Opinion ID: 2124512
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: motion for release pending appeal

Text: In State v. Stevens, 234 N.W.2d 623, 626 (N.D.1975), we approved the rule ... that a convicted defendant is entitled to release while the appeal is pending only if it appears (1) that the appeal is not frivolous, (2) the appeal is not taken for the purpose of delay, (3) there is sufficient reason to believe that the conditions of release will reasonably assure that the defendant will not flee, and (4) there is sufficient reason to believe that the defendant does not pose a danger to any other person or to the community. Jensen was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder. During the course of the trial the trial court, over the objection of the State, reduced the charges from first-degree to second-degree murder. The jury found him guilty of two counts of second-degree murder. On February 19, 1976, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison on each count, with an additional ten years, pursuant to Section 62-01-02, N.D.C.C., because the murders were committed while armed. The sentences are concurrent. On the day of sentencing Jensen moved for release from custody pending appeal. A hearing was held, and the court ruled against release. The court's oral statement of reasons for denying the motion included statements that a defense of insanity had been interposed, that a psychiatric examination had been made and a report furnished, and that the court believed that no substantial error had been committed at the trial. Within a week thereafter the court complied with the requirements of Section 12.1-32-09, subsection 4, N.D.C.C., requiring a written statement of its reasons for imposing an extended sentence. The court mentioned the jury verdict finding the defendant guilty of two murders with a firearm; that the defendant had previously resorted to violence, indicating that he has an unstable temperament and is sometimes given to resorting to overt violence; that he has no one dependent upon him or subjected to hardship by reason of his incarceration; and that he is a dangerous special offender. Jensen appealed promptly and the appeal is moving expeditiously. He raises serious questions of substance on his appeal, some of them arising out of the fact that the crime was committed prior to the effective date of the complete revision of our substantive criminal law adopted by the 1973 Legislative Assembly and effective July 1, 1975, now codified in Title 12.1, N.D.C.C., while the trial and sentence occurred later. Uncertainties arose as to the applicability of the old and the new law. We have no hesitation in finding that the appeal is not frivolous and was not taken for purposes of delay. On the question of whether Jensen can be released on conditions which will reasonably assure that he will not flee, Jensen points to his compliance with prior orders of the court while he was on bail pending the trial, his ownership of real estate in this State, and his good record in the armed forces for more than twenty years. We must recognize, of course, that the temptation to flee after a conviction is greater than the temptation prior to trial, when there may be more hope of acquittal. However, just as the trial court seemed to accept the argument that Jensen would not flee if released on bail, we will likewise accept it. There remains the question of whether the defendant poses a danger to other persons and the community, if released on bail. We have mentioned his plea of insanity, the nature of the crime, and previous resort to violence. The latter finding of the trial court arose from an episode in which Jensen became angry at another motorist, pursued his vehicle onto private property and repeatedly rammed it with his own vehicle, and offered violence to the other driver. While Jensen minimizes this episode by referring to the fifty-dollar fine imposed on him after conviction of assault and battery as a result of this incident, we agree with the trial court that the episode is indicative of an unstable temperament and a proclivity for violent methods of resolving disputes, and that it justifies, along with the other facts, a finding that releasing the defendant pending the appeal would pose a danger to other persons and the community. We also take into account the fact that the trial judge had the opportunity, during a trial lasting almost two weeks, to observe the defendant and form an opinion as to his conduct. We also note that the two victims of the murders were Indians, whom the defendant had picked up while they were hitchhiking, and that the defendant admits to being a racist so far as Indians are concerned. We have no hesitancy in denying the motion for release pending appeal. We hold that there is not sufficient reason to believe that Jensen does not pose a danger to others and the community.