State v. Gardner

Citations

• 992 N.W.2d 535
• 2023 ND 116

Syllabus

A criminal judgment entered after a jury convicted defendant of child abuse in violation of N.D.C.C. § 14-09-22 is affirmed. A district court's use of \willfully allowed to be inflicted\ in the jury instructions for an allegation of child abuse under N.D.C.C. § 14-09-22 is not obvious error if counsel fails to establish the instruction is a clear deviation from an applicable legal rule under current law. The North Dakota Legislature chose to enumerate two alternative means of committing child abuse under N.D.C.C. § 14-09-22 without intending to define separate elements or crimes. A jury is not required to unanimously agree upon which of the two alternative means of committing child abuse it believes the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt.