Court Opinion

ID: 9524821
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:57:30.555521+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:12:02.981616
License: Public Domain

BARKEN, District Judge
concurring specially and dissenting.
As stated in the majority opinion: “Undoubtedly, the State interest in preserving the integrity of the election process and allowing the electorate to choose among candidates on the basis of accurate information is of paramount importance”. It is my belief that that was the intent and purpose of the legislature for enacting Chapter 16-20, N.D.C.C., as amended, entitled Corrupt Practices, and specifically Section 16-20-17.3, N.D.C.C., as amended.
I agree that the majority has correctly determined that the district court did not commit error when it held that the letter mailed by the North Dakota Republican Party and written by Crawford and Sellie contained a false statement, and that Crawford comes within the meaning of the term “sponsor”.
*629I dissent from the determination by the majority that the district court did not commit reversible error when it held that Crawford did not knowingly sponsor false statements in the letter.
Mr. Crawford is a man with a degree of doctor of philosophy. He has a history of active partisan political activities which includes managing prior campaigns for state office for himself and others. He had complete knowledge of the Order and Judgment of the United States District Court shortly after the Order and Judgment had been signed by Judge Paul Benson, January 28, 1980. During March of 1980 Crawford had complete knowledge of the news letter written by Snortland’s deputy. Crawford admitted that he had had conferences regarding the matter with his campaign ad-visors. He was aware of all facts and deliberately and calculatingly drafted the letter containing the false statement designed to arouse and inflame emotions against Snort-land and he mailed it to approximately 20,-000 prospective voters in this state during October, 1980, approximately eight days before the November general election. The months that it took to analyze and reach a position on the issue clearly show calculated deliberations. Nevertheless, for all of Crawford’s calculated deliberation, he still conveyed false information to the voters. The deliberate calculation of Crawford is further shown by the manner in which the false information was presented to the voters. The false statement of Crawford was placed in the final paragraph of the letter sent to voters. Because the false statement was presented within the last lines of the letter, the voters were more apt to remember the false statement as the main point of the letter, without realizing the falsity in the statement. The late mailing of the letter was the most effective use of the statement. It left the voters little time to weigh the truthfulness of the letter’s contents and left no time for Snortland to effectively respond to the false statement the letter contained.
The word “knowingly” applies to the falsity of the statement. It should not be a shield to hide behind in falsely characterizing an opponent’s record.
The words in Crawford’s letter inaccurately and falsely stated what Snortland had done and failed to advise that whatever he had done was pursuant to the order and judgment of the United States District Court. There is nothing in the record to support a finding that this was not knowingly done as “knowingly” is defined by Section 12.1-02-02(l)(b) of the N.D.C.C., as amended. The judgment should be reversed and Crawford punished by being deprived of the office pursuant to Section 16-20-22, N.D.C.C.
In view of Buckley v. Valleo, 424 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976), I concur with the majority decision that Section 16-20-04, N.D.C.C., is unconstitutional because it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 4, of the North Dakota Constitution. The majority decision has, in effect, nullified Chapter 16-20 in its entirety.