If oral argument is desired, place ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED conspicuously on the cover. Rule 34 generally schedules argument unless a listed exception applies, including no request, waiver, or a court determination that argument is unnecessary.

☐ Tailor requested relief to N.D.R.App.P. 35(b). Current Rule 35 permits affirmance, reversal, modification, a new trial, or remand with instructions within its terms.

☐ Review current Rule 35.1 rather than describing summary disposition as automatically occurring without argument. The rule permits summary affirmance after argument unless waived when no reversible error appears and a listed criterion applies; summary reversal requires a dispositive controlling appellate decision.

☐ Do not rely on this template for an appointed-counsel no-merit filing or withdrawal procedure. Research the current controlling North Dakota authority, appointment terms, and professional obligations for that separate decision.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• North Dakota Century Code Chapter 29-28: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t29c28.pdf
• North Dakota Constitution, Article VI: https://ndlegis.gov/constit/a06.pdf
• North Dakota Rules of Appellate Procedure: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp
• N.D.R.App.P. 4: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/4
• N.D.R.App.P. 25: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/25
• N.D.R.App.P. 28: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/28
• N.D.R.App.P. 30: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/30
• N.D.R.App.P. 31: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/31
• N.D.R.App.P. 32: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/32
• N.D.R.App.P. 34: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/34
• N.D.R.App.P. 35: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/35
• N.D.R.App.P. 35.1: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrappp/35-1
• N.D.R.Crim.P. 52: https://www.ndcourts.gov/legal-resources/rules/ndrcrimp/52