State v. Maher

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court held that Joshua Maher’s sentence was not illegal because it fell within statutory limits and did not rely on an impermissible factor. However, the court concluded that the district court abused its discretion by imposing a total prohibition on contact with Maher’s ex-wife without providing a means for him to exercise court-ordered parenting rights or explaining the rationale for that restriction. The court reversed the criminal judgment and the order extending the order prohibiting contact and remanded for resentencing and modification.

Holdings

1. The sentence was not illegal because the district court acted within statutory sentencing limits and did not substantially rely on an impermissible factor.
2. The district court abused its discretion by effectively preventing Maher from exercising his constitutional right to parent without providing a means for contact with his child or explaining its rationale for denying a method of contact. The court was required on remand to consider alternatives to a total prohibition on contact with K.M. for purposes of exercising parental rights.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Maher's sentence was illegal because it did not provide a means to arrange or exercise court-ordered parenting time.
2. Whether the district court abused its discretion by imposing and extending a total prohibition on contact with K.M. without providing a means for Maher to exercise his parental rights or explaining the rationale for that restriction.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded