Court Opinion

ID: 9700531
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 21:33:54.333807+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:21:10.439907
License: Public Domain

SANDSTROM, Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the opinion of the Court. I write to offer an additional observation on the Rule 403, N.D.R.Ev., balancing of the evidence’s probative value and potential for prejudice. N.D.C.C. § 39-08-20 makes it a crime to drive a motor vehicle in North Dakota without a valid policy of liability insurance. The requirement for motor vehicle liability insurance is a matter of common knowledge. The mere disclosure that such liability insurance exists confirms what jurors would likely assume, and is not likely to create surprise or prejudice. Compare Priel v. R.E.D., Inc., 392 N.W.2d 65, 68 (N.D.1986).
VANDE WALLE, C.J., concurs.