State v. Christian, 795 N.W.2d 702

Christian lived in a home owned by Darell Schrum with S.S., a minor who resided there and sometimes stayed with her grandmother.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant in 2009 and found drug paraphernalia and two pen barrels testing positive for cocaine in the home.
The State charged Christian with child endangerment, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Deputy Estes testified S.S. resided in the home and was observed coming and going from the residence.
Chief Frannea described the romantic relationship and the search, noting white specks on paraphernalia and photographs; items were entered as exhibits and tied to the home.
One pen barrel positive for cocaine was found in a night stand in a room Christians claimed as her bedroom, where women’s clothing and items were found.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency for child endangerment	Christian exposed S.S. to cocaine/paraphernalia by residence.	No direct evidence of exposure and limited evidence of intent.	Evidence supports guilt for endangerment
Sufficiency for possession of a controlled substance	Cocaine found in Christian's bedroom and common areas proves possession.	Possession not shown beyond mere location; require dominion.	Circumstantial evidence supports possession
Sufficiency for possession of drug paraphernalia	Pen barrels and other items are commonly used with drugs and were found in places of control.	Not every item is conclusive; need intent to use.	Circumstantial evidence shows intent and possession
Jury instruction adequacy on cocaine residue as cocaine	Instruction correctly reflects statute; residue equates to possession.	Dirty paraphernalia alone may be insufficient unless law supports it.	Instruction fair and adequately advised the law

State v. Wanner, 2010 ND 121 (ND) (sufficiency review standard)
State v. Dahl, 2009 ND 204 (ND) (insufficiency review framework)
State v. Noorlun, 2005 ND 189 (ND) (circumstantial evidence sufficiency)
State v. Dymowski, 458 N.W.2d 490 (ND) (residence evidence supporting possession inference)
State v. Morris, 331 N.W.2d 48 (ND) (circumstantial inference for possession)
State v. Demarais, 2009 ND 143 (ND) (circumstantial evidence supports possession in bedroom)
State v. Buckley, 2010 ND 248 (ND) (jury instructions—fair and adequate)
State v. Bauer, 2010 ND 109 (ND) (instructional adequacy standards)