Opinion ID: 1285981
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the jurisdiction of the district courts

Text: In Carruth v. Taylor, supra , it was held that the Legislature had the power to regulate habeas corpus proceedings, and to place reasonable restrictions upon the exercise of the constitutional right, and that the Legislature might limit the venue of habeas corpus proceedings to the judicial district of confinement, as it did in Section 8651, Revised Code of 1899, now Section 32-22-04, N.D.C.C., permitting district courts to issue writs of habeas corpus on behalf of any person restrained of his liberty in their respective districts. During the years since Carruth v. Taylor the statutes of this State as to habeas corpus have been changed, the greatest change coming with the adoption of the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act, Chapter 29-32, N.D.C.C., in 1969 (Ch. 304, 1969 S.L.). This Act provides, in subdivision 2 of 29-32-01, that the post-conviction remedy . . . is not a substitute for nor does it affect any remedy incident to the proceedings in the trial court, or of direct review of the sentence or conviction. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter it comprehends and takes the place of all other common law, statutory, or other remedies heretofore available for challenging the validity of the conviction or sentence. It shall be used exclusively in place of them. It further provides, in Section 29-32-02: The district court in which, by the constitution of this state, original jurisdiction in habeas corpus is vested, may entertain in accordance with its rules a proceeding under this chapter in the exercise of its original jurisdiction. In that event, this chapter, to the extent applicable, governs the proceeding. Although the words habeas corpus are not used in the quoted portion of 29-32-01, it is clear, we believe, that the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act was intended to replace, so far as persons arrested for, or convicted of, violations of criminal law are concerned, the habeas corpus statutes. [1] The Legislature's failure to repeal the habeas corpus statutes is due, we presume, to the fact that these statutes apply also to civil matters such as determination of child custody, or of the right to release from a mental institution and propriety of confinement for civil contempt. [2] If the provisions of the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act were less favorable to the accused than the constitutional right of habeas corpus, we would necessarily have to hold the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act to that extent unconstitutional, in view of the peremptory mandate of the Constitution of North Dakota, Section 5, that: The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless, when in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require. However, we find no provision of the Act which restricts the constitutional right. The petitioner argues that the requirement of the Act that he bring his petition before the district court in the district of conviction, rather than the district of confinement, constitutes an unreasonable restriction upon his right to the writ. We believe, however, that it is a reasonable regulation. As mentioned, we held in Carruth v. Taylor that a requirement that the petition be filed in the district of confinement was constitutionally permissible. We likewise find now that a requirement of filing a petition under the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act in the district of conviction is constitutionally permissible. It may, in fact, be preferable for both the State and the petitioner, since, as the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws point out in their Comment, § 3: The advantages of this change are: (1) It will reduce the burden of the courts at the place of confinement; (2) since most of the witnesses who are called are likely to be found in the area of the conviction, the costs of the proceeding will be reduced; (3) the convicting court is more familiar with the background and facts of the case. Uniform Laws Annotated, p. 512. See also, United States v. Hayman, 342 U.S. 205, 72 S.Ct. 263, 96 L.Ed. 232 (1952), holding constitutional a Federal post-conviction procedural statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2255. As the United States Supreme Court there said: Nowhere in the history of Section 2255 do we find any purpose to impinge upon prisoners' rights of collateral attack upon their convictions. On the contrary, the sole purpose was to minimize the difficulties encountered in habeas corpus hearings by affording the same rights in another and more convenient forum. 342 U.S. at 219, 72 S.Ct. at 272. We have explored the constitutionality of the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act because the petitioner, prior to his petition here, applied to the district court of Burleigh County (the district in which he is confined) for a writ of habeas corpus. That court refused to issue the writ, and the petitioner claims it had no right to refuse. The district court based its refusal upon the permissive language of Section 29-32-02, N.D.C.C., quoted above, and elected to refer the petitioner to the district in which he was convicted, and to the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act. We hold, contrary to the contentions of the petitioner, that Section 29-32-02, N.D.C.C., quoted above, is permissive; that the district court of Burleigh County was within its discretion in so acting; and that the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act, so far as it affects the venue of district courts, is not unconstitutionally restrictive. [3] For reasons we have stated, because of the provisions of the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act and in the interest of orderly management of the case flow of the courts, petitions for relief in the nature of habeas corpus should normally be directed to the court in the district of conviction, under the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act. The right of petition to the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus in its original jurisdiction is still preserved [Constitution, Sec. 87, and Carruth v. Taylor, supra], but we may decline to exercise our jurisdiction if the petition for the writ can be, but has not been, made to the district court.