State of North Dakota v. Lansana Solo Sah

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed Lansana Solo Sah’s criminal judgment for gross sexual imposition and child abuse. The court held that Sah failed to preserve his evidentiary challenges under N.D.R.Ev. 403 and 404(b) because his motion for a new trial did not state the alleged errors with particularity, and the court declined to review the issue as obvious error.

Holdings

1. Sah failed to preserve the issue because his motion for a new trial did not state with particularity how or why the evidence of other physical abuse was inadmissible and cited no legal authority.
2. The Court declined to review the unpreserved evidentiary issue for obvious error because Sah did not argue obvious error on appeal and therefore did not meet his burden to establish it.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Sah preserved for appellate review his claim that evidence of physical abuse other than the charged peppering conduct was inadmissible under N.D.R.Ev. 403 and 404(b).
2. Whether the Supreme Court should review the unpreserved evidentiary claim for obvious error.

Disposition

affirmed