North Dakota panel backs interim study into false accusations, narrows scope to NDCC 12.111

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to recommend a due pass on House Bill 1582, which would send an interim study to Legislative Management on state laws related to false accusations and false reports of crimes. Members amended the study language to narrow the scope to North Dakota Century Code section 12.111.

Representative Steve Vetter of District 18, who requested the study, told the committee false accusations have been “weaponized” in custody disputes, civil cases and politics, and said he could not obtain statewide statistics from Legislative Council on how often people are charged or convicted for making false reports.

Vetter urged the committee to use the study to gather concrete data — how many people are charged under existing statutes, what outcomes result and whether prosecutors face statutory barriers to charging false-report offenses.

Supporters who testified said the problem exists across criminal and family law matters and that current protections or remedies are rarely used. Travis Fink, executive director of the Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents, described a case in which a defendant had served 31 days in jail before a victim recanted; because a class B misdemeanor in North Dakota carries a maximum 30-day jail term, counsel filed for release and proceeded to trial. Jackie Hall of the North Dakota Association for Justice told the committee her members could not identify a recent case in which a person who filed a demonstrably false report was prosecuted and punished.

Committee members urged narrowing the study’s language. Several senators expressed concern that “false accusation” covers many different contexts — campaign speech, family law, civil litigation and criminal reporting — and recommended the interim study start by examining the existing chapter of law that most directly addresses false reports to law enforcement.

Senator Merdahl moved an amendment to insert a reference to North Dakota Century Code section 12.111 into the study language. The committee adopted that amendment by voice vote and then approved a due-pass recommendation as amended. Roll-call responses recorded in committee were: Senators Brownberger, Cory, Lewick, Myrtle, Paulson, Casamiento and Chair Larson voting aye. The motion carried.

The committee’s action sends the amended study request to Legislative Management, where the interim committee chairman would determine the study’s final scope and witnesses. Representative Vetter said his immediate aim is statistical: to determine whether people are being charged for false reports and, if so, what the charging and conviction patterns look like so lawmakers can consider whether statutory changes or prosecutorial tools are needed.