Title 6, Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Standards for Detention. The following shall be minimum standards for the detention of juveniles provided for in this chapter: (a) Juvenile detention facilities must be so constructed and/or maintained as to keep juveniles segregated from adult offenders or those being treated as…

Secure Facilities. (a) DYS shall maintain and operate secure facilities for the custody of juvenile offenders who are pending adjudication by the court or have been committed to a period of detention by the court. (b) DYS shall only place minors in facilities that provide humane …

Appeals. All orders or final judgments made by any court in matters affecting a juvenile within the purview of this chapter may be appealed by the juvenile or the Commonwealth in accordance with 6 CMC § 8101. Appeals shall be reviewed as provided by the Commonwealth Rules of Appe…

Reassessment of Committed Juveniles – Records – Failure to Reassess. (a) DYS shall make periodic reassessments of all juveniles committed to detention for the purpose of determining whether existing orders and dispositions in individual cases should be modified or continued in fo…

Term of Commitment – Review After Commitment. A juvenile offender committed to a secure facility shall remain until the offender reaches eighteen years of age, is retained for extended custody pursuant to 4 CMC § 5137, or is released or discharged. For every, juvenile offender co…

Release from Custody of DYS. (a) DYS may recommend that the juvenile court order the early release of a juvenile who has been committed to the detention facility. (b) Juvenile offenders may be released to their own home, to a residential community based program, to a nonresidenti…

Compensation – Amount – Crediting Account of Juvenile – Juveniles not Employees – Accountability of Other Than Restitution Funds. Each juvenile who is engaged in productive work for compensation while under the jurisdiction and in the custody of DYS, or while participating in any…

Truancy. (a) Any juvenile subject to compulsory education pursuant to 3 CMC § 1141 who has not been granted a waiver from the Commissioner of Education and who is absent without valid excuse for (1) five days in one semester under block scheduling; or (2) ten days in one semester…

Encouraging Violations. (a) A person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor as defined in 6 CMC § 102(s) when such person by any act or neglect (1) encourages, aids or causes a juvenile to come within the purview or jurisdiction of this chapter, or (2) fails to comply with the requirem…

School Attendance - Jurisdiction Over Students and Parents. (a) The Board of Education shall establish a School Attendance Review Committee. The School Attendance Review Committee shall include, but need not be limited to, a parent of a school age child and representatives of: (1…

Records – Privileged Information. (a) The court shall maintain records of all cases brought before it. In proceedings under this chapter, juvenile courtroom proceedings and records shall not be open to the public and shall remain confidential except upon order of the court. (b) T…

Program Records as Property of Department – Control of Records. Copies of records regarding individual juveniles, which records are maintained by providers under contract with DYS to provide services to juvenile offenders, and which records are not protected by privilege, are the…

Expungement of record – Hearing – Findings Necessary – Special Index – Effect of Order. (a) Any person who has been adjudicated delinquent in a case under this chapter may, after the expiration of five years from the date of termination of the continuing jurisdiction of the court…

Process Obligatory Upon Police. (a) All process in any criminal proceeding, contempt proceeding, or in a juvenile delinquency proceeding, issued in accordance with law and the rules of procedure prescribed in accordance with law, shall be obligatory upon all police officers and m…

Limitation of Arrests Without a Warrant. No arrest of any person may be made without first obtaining a warrant for the arrest, except as authorized in this chapter or as otherwise provided by law. Source: 12 TTC § 52.

Authority to Arrest or Detain Without Warrant. Arrest without a warrant is authorized in the following situations: (a) Where a breach of the peace or other criminal offense has been committed, and the offender endeavors to escape, the offender may be arrested by virtue of an oral…

Use of Force in Making Arrest. In all cases where the person arrested refuses to submit or attempts to escape, such degree of force may be used as is necessary to compel submission. Source: 12 TTC § 65.

Rights of Persons Arrested. (a) In any case of arrest or temporary detention for examination, as provided in 6 CMC § 6103(d), it is unlawful: (1) To deny to the arrested person the right to see at reasonable intervals, and for a reasonable time at the place of detention, the pers…

Effect of Irregularities in Issuance of Warrant of Arrest. The proceedings before a court or an official authorized to issue a warrant of arrest may not be invalidated, nor any finding, order, or sentence set aside or any error or omission, technical or otherwise, occurring in th…

Effect of Violation of Division. No violation of a provision of this division shall in and of itself entitle an accused to an acquittal, but no evidence obtained as a result of any violation may be admitted against the accused; provided, that any person detained in custody in vio…

Power to Grant Writs of Habeas Corpus. Writs of habeas corpus may be granted by the Commonwealth Superior Court or any of its judges. Every person unlawfully imprisoned or restrained of his or her liberty under any pretense whatsoever, or any person on behalf of an unlawfully imp…

Application for Writ. Application for the writ of habeas corpus shall be made to the court by a written statement under oath signed by the party for whose relief it is intended, or by some person in his or her behalf. It shall set forth the facts concerning the imprisonment or re…

Action by Superior Court Clerk Upon Application for Writ. If the application for a writ of habeas corpus is made to the Clerk of the Commonwealth Superior Court, the clerk shall immediately bring the application to the personal attention of a judge. Source: 9 TTC § 103, modified.

Show Cause Order. A judge entertaining an application for a writ of habeas corpus shall issue an order directing the person against whom the writ is requested to show cause why the writ should not be granted, unless it appears from the application that the person detained is not …

Issuance or Denial of Writ. A judge hearing the application for a writ of habeas corpus and authorized to issue the writ shall, without delay or formality, determine the facts, grant the writ unconditionally, deny the writ, or grant the writ on terms fixed by the court and discha…

Evidence. On application for a writ of habeas corpus, evidence may be taken orally or by deposition, or in the discretion of the court, by written statement under oath. If written statements under oath are admitted, any party shall have the right to propound written interrogatori…

Appeals. In a habeas corpus proceeding, the final order is subject to appeal to the Commonwealth Supreme Court, provided that notice of appeal is filed within 30 days after entry of the final order. The court issuing the final order may, in its discretion, stay execution of the o…

Right of Commonwealth to Appeal. (a) In a criminal case, the Commonwealth government shall have the right to appeal only when a written enactment intended to have the force and effect of law has been held invalid. (b) In a criminal case an appeal by the Commonwealth government sh…

Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following phrases have the meaning indicated, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (a) “Victim” means a person, other than a perpetrator, who has suffered direct physical, emotional or economic harm as a result of the commissio…

Establishment of Victim Witness Advocacy Unit. A Victim Witness Advocacy Unit is hereby established within the Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Division. The Victim Witness Advocacy Unit shall be headed by a Victim Witness Coordinator. The Victim Witness Coordinator shall…

Duties and Responsibilities. (a) The duties and responsibilities of the Victim Witness Advocacy Unit shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Preparation and dissemination of the victims’ bill of rights as enumerated in this chapter to all appropriate agencies; (2) Assist victim…

Victims Bill of Rights. (a) Best efforts to accord rights. Officers and employees of the Office of the Attorney General and other departments and agencies of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands engaged in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime shall ma…

Services to Victims. (a) Designation of responsible officials. The head of each department and agency of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands engaged in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime shall designate by names and office titles the persons who wi…

Appeal Information. The Attorney General’s office shall inform the victim or victim’s family if the defendant seeks appellate review of a conviction or sentence, the status of the case on appeal, and the decision of the appellate court upon disposition. Source: PL 10-81, § 8; PL …

Submission of Victim Impact Statement to the Court. (a) Prior to imposition of sentence in a felony case, the Victim Witness Advocacy Unit shall prepare a written victim impact statement which shall be appended to the pre-sentence report on the defendant prepared by the probation…

Access to Written Victim Impact Statements. The court shall make available copies of the statement to the defendant, defendant’s counsel, and the Attorney General’s office. These parties shall return all copies of the statement to the court immediately following the imposition of…

Consideration of the Victim Impact Statement. Any victim impact statement submitted to the court under 6 CMC § 9107(a) shall be among the factors considered by the court in determining the sentence to be imposed upon the defendant. Source: PL 10-81, § 11.

Limitation. This statute shall not be construed to require a victim to submit a victim impact statement or to cooperate in the preparation of a victim impact statement. Source: PL 10-81, § 12.

Victim’s Right to Privacy. (a) A victim has the right not to testify at any court proceeding regarding the victim’s home or employment address, home or employment telephone number, place of employment, or personal assets or other personal information unless the court finds it nec…

Limitations on Employers. A victim may not be discharged or disciplined by the victim’s employer for honoring a subpoena to testify or for necessary participation in the preparation of any criminal proceeding. Source: PL 10-81, § 14. Commission Comment: PL 10-81 contains a severa…

Security mortgages, deposits, or pawns with firearms, destructive devices, or ammunition prohibited; loan or rental of firearms, destructive devices, or ammunition prohibited. (a) No firearm, dangerous device, destructive device, or ammunition shall be security for, or be taken o…

Allowing an unsupervised minor to use or possess a firearm. (a) Unless permitted by subsection (b), any person who allows a minor, defined as any person under 21 years of age, to use or possess a firearm shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,00…

Sale of firearms, destructive devices, dangerous devices, or ammunition to persons under 21 years of age prohibited. A person who knowingly or intentionally sells, transfers, or distributes a firearm, dangerous device, destructive device, or ammunition to a person under 21 years …

Storage of firearms; penalties. (a) No person shall keep a firearm within a residence, a place of business, or on private land unless: (1) the firearm is stored in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock; or (2) the firearm is carried on the person of an individual ove…

Authority to carry firearms in certain places and for certain purposes. (a) A person may not carry a firearm, except as provided by this Division or Commonwealth law. (b) A person lawfully in possession of a firearm may carry the firearm: (1) within the registrant’s home or on la…

Lawful transportation of firearms. (a) Any person who is not otherwise prohibited by the law from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be permitted to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry the firearm to …