Rep. Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck, testifies during his misdemeanor criminal trial at the Burleigh County Courthouse on May 3, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
BY: MARY STEURER
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – A prosecutor plans to recommend a court fee of $325 and no jail time for a Bismarck lawmaker found guilty last week of voting on legislation he had a financial interest in.
McLean County State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson also defended the actions of the jury in the case and said Rep. Jason Dockter’s actions didn’t pass “the smell test.”
Erickson wrote in a court record filed Wednesday he recommends a one-year imposition of sentence for Dockter, which means the conviction would not go on his permanent record if he follows conditions set by the court.
Dockter will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Thursday in South Central District Court in Bismarck. He was found guilty of a class A misdemeanor by a 12-person Jury on Friday.
The financial interest at issue pertained to the lease of a Bismarck building Dockter helped coordinate with the Attorney General’s Office. The Department of Health was already renting office space in part of the building. Stealth Properties LLC, which Dockter has a 12.5% ownership stake in, later bought the property and acquired both leases.
Dockter, a Republican, then proceeded to cast votes on budgets for the Attorney General’s Office and Department of Health.
Under North Dakota law, the penalty for a class A misdemeanor is up to 360 days in jail, a max fine of $3,000, or both.
Erickson cited Dockter’s lack of criminal record in recommending $325 in court fees as the sentence. In addition, Erickson said the North Dakota Ethics Commission, which referred the case for prosecution, can now resume its investigation into Dockter, according to the court filing. Erickson said the Ethics Commission is the proper body to issue any additional penalties.
In the court filing, Erickson chastised two lawmakers for publicly criticizing the jury’s verdict. House Majority Leader Mike Lefor and Rep. Emily O’Brien, both Republicans, said they disagreed with the verdict.
“It would be better for legislators upset by a verdict to be publicly critical of the prosecutor who made the decision to file a charge instead of criticizing the jurors who had no choice in having to sit on this case,” Erickson wrote.
Erickson also wrote that local governments frequently navigate conflicts of interest similar to those that affect a citizen legislature. He wrote that conflict laws in North Dakota are “clear and well established.”
“The problem that brought this case before the Court was the conflicts the defendant had were egregious under any common sense, court opinion, attorney general opinion, or smell test – and yet he voted on appropriation bills that funded his conflicting interests,” Erickson wrote. “And that’s the problem, not the finding of the jury.”
South Central Judicial District Judge Bobbi Weiler denied a request by his lawyer, Lloyd Suhr, to hold the sentencing over Zoom.
Erickson received permission from Weiler to appear remotely.
Suhr told the North Dakota Monitor on Monday that Dockter hasn’t decided yet whether he will appeal to the conviction.
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