Title 29, Judicial Procedure, Criminal

In any case, whether a misdemeanor or felony, a trial jury may be waived by the consent of the defendant and the state's attorney expressed in open court and entered on the minutes of the court. Otherwise, the issues of fact must be tried by the jury.

If the presence of a defendant on trial for an infraction or a misdemeanor, who is voluntarily absent, is necessary for any purpose, the court, upon application of the state's attorney or other person appointed to prosecute, may make an order or warrant requiring the personal att…

After a plea of not guilty, the defendant, if the defendant requests it, is entitled to at least one day to prepare for trial, and further time for good cause shown.

The jurors duly drawn and summoned for the trial of civil actions also are the jurors for the trial of criminal actions.

A trial jury for a criminal action must be formed in the same manner as a trial jury in a civil action.

At the opening of the court, the clerk shall select the names of prospective jurors from a randomized list of names developed in accordance with chapter 27-09.1 and supreme court rule.

When a case is called for trial, and before drawing the jury, either party may require the names of all the jurors in the panel to be called, and the court may order that an attachment issue against those who are absent, but the court, in its discretion, may wait or not for the r…

In all felony cases when a jury is impaneled, a jury must consist of twelve qualified jurors. In class A misdemeanor cases when a jury is impaneled, a jury must consist of six qualified jurors unless the defendant makes a timely written demand for a jury of twelve. In all other m…

If a sufficient number of jurors cannot be selected to form a trial jury, the court, as often as is necessary, may order the sheriff to summon from the body of the county as many persons qualified to serve as jurors as the court deems sufficient to form a jury. The jurors so summ…

A challenge is an objection made to the trial jurors and is of two kinds: 1. To the panel; and 2. To an individual juror.

When several defendants are tried together they cannot sever their challenges but must join therein.

A jury panel is a list of jurors returned by a sheriff to serve at a particular court or for the trial of a particular action.

A challenge to a panel is an objection made to all the trial jurors returned and may be taken by either party.

A challenge to a panel can be founded only on a material departure from the forms prescribed by law in respect to the drawing and return of the jury, or on the intentional omission of the sheriff to summon one or more of the jurors drawn.

A challenge to a jury panel must be taken before a juror is sworn and must be in writing specifying plainly and distinctly the facts constituting the ground of challenge.

If the sufficiency of the facts alleged as a ground of challenge of a panel is controverted by the adverse party, that party may except to the challenge. The exception need not be in writing but must be entered upon the minutes of the court, and thereupon the court shall proceed …

If, on the exception, the court deems the challenge to a panel sufficient, it, if justice requires it, may permit the party excepting to withdraw the party's exception, and to deny the facts alleged in the challenge. If the exception is allowed, the court, in like manner, may per…

If facts alleged as the grounds of a challenge to a panel are denied, the denial, in like manner, may be oral and must be entered upon the minutes of the court, and the court shall proceed to try the questions of fact.

Upon the trial of a challenge to a panel, the officers, whether judicial or ministerial, whose irregularity is complained of, as well as any other persons, may be examined to prove or disprove the facts alleged as the ground of the challenge.

When a jury is formed from persons whose names are not drawn as jurors, a challenge may be taken to the panel on account of any bias of the officer who summoned them, which would be good ground of challenge to a juror. Such challenge must be made in the same form and determined i…

If upon an exception to a challenge to a panel, or a denial of the facts, the challenge is allowed, the court shall discharge the jury, and another jury can be summoned for the same term forthwith from the body of the county, or the judge may order a jury to be drawn and summoned…

A peremptory challenge can be taken by either party and may be oral. It is an objection to a juror for which no reason need be given but upon which the court must exclude that juror.

A challenge for cause is an objection to a particular juror and is either: 1. General, that the juror is disqualified from serving in any case or trial; or 2. Particular, that the juror is disqualified from serving in the case on trial.

General causes of challenges are: 1. A want of any of the qualifications prescribed by law to render a person a competent juror, including a want of knowledge of the English language as used in the courts; and 2. Unsoundness of mind or such defect in the faculties of the mind or …

Particular causes of challenge are of two kinds: 1. A bias which, when the existence of the facts is ascertained, in judgment of law disqualifies the juror, and which is known in this title as implied bias; and 2. The existence of a state of mind on the part of the juror, with re…

A challenge for implied bias of a juror may be taken for all or any of the following causes, and for no other: 1. Consanguinity or relationship to the person alleged to be injured by the offense charged, or on whose complaint the prosecution was instituted, or to the defendant. 2…

An exemption from service on a jury is not a cause of challenge but the privilege of the person exempted.

In a challenge for implied bias, one or more of the causes stated in section 29-17-36 must be alleged. In a challenge for actual bias, the cause stated in subsection 2 of section 29-17-35 must be alleged, but no person may be disqualified as a juror by reason of the fact that the…

All challenges to an individual juror, except peremptory, must be taken, first by the defendant, and then by the state, and each party shall exhaust all of that party's challenges before the other begins.

The challenges of either party for cause need not all be taken at once, but they must be taken separately, in the following order, including in each challenge all the causes of challenge belonging to the same class: 1. To the panel; 2. To an individual juror for a general disqual…

If all challenges on both sides are disallowed, either party, first the state and then the defendant, may take a peremptory challenge, unless the party's peremptory challenges are exhausted.

A continuance, within the meaning of this chapter, is the postponement of a cause for any period of time.

In a criminal prosecution, the state and the defendant each shall have the right to a speedy trial. The right to a speedy trial in a criminal case in which the charging instrument contains a charge of a felony offense under section 19-03.1-23 or under chapter 12.1-20 is for the t…

The court, upon a showing of sufficient cause therefor by either party, may direct the trial of a cause to be postponed to another day in the same term or to the next term.

Any cause that would be considered adequate for a postponement of a civil action is sufficient in a criminal action.

An application for a continuance may be made when a criminal action is called for trial, or at any time previous thereto.

An application for a continuance on the ground that a witness is absent must show: 1. That the applicant has used due diligence to prepare for the trial; 2. The nature of the diligence used; 3. The name and residence of the absent witness; 4. What the applicant expects or believe…

An application for a continuance on the ground that the defendant or the defendant's attorney of record is a member of either house of the legislative assembly must show: 1. That the legislative assembly then is, or at the time of trial, will be in session; 2. If made by the atto…

An application for a continuance must be in writing unless otherwise ordered by the court. Such application must specify the ground or grounds upon which it is based and must be filed by the state's attorney or counsel for the defendant, as the case may be.

The party applying for a continuance may file affidavits in support of that application and counter affidavits may be received or denied as the court may direct.

Whenever a continuance is granted, the reasons therefor must be entered in the minutes of the court.

When there are several defendants and a continuance is granted on the application of one or more but not of all defendants, the trial of the other defendants must proceed unless the court otherwise directs.

The jurors having been impaneled and sworn, the trial must proceed in the following order: 1. If the information or indictment is for a felony, the clerk or state's attorney shall read it, and shall state the plea of the defendant to the jury. In all other cases this formality ma…

When the state of the pleadings requires it, or in any other case, for good reasons and in the sound discretion of the court, the order of trial and argument prescribed in section 29-21-01 may be departed from.

The court shall decide all questions of law which arise in the course of the trial.

On the trial of an information or indictment for any offense other than libel, questions of law are to be decided by the court, and, although the jurors have the power to find a general verdict, which includes questions of law as well as of fact, they are bound, nevertheless, to …

A defendant in a criminal action is presumed to be innocent until the contrary is proved, and in case of a reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant's guilt is satisfactorily shown, the defendant is entitled to be acquitted.

When it appears that a defendant has committed a public offense and there is reasonable ground to doubt in which of two or more degrees the defendant is guilty, the defendant can be convicted of the lowest of such degrees only.

Whenever two or more persons are jointly charged with any crime, they must be tried jointly, subject to the power of the court, in its discretion and for special reasons, to order separate trials as to one or more of the defendants, and when tried jointly there may be joint or se…

When two or more persons are charged with an offense in the same information or indictment, the court, at any time before the defendants have gone into their defense, on the application of the state's attorney, may direct any defendant to be discharged from the information or ind…