North Dakota

ND governor signs fetal heartbeat law, calls constitutionality ‘an open question’

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple acknowledges his state will face a legal fight over three new anti-abortion measures he signed into law on Tuesday. One law bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy, report the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times…

Mar 27, 2013 12:04 PM CDT

Red Flag re Dual Representation: No-Contact Order Precludes Clients from Signing Retainer Together

A North Dakota attorney has been reprimanded and ordered to pay more than $7,000 in disciplinary proceeding costs for representing two clients with a conflict of interest that could not be waived. Blake D. Hankey signed on to represent both the alleged perpetrator and the claimed victim in a criminal…

Oct 17, 2012 4:47 PM CDT

PI Lawyer Plans to Sue His Alleged Attackers, Located Through iPhone Tracking

A North Dakota personal injury lawyer who was beaten and robbed after confronting three men early Saturday plans to sue the alleged attackers, even though he has little expectation of recovering much money from any judgment. The lawyer, a Grand Forks resident, declined to be identified because of fears the…

Sep 11, 2012 11:35 AM CDT

Energy Boom in North Dakota Pushes Indigent Defense System Near ‘Constitutional Crisis,’ Report Says

The energy boom in North Dakota has lowered the unemployment rate to 2.9 percent but led to dramatic increases in crime, straining the indigent defense system, according to a report by a state bar association task force. The report concludes North Dakota’s Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents is on…

Aug 22, 2012 3:26 PM CDT

Panel Ponders: Does State Agency Have Power to Lift Lawyer’s License for Unpaid Child Support?

Rudolph Tollefson is the only attorney in North Dakota who has had his law license suspended due to late child-support payments, according to the director of the state agency that enforces such payments. But some are wondering why the Child Support Enforcement Division of the North Dakota Department of Human…

May 29, 2012 4:33 PM CDT

Ex-Fed’l Prosecutor Gets Suspended 1 More Year in Latest Shoplift Case

Bar authorities in North Dakota have extended for another year the suspension from law practice of a former federal prosecutor who admittedly shoplifted two knives in separate incidents last year. Dennis Fisher’s suspension will now extend until August of 2010 under today’s ruling by the North Dakota Supreme Court, reports…

Sep 8, 2009 10:54 PM CDT

North Dakota Law Dean Says U.S. News Info on Clerkships Is Wrong

The dean of the University of North Dakota School of Law says U.S. News & World Report’s latest ranking is wrong, and she’s asking for a correction. U.S. News & World Report reported on Friday that Yale Law School is tops for having the highest percentage of 2007 grads in…

Sep 8, 2009 3:20 PM CDT

Phony Lawyer Sentenced to Four Years in Prison

A man who duped clients and colleagues into believing he was a lawyer has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison. Howard Kieffer was sentenced Friday in Bismarck, N.D., after he was convicted on charges of mail fraud and making false statements in connection with his appellate…

Aug 17, 2009 11:32 AM CDT

N.D. Woman in Child Neglect Case Allegedly Breast-Fed Baby While Drunk

A North Dakota woman has been charged with child neglect for allegedly breast-feeding her six-week-old infant while drunk. However, a prosecutor says the claimed incident, in which Stacey Anvarinia is accused of breast-feeding her baby directly in front of police while heavily intoxicated, is not the only factor in the…

Apr 30, 2009 9:22 PM CDT

Fake Lawyer Convicted, Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison

A man who duped clients and colleagues into believing he was a lawyer has been convicted of mail fraud and making false statements about his ability to practice law. A federal jury in Bismarck, N.D., convicted Howard O. Kieffer after deliberating just an hour and a half, the Associated Press…

Apr 16, 2009 11:10 AM CDT

Lawyers Testify They Were Duped by Fake Attorney

Three lawyers testifying in the North Dakota trial of a nonlawyer accused of practicing law said they were duped into believing he had a law license because of his apparent expertise. Prosecutors claim nonlawyer Howard Kieffer worked on federal cases in at least 10 states and appeared at seminars throughout…

Apr 15, 2009 4:29 PM CDT

N.D. Defense Lawyer Charged in Shoplifting Case—His 3rd

A prominent North Dakota defense attorney and former federal prosecutor was arrested after a struggle with a loss prevention officer today and charged with disorderly conduct and suspicion of shoplifting. Dennis Fisher, 64, is accused of having stolen a hunting knife from Sportsman’s Warehouse in Fargo, reports the Forum. Fisher,…

Aug 1, 2008 9:53 PM CDT

O.J.’s Cigar Bar Interview: Anybody Else Wouldn’t Be Tried

O.J. Simpson hinted that an armed robbery charge against him is politically motivated, in an interview he gave to a North Dakota radio station in a Fargo cigar bar. “If I was anybody else, I wouldn’t be going to court,” Simpson told the KFGO interviewer while vacationing in the area,…

Jun 27, 2008 5:32 PM CDT

Farmers File Suit for Right to Grow Hemp

Two North Dakota farmers have filed a lawsuit that asks a federal judge to force the Bush administration to allow them to grow hemp. The Washington Post calls hemp “a strait-laced cousin of marijuana” that is found in everything from fabric to food. It has such a small amount of…

Nov 12, 2007 4:01 PM CST