N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-01-03 (2026)
Proof and presumptions
1. No person may be convicted of an offense unless each element of the offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. An accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The fact that the accused has been arrested, confined, or charged with the offense gives rise to no inference of guilt at the accused's trial. "Element of an offense" means:
a. The forbidden conduct;\n\n Page No. 1
b. The attendant circumstances specified in the definition and grading of the offense;
c. The required culpability;
d. Any required result; and
e. The nonexistence of a defense as to which there is evidence in the case sufficient to give rise to a reasonable doubt on the issue.
2. Subsection 1 does not require negating a defense:
a. By allegation in the charging document; or
b. By proof, unless the issue is in the case as a result of evidence sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt on the issue. Unless it is otherwise provided or the context plainly requires otherwise, if a statute outside this title defining an offense, or a related statute, or a rule or regulation thereunder, contains a provision constituting an exception from criminal liability for conduct which would otherwise be included within the prohibition of the offense, that the defendant came within such exception is a defense.
3. Subsection 1 does not apply to any defense which is explicitly designated an "affirmative defense". An affirmative defense must be proved by the defendant by a preponderance of evidence.
4. When a statute establishes a presumption, it has the following consequences:
a. If there is sufficient evidence of the facts which gave rise to the presumption, the presumed fact is deemed sufficiently proved to warrant submission of the issue to a jury unless the court is satisfied that the evidence as a whole clearly negates the presumed fact.
b. In submitting the issue of the existence of the presumed fact to a jury, the court shall charge that, although the evidence as a whole must establish the presumed fact beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury may arrive at that judgment on the basis of the presumption alone, since the law regards the facts giving rise to the presumption as strong evidence of the fact presumed.
5. When a statute declares that given facts constitute a prima facie case, proof of such facts warrants submission of a case to the jury with the usual instructions on burden of proof and without additional instructions attributing any special probative force to the facts proved. \n 12.1-01-03.1. Presumption of age.
1. In determining an individual's age for purposes of this title, the individual's date of birth as provided by any of the following is presumed to be the individual's legal date of birth:
a. A state government in the form of a birth certificate, other state-issued identification, or a certified copy of a birth certificate that includes the individual's date of birth;
b. The United States government in the form of a tribal identification document, military identification, passport, passport card, permanent resident card, certificate of United States citizenship, certificate of naturalization, border crossing card, visa, or other entry document that includes the individual's date of birth; or
c. A foreign government in the form of a passport, driver's license, or other foreign government-issued identity document that includes the individual's date of birth. If there is a conflict between government issued forms, a government issued birth certificate or a certified copy of a birth certificate takes precedence.
2. The presumption in subsection 1 may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. \n 12.1-01-04. General definitions. 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 \n Page No. 2 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. \n Page No. 3
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.\n\n Page No. 4 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.\n\n Page No. 5 \n