North Dakota Code § 12.1-01-04

General definitions
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this section
As used in this title, unless a different meaning plainly is required:
1. "Absconded" means when a probationer, parolee, participant in a pretrial services 
program, or participant in a prosecution -led diversion program willfully avoids 

supervision by making their whereabouts unknown or fails to report to a supervising 
authority.
2. "Act" or "action" means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary.
3. "Acted", "acts", and "actions" include, where relevant, "omitted to act" and "omissions 
to act".
4. "Actor" includes, where relevant, a person guilty of an omission.
5. "Bodily injury" means any impairment of physical condition, including physical pain.
6. "Court" means any of the following courts: the supreme court, a district court, and 
where relevant, a municipal court.
7. "Dangerous weapon" includes any switchblade or gravity knife, machete, scimitar, 
stiletto, sword, or dagger; any billy, blackjack, sap, bludgeon, cudgel, metal knuckles, 
or sand club; any slingshot; any bow and arrow, crossbow, or spear; any weapon that 
will expel, or is readily capable of expelling, a projectile by the action of a spring, 
compressed air, or compressed gas including any such weapon, loaded or unloaded, 
commonly referred to as a BB gun, air rifle, or CO2 gun; and any projector of a bomb 
or any object containing or capable of producing and emitting any noxious liquid, gas, 
or substance.
8. "Destructive device" means any explosive, incendiary or poison gas bomb, grenade, 
mine, rocket, missile, or similar device.
9. "Explosive" means gunpowders, powders used for blasting, all forms of high 
explosives, blasting materials, fuses (other than electric circuit breakers), detonators 
and other detonating agents, smokeless powders, and any chemical compounds, 
mechanical mixture, or other ingredients in such proportions, quantities, or packing 
that ignition by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by detonation of the 
compound, or material, or any part thereof may cause an explosion.
10. "Firearm" means any weapon that will expel, or is readily capable of expelling, a 
projectile by the action of an explosive and includes any such weapon, loaded or 
unloaded, commonly referred to as a pistol, revolver, rifle, gun, machine gun, shotgun, 
bazooka, or cannon.
11. "Force" means physical action.
12. "Government" means:
a. The government of this state or any political subdivision of this state;
b. Any agency, subdivision, or department of the state or any political subdivision of 
the state, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches;
c. Any corporation or other entity established by law to carry on any governmental 
function; and
d. Any commission, corporation, or agency established by statute, compact, or 
contract between or among governments for the execution of intergovernmental 
programs.
13. "Governmental function" includes any activity that one or more public servants are 
legally authorized to undertake on behalf of government.
14. "Harm" means loss, disadvantage, or injury to the person affected, and includes loss, 
disadvantage, or injury to any other person in whose welfare the person affected is 
interested.
15. "Included offense" means an offense:
a. That is established by proof of the same or less than all the facts required to 
establish commission of the offense charged;
b. That consists of criminal facilitation of or an attempt or solicitation to commit the 
offense charged; or
c. That differed from the offense charged only in that it constitutes a less serious 
harm or risk of harm to the same person, property, or public interest, or because 
a lesser degree of culpability suffices to establish its commission.
16. "Includes" should be read as if the phrase "but is not limited to" were also set forth.
17. "Law enforcement officer" or "peace officer" means a public servant authorized by law 
or by a government agency or branch to enforce the law and to conduct or engage in 
investigations or prosecutions for violations of law.

18. "Local" means of or pertaining to any political subdivision of the state.
19. "Manifest injustice" means a specific finding by the court that the imposition of 
sentence is unreasonably harsh or shocking to the conscience of a reasonable 
individual, with due consideration of the totality of circumstances.
20. "Offense" means conduct for which a term of imprisonment or a fine is authorized by 
statute after conviction.
21. "Official action" includes a decision, opinion, recommendation, vote, or other exercise 
of discretion by any government agency.
22. "Official proceeding" means a proceeding heard or which may be heard before any 
government agency or branch or public servant authorized to take evidence under 
oath, including any referee, hearing examiner, commissioner, notary, or other person 
taking testimony or a deposition in connection with any such proceeding.
23. "Omission" means a failure to act.
24. As used in this title and in sections outside this title which define offenses, "person" 
includes, where relevant, a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, 
unincorporated association, or other legal entity. When used to designate a party 
whose property may be the subject of action constituting an offense, the word "person" 
includes a government that may lawfully own property in this state.
25. "Political subdivision" as used in this title and in any statute outside this title which 
defines an offense means a county, city, school district, township, and any other local 
governmental entity created by law.
26. "Possesses" means an individual has:
a. Direct physical control of something on or around the individual's person; or
b. The power and intention to exercise control over something accessible to but not 
on or around the individual's person.
27. "Public servant" as used in this title and in any statute outside this title which defines 
an offense means any officer or employee of government, including law enforcement 
officers, whether elected or appointed, and any person participating in the 
performance of a governmental function. The term does not include witnesses.
28. "Responsivity factors" means characteristics of an individual which affect the 
individual's ability to respond favorably or unfavorably to a treatment goal.
29. "Risk assessment" means a validated, standardized actuarial tool used to identify 
potential risk factors that increase the likelihood an individual will reoffend and 
responsivity factors that, when addressed, reduce the likelihood an individual will 
reoffend. The initial phase is an assessment tool that is administered by a trained 
corrections professional. A predetermined score on the initial phase initiates the 
secondary process, approved by the department of health and human services, that 
may include a clinical interview, psychological testing, and verification through 
collateral information or psychophysiological testing, or both. The department of health 
and human services shall perform the secondary process of the risk assessment.
30. "Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or 
which causes serious permanent disfigurement, unconsciousness, extreme pain, 
permanent loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, a bone 
fracture, or impediment of air flow or blood flow to the brain or lungs.
31. "Signature" includes any name, mark, or sign written or affixed with intent to 
authenticate any instrument or writing.
32. "Substantial bodily injury" means a substantial temporary disfigurement, loss, or 
impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
33. "Thing of value" or "thing of pecuniary value" means a thing of value in the form of 
money, tangible or intangible property, commercial interests, or anything else the 
primary significance of which is economic gain to the recipient.
34. "Tier 1 mental health professional" has the same meaning as provided under section 
25-01-01.

12.1-01-05. Crimes defined by state law shall not be superseded by city or county 
ordinance or by home rule city's or county's charter or ordinance.
Except as provided in section 40 -05-06, an offense defined in this title or elsewhere by law 
may not be superseded by any city or county ordinance, or city or county home rule charter, or 
by an ordinance adopted pursuant to such a charter, and all such offense definitions shall have 
full force and effect within the territorial limits and other jurisdiction of home rule cities or 
counties. This section does not preclude any city or county from enacting any ordinance 
containing penal language when otherwise authorized to do so by law.

‹ Prev All North Dakota sections Next ›


Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.