Key legislators
Who's moving criminal justice in North Dakota
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All criminal justice bills
HCR 3021 is a proposed constitutional amendment to North Dakota's judicial system. It would remove civil and criminal immunity for judges, void judgments violating due process, state/federal law, or the U.S. or North Dakota constitutions, and require judicial vacancies (supreme court or district court) to be filled by a bipartisan committee's nominees rather than solely by the governor. This directly affects all state judges and the court system by changing how judges are appointed and held accountable. The amendment must be approved by voters in the 2026 primary election, as it failed to pass the legislature (13 yeas, 80 nays) in February 2025.
HB 1301 would require North Dakota courts to explicitly prohibit probationers from possessing firearms, destructive devices, or dangerous weapons as a standard condition of probation, except for specific first-time misdemeanor offenses under certain sections (like minor traffic violations or low-level drug offenses) if the court makes a documented finding of "good cause" to waive the ban. It also adds new probation conditions like community service, electronic monitoring, and strict rules against failing urine tests, while prohibiting firearm bans for most other misdemeanors. The bill applies to all probation sentences imposed after its effective date. This would directly affect individuals on probation for most crimes, limiting their access to firearms unless specific legal exceptions apply.
Relating to the costs of a defendant's prosecution, the cost of a presentence investigation and report, reimbursement of indigent defense costs and expenses, the fee for the indigent defense services application, the court administration fee, and the community service supervision fee; to repeal sections 12.1‑32‑02.2, 27‑01‑10, 27‑05.2‑08, 27‑05.2‑09, and 27‑05.2‑10 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to repayment of rewards paid by crimestoppers programs, the fee for crime victim and witness programs, and the court facilities improvement and maintenance fund; and to provide for application.
