State v. Rende, 907 N.W.2d 361

Trooper Steven Iden stopped Laura Rende for crossing a fog line and observed signs of impairment; he arrested her for DUI after she refused to cooperate and a preliminary breath test.
While being removed/placed back into the squad car, Rende kicked and struck Trooper Iden; he charged her with simple assault on a peace officer and DUI.
The felony assault statute (N.D.C.C. § 12.1-17-01(2)(a)) requires the actor know the victim was a peace officer acting in an official capacity.
Jury instructions omitted an express element that Rende knew Trooper Iden was acting in his official capacity; the court’s instruction required only that she knew he was a peace officer.
Rende did not object to the district court’s instructions and had submitted proposed instructions that likewise did not include the official-capacity element.
Rende also raised probable-cause-to-arrest on appeal, but had not raised that issue below via a suppression motion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the jury must find defendant knew officer was acting in an official capacity for felony assault	State: Instruction as given was sufficient; evidence shows officer acted in official capacity	Rende: Omission of official-capacity element deprived jury of required finding under Apprendi/Alleyne, reducing offense to misdemeanor	Court: Rende waived/invited the error by proposing similar instruction; no relief; conviction affirmed
Whether there was probable cause to arrest Rende for DUI	State: Not reached on appeal; arrest presumed proper absent challenge below	Rende: Trooper lacked sufficient probable cause to arrest	Court: Not reached — issue was not raised in district court (no suppression motion), so appellate review refused

Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (any fact increasing mandatory minimum must be found by a jury)
Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (facts increasing punishment beyond statutory maximum must be submitted to jury)
State v. Watkins, 898 N.W.2d 442 (N.D. 2017) (distinguishing forfeiture and waiver; invited-error doctrine applies to Apprendi/Alleyne-type errors)
State v. White Bird, 858 N.W.2d 642 (N.D. 2015) (party may not challenge an error it invited; must object at trial)
Washington v. Recuenco, 548 U.S. 212 (Apprendi/Alleyne errors are not structural errors requiring automatic reversal)
State v. Larson, 554 N.W.2d 655 (N.D. 1996) (officer presumed to have performed duty correctly absent contrary evidence)
Fahey v. Fife, 900 N.W.2d 250 (N.D. 2017) (appellate court will not consider issues raised first on appeal rather than below)