North Dakota Const. art. 1, § 25 — North Dakota Constitution / Article 1 / Section 25
1.
Status: in_force

Section 25.
1.
To preserve and protect the right of crime victims to justice, to ensure crime victims a 
meaningful role throughout the criminal and juvenile justice systems, and to ensure 
that crime victims' rights and interests are respected and protected by law in a 
manner no less vigorous than the protections afforded to criminal defendants and 
delinquent children, all victims shall be entitled to the following rights, beginning at 
the time of their victimization:
a.
The right to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim's dignity.
b.
The right to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse.
c.
The right to be reasonably protected from the accused and any person acting on 
behalf of the accused.
d.
The right to have the safety and welfare of the victim and the victim's family 
considered when setting bail or making release decisions.
e.
The right to prevent the disclosure of information or records that could be used 
to locate or harass the victim or the victim's family, or which could disclose 
confidential or privileged information about the victim, and to be notified of any 
request for such information or records.
f.
The right to privacy, which includes the right to refuse an interview, deposition, 
or other discovery request made by the defendant, the defendant's attorney, or 
any person acting on behalf of the defendant, and to set reasonable conditions 
on the conduct of any such interaction to which the victim consents. Nothing in 
this section shall abrogate a defendant's sixth amendment rights under the 
Constitution of the United States nor diminish the state's disclosure obligations 
to a defendant.
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g.
The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of, and to be present at, all 
proceedings  involving  the  criminal  or  delinquent conduct,  including  release, 
plea,  sentencing,  adjudication,  and  disposition,  and  any  proceeding  during 
which a right of the victim is implicated.
h.
The right to be promptly notified of any release or escape of the accused.
i.
The right to be heard in any proceeding involving release, plea, sentencing, 
adjudication, disposition, or parole, and any proceeding during which a right of 
the victim is implicated.
j.
The right, upon request, to confer with the attorney for the government.
k.
The right to provide information regarding the impact of the offender's conduct 
on the victim and the victim's family to the individual responsible for conducting 
any  presentence  or  disposition  investigation  or  compiling  any  presentence 
investigation  report  or  recommendation  regarding,  and  to  have  any  such 
information considered in any sentencing or disposition recommendations.
l.
The right, upon request, to receive a copy of any report or record relevant to the 
exercise of a victim's right, except for those portions made confidential by law or 
unless  a  court  determines  disclosure  would  substantially  interfere  with  the 
investigation of a case, and to receive a copy of any presentence report or plan 
of disposition when available to the defendant or delinquent child.
m.
The right, upon request, to the prompt return of the victim's property when no 
longer needed as evidence in the case.
n.
The right to full and timely restitution in every case and from each offender for all 
losses suffered by the victim as a result of the criminal or delinquent conduct. All 
monies and property collected from any person who has been ordered to make 
restitution shall be first applied to the restitution owed to the victim before paying 
any amounts owed to the government.
o.
The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay, and to a prompt and 
final conclusion of the case and any related post-judgment proceedings.
p.
The right, upon request, to be informed of the conviction, adjudication, sentence, 
disposition, place, and time of incarceration, detention, or other disposition of 
the offender, any scheduled release date of the offender, and the release of or 
the escape by the offender from custody or commitment.
q.
The right, upon request, to be informed in a timely manner of all post-judgment 
processes and procedures, to participate in such processes and procedures, to 
provide information to the release authority to be considered before any release 
decision is made, and to be notified of any release decision regarding the 
offender. The parole authority shall extend the right to be heard to any person 
harmed by the offender.
r.
The right, upon request, to be informed in a timely manner of any pardon, 
commutation, reprieve, or expungement procedures, to provide information to 
the  governor,  the  court,  any  pardon  board,  and  other  authority  in  these 
procedures, and to have that information considered before a decision is made, 
and to be notified of such decision in advance of any release of the offender.
s.
The right to be informed of these rights, and to be informed that victims can 
seek the advice of an attorney with respect to their rights. This information shall 
be made available to the general public and provided to all crime victims in what 
is referred to as a Marsy's card.
2.
The victim, the retained attorney of the victim, a lawful representative of the victim, or 
the attorney for the government upon request of the victim may assert and seek 
enforcement of the rights enumerated in this section and any other right afforded to a 
victim by law in  any trial  or appellate court, or before any other authority with 
jurisdiction over the case, as a matter of right. The court or other authority with 
jurisdiction shall act promptly on such a request, ensuring that no right is deprived 
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without due process of law, and affording a remedy by due course of law for the 
violation of any right. The reasons for any decision regarding disposition of a victim's 
right shall be clearly stated on the record.
3.
The granting of these rights to victims shall not be construed to deny or disparage 
other rights possessed by victims. All provisions of this section apply throughout 
criminal and juvenile justice processes and are self-enabling. This section does not 
create any cause of action for damages against the state, any political subdivision of 
the state, any officer, employee, or agent of the state or of any of its political 
subdivisions, or any officer or employee of the court.
4.
As used in this section, a "victim" is a person who suffers direct or threatened 
physical, psychological, or financial harm as a result of the commission or attempted 
commission of a crime or delinquent act or against whom the crime or delinquent act 
is committed. If a victim is deceased, incompetent, incapacitated, or a minor, the 
victim's spouse, parent, grandparent, child, sibling, grandchild, or guardian, and any 
person  with  a  relationship  to  the  victim  that  is  substantially  similar  to  a  listed 
relationship, may also exercise these rights. The term "victim" does not include the 
accused or a person whom the court finds would not act in the best interests of a 
deceased, incompetent, minor, or incapacitated victim.
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