Title 44 — Offices and Officers

The defendant may answer the accusation either by objecting to the sufficiency thereof or of any article therein, or by denying or admitting the truth of the same.

If the defendant objects to the legal sufficiency of the accusation, the objection must be in writing but need not be in any specific form, it being sufficient if it presents intelligibly the ground of the objection.

If the defendant denies the truth of the accusation, the denial may be oral and without oath and must be entered upon the minutes.

If an objection to the sufficiency of the accusation is not sustained, the defendant must answer the accusation forthwith.

If the defendant pleads guilty, the court must render judgment of conviction against the defendant. If the defendant denies the matters charged or refuses to answer the accusation, the court immediately, or at such time as it may appoint, must proceed to try the accusation.

The trial must be by a jury and must be conducted in all respects in the same manner as the trial of an information or indictment for a misdemeanor.

Upon a conviction, the court must pronounce judgment that the defendant be removed from office. To warrant a removal the judgment must be entered upon the minutes, assigning therein the causes of removal.

The state's attorney, or other person appointed to prosecute, and the defendant, respectively, are entitled to such process as may be necessary to enforce the attendance of witnesses as upon a trial of an information or indictment.

From a judgment of removal, an appeal may be taken to the supreme court in the same manner as from a judgment in a civil action, but until such judgment is reversed the defendant is suspended from office. Pending the appeal the office must be filled as in case of vacancy.

The proceedings provided for in this chapter may be had on like grounds for the removal of a state's attorney, except that the accusation must be delivered by the judge to the clerk of the district court, and by the clerk to such person as may be appointed by the judge to act as …

When an accusation in writing and verified by the oath of any person is presented to the district court, alleging that an officer or school board member within the jurisdiction of the court has been guilty of charging and collecting illegal fees for services rendered or to be ren…

The state's attorney of the county, or person appointed to prosecute, must cause a copy of the accusation to be served upon the accused and, by written notice, must require the accused to appear before the court at a time specified, not more than twenty days nor less than five da…

On the day named in said notice or on some subsequent day not more than thirty days from that on which the accusation was presented, to be fixed by the judge, the court must proceed to hear the accusation and evidence offered in support of the same, and the answer, if any is made…

If a jury is required as provided in section 44-10-18, the court forthwith, in a summary manner, must cause a jury to be impaneled and the matter submitted to it. Challenges must be allowed and the trial conducted in the same manner as a trial by jury in a civil action.

If the charge is tried by the court, it shall proceed as upon the trial of a civil action by the court. The decision of the court or the verdict of the jury must be "guilty" or "not guilty". Costs must be awarded as in a civil action. If the accused is found guilty, either by the…

Nothing contained in this chapter may be construed to prevent any officer from being proceeded against for a crime or public offense in the manner which may be provided by law for proceeding against any other person accused of a crime or public offense, nor to limit the power of …

The governor may remove from office any county commissioner, sheriff, coroner, county auditor, recorder, state's attorney, county treasurer, superintendent of schools, surveyor, public administrator, city auditor, city commissioner, mayor, township officer, rural fire protection …

1. The petition against any official authorized to be removed by the governor must be entitled in the name of this state and must be filed with the attorney general. 2. The charges against any official, other than a school board member, may be made upon the petition of fifty qual…

The petition and thereafter the complaint must state the charges against the accused, and, unless filed by the state's attorney or attorney general, must be verified and may be amended as in ordinary actions. If such amendment of the complaint or charges includes any new or addit…

If the governor judges that the best interests of the state require it to be done, the governor by written order to be delivered to such officer, may suspend the accused officer from the performance of duty during the pendency of the removal proceedings. If the governor suspends …

The governor shall appoint as a special commissioner a retired or former judge, or other competent person learned in the law to preside over the removal proceedings. The prosecutor shall file with the special commissioner a complaint containing the allegations against the officer…

Repealed by S.L. 2013, ch. 342, § 12.

Within thirty days of the appointment of the special commissioner, a hearing shall be held in open court on the allegations of the complaint. The proceedings shall be recorded by a court reporter or court recorder. The accused is entitled to be present and be heard in person or t…

If after reviewing the report and recommendation, the governor determines that removal is in the best interests of the state, the governor shall make an order in writing removing the accused from office, and shall cause a copy of the order to be delivered to the accused and one c…

When the accused person so removed is aggrieved by the removal, the accused person is entitled to appeal from the decision of removal made by the governor to the district court in any other district of the state upon filing a notice in the office of the clerk of the district cour…

The clerk of the district court shall notify the governor of the filing of an appeal by registered or certified mail. The governor, within ten days after the receipt of such notice, shall mail to the clerk of said court the testimony in such removal proceedings, together with a c…

The fees of the special commissioner provided for by this chapter must be two hundred dollars per day, and in addition thereto, the special commissioner shall receive mileage from the commissioner's residence to the place of trial the same as is allowed by law to sheriffs. The sp…

When a special commissioner has been appointed as provided in this chapter, the commissioner forthwith shall take an oath and shall file the same with the governor that: 1. The commissioner, impartially and to the best of the commissioner's knowledge and ability, without fear, fa…

After taking and filing the oath of office, the commissioner has authority to issue subpoenas for persons and subpoenas duces tecum and to administer oaths to witnesses the same as is conferred upon district judges. The subpoenas may be directed to any sheriff, or chief of police…

Repealed by S.L. 2013, ch. 342, § 12.

Repealed by S.L. 2013, ch. 342, § 12.

As provided in this chapter: 1. "Acknowledgment" means a declaration by an individual before a notarial officer that the individual has signed a record for the purpose stated in the record and, if the record is signed in a representative capacity, that the individual signed the r…

The provisions of this chapter apply to notarial acts performed on or after the effective date of this chapter.

1. A notarial officer may perform notarial acts authorized by this chapter or by other law of this state. 2. A notarial officer may certify a tangible copy of an electronic record is an accurate copy of the electronic record. The prohibition under subdivision b of subsection 7 of…

1. A notarial officer who takes an acknowledgment of a record shall determine, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the individual, that the individual appearing before the officer and making the acknowledgment has the identity claimed and that the …

If a notarial act relates to a statement made in or a signature executed on a record, the individual making the statement or executing the signature shall appear personally before the notarial officer.

1. A notarial officer has personal knowledge of the identity of an individual appearing before the officer if the individual is personally known to the officer through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual has the identity claimed. 2. A notarial …

1. A notarial officer may refuse to perform a notarial act if the officer is not satisfied that: a. The individual executing the record is competent or has the capacity to execute the record; or b. The individual's signature is knowingly and voluntarily made. 2. Except as prohibi…

If an individual is physically unable to sign a record, the individual may direct an individual other than the notarial officer to sign the individual's name on the record. The notarial officer shall insert "Signature affixed by (insert name of other individual) at the direction …

1. A notarial act may be performed in this state by the following individuals: a. A notary public of this state; b. A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of any court of this state; or c. Any other individual authorized to perform the specific act by the law of this state. 2. The signa…

1. A notarial act performed in another state has the same effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state, if the act performed in that state is performed by: a. A notary public of that state; b. A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court of…

1. A notarial act performed under the authority and in the jurisdiction of a federally recognized American Indian tribe has the same effect as if performed by a notarial officer of this state, if the act performed in the jurisdiction of that tribe is performed by: a. A notary pub…

1. A notarial act performed under federal law has the same effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state, if the act performed under federal law is performed by: a. A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court; b. An individual in military s…

1. In this section, "foreign state" means a government other than the United States, a state, or a federally recognized American Indian tribe. 2. If a notarial act is performed under authority and in the jurisdiction of a foreign state or constituent unit of the foreign state or …

1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: a. "Communication technology" means an electronic device or process that: (1) Allows a notary public and a remotely located individual to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and (2) When…

1. A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate. The certificate must: a. Be executed contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act; b. Be signed and dated by the notarial officer and, if the notarial officer is a notary public, be signed in the same manner as o…

The official stamp of a notary public must: 1. Include the notary public's name, jurisdiction, commission expiration date, and other information required under section 44-06.1-16 or by the secretary of state; and 2. Be capable of being copied together with the record to which it …

1. The secretary of state, upon receipt of the proper fee, oath, and bond, shall issue a certificate of authorization with which the notary public may obtain an official notary stamping device. A notary stamp vendor may provide a notary with an official stamping device only upon …

1. A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts the notary public performs with respect to a remotely located individual under section 44-06.1-13.1. The notary public shall retain the journal for ten years after the performance …

Whenever the office of any notary public becomes vacant, the stamping device must be destroyed as provided in section 44-06.1-16. If a notary public resigns the notary's commission, the notary shall notify the secretary of state within thirty days of the resignation, and shall in…