In North Dakota billionaire Henry Nicholas was able to buy his hobby horse initiated measure onto the statewide ballot for a vote. That was Marsy’s Law, the so-called “victims rights” amendment to the state constitution which has, since it was ratified by voters, been an absolute headache for the criminal justice system while doing very…
Thanks to Marsy’s Law Corporations Can Maybe Have Victim Rights Too
North Dakota voters made a grievous mistake when they, at the behest of a campaign funded by a California billionaire, approved the “Marsy’s Law” amendment to the state constitution. The fallout from that mistake continues to unfold in state courts. Earlier this year I wrote about a state Supreme Court decision in State vs. Strom…
Plain Talk Podcast: Rep. Karla Rose Hanson Discusses Gun Seizure Bill
Should the government be able to take a person’s guns because a court finds you dangerous? Is that a reasonable protection for public safety, or something amounting to pre-crime? Denying a person their civil rights based on what they might do? Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, a Democrat from Fargo and sponsor of so-called “red flag”…
Marsy’s Law May Have Put North Dakota in Violation of the 8th Amendment
Marsy’s Law is yet another of the legal headaches created by North Dakota’s deeply flawed initiated measure process. Approved by voters after a slick marketing campaign bankrolled by a California billionaire (who is currently facing drug trafficking charges), Marsy’s Law created in North Dakota’s constitution what supporters call “victim’s rights” and more honest observers describe…
Reminder: Marsy’s Law Is Still an Absolute Mess Which Has Done Very Little to Help Victims
Back during the 2016 election cycle North Dakota voters cast their ballots overwhelmingly for Marsy’s Law, a constitutional amendment that was the hobby horse of (recently indicted) California billionaire Henry Nicholas. Critics of the measure (including this humble observer) argued that the amendment would make a mess out of existing laws and policies governing the…
Billionaire Who Funded Marsy’s Law Campaign Busted for Drug Trafficking in Las Vegas
The Marsy’s Law campaign here in North Dakota was the pet project of California billionaire Henry Nicholas who has spent millions pushing ballot measures here in North Dakota and elsewhere. In fact, in our state, Nicholas was pretty much the only contributor to the measure campaign, paying for signature collectors and a slick media campaign…
North Dakota Supreme Court Begins Cleaning up the Marsy’s Law Mess
Marsy’s Law is terrible public policy. “[A] hobby farm for an eccentric California billionaire,” as former state Supreme Court Justice Sandstrom told me during the 2016 election cycle when voters cast their ballots overwhelmingly for the constitutional amendment. Unfortunately, I think North Dakota voters were bamboozled by slick campaign (Kelsey Grammer!) funded exclusively from California by…
Lacee Anderson: Port Throws Marsy’s Law Under the Bus
Rob Port’s latest attempt to throw Marsy’s Law under the bus as a “tragic mistake” is ill-advised and uninformed. Port references a recent incident involving a police officer who invoked his Marsy’s Law rights after shooting a member of the public who allegedly attacked him. Among the many erroneous assumptions Port has made in his…
North Dakota’s Initiated Measure Reformers Should Look to Montana
I’m not exactly a fan of legislating at the ballot box, or direct democracy generally. But in particular, I don’t believe it’s a good idea to enact complicated public policy merely through a vote of the people. Does anyone really believe that harried voters, already asked to be informed on national and state and local…
The Bismarck Tribune Was Right to Publish the Name of Officer Who Invoked Marsy’s Law
Last week I posted about an incident from Bismarck where an officer involved in shooting a member of the public who was allegedly attacking him invoked Marsy’s Law to hide his identity from the public. Marsy’s Law is the supposed “victims rights” amendment to the state constitution passed by voters last year. Among the bad…