994 N.W.2d 367
N.D.2023Background
- On June 4, 2021, Jane Doe was attacked in an alley in Fargo; she was stabbed 25 times and strangled and died three days later.
- A truck driver found Jane Doe unconscious and Kollie at the scene with a hand on her throat; Kollie fled after being told to wait for police.
- Kollie was charged with murder, robbery, and aggravated assault; a jury convicted him on all counts and the district court sentenced him to life without parole.
- On appeal Kollie raised four principal claims: violations of his public-trial right based on bench conferences, error in the murder jury instruction (unanimity), double jeopardy with aggravated assault, and erroneous admission of a short video of the victim.
- The Supreme Court affirmed: it rejected the public-trial and double jeopardy claims, upheld the jury instruction, and found the video admission erroneous but harmless.
Issues
| Issue | State's Argument | Kollie's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public-trial right — sidebars/bench conferences | Sidebars were held in view of the public and concerned routine evidentiary or scheduling matters; public-trial right satisfied and record context suffices | Sidebars were conducted out of public hearing and not adequately recorded, violating the right to a public trial | No closure; sidebars addressed routine matters and were observable; record gaps were forfeited and defendant failed to reconstruct prejudice — no reversible error |
| Jury instruction — unanimity on murder (alternative means) | Murder statutory subsections are alternative, nonexclusive means of one offense; a general verdict is permissible | Combining (intentional/knowing vs extreme indifference) risks nonunanimous verdicts among jurors | Affirmed; murder is one offense with alternative means, so unanimity as to the single offense satisfied |
| Double jeopardy — murder and aggravated assault convictions | The offenses have different elements (murder requires death/extreme indifference; aggravated assault requires a dangerous weapon), so Blockburger is satisfied | Aggravated assault is a lesser-included offense of murder; convictions violate double jeopardy | Affirmed; under the same-elements test the crimes are distinct, so no double jeopardy violation |
| Admission of victim video | The video humanized the victim and was admissible; court cited victims’ rights in support | Video was irrelevant and prejudicial; victims’ constitutional rights were not properly invoked by a listed family member | Admission was erroneous (irrelevant and court improperly invoked victim rights) but the error was harmless given the overwhelming evidence against Kollie |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Frederick, 989 N.W.2d 504 (N.D. 2023) (clarifies public-trial record requirements and that an inadequate record alone is not structural error)
- State v. Pulkrabek, 975 N.W.2d 572 (N.D. 2022) (statutory subsections may be alternative means of one offense; general verdicts permissible)
- State v. Pendleton, 978 N.W.2d 641 (N.D. 2022) (bench conferences addressing routine matters typically do not implicate the public-trial right)
- State v. Morales, 932 N.W.2d 106 (N.D. 2019) (public-trial right satisfied when bench conferences are held in view of the public if a prompt record is available)
- City of Mandan v. Sperle, 680 N.W.2d 275 (N.D. 2004) (approves general verdicts when statutory alternatives are nonexclusive means of one offense)
- Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (U.S. 1932) (same-elements test for double jeopardy analysis)
- State v. Gaddie, 971 N.W.2d 811 (N.D. 2022) (jury instructions reviewed as a whole for legal sufficiency)