N.D. Const. art. I, § 11 — Research

Excessive bail, cruel or unusual punishment. Text of the section: current and prior versions.

Every citing reference in the corpus: 16 court opinions and 0 Attorney General opinions. Counts include the section's pre-1981 designation (§ 6), era-gated by the renumbering crosswalk.

Generated from the citation graph of the validated corpus. Treatment groupings (construing / citing / recital) are heuristic reading aids, not editorial judgments — read the opinion before relying on any signal.

Cases by topic

Topics are machine-generated groupings of the citing references — reading aids, not editorial judgments. Documents cited after the last classification pass appear in the lists below until the next pass.

Right to bail and excessive bail

State v. Hayes (consolidated w/20110099-20110101), 2012 ND 9 (2012, Sandstrom, J.) · quotes the provision
- ¶ 17: “…The right to bail is guaranteed to accused persons by the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Article I, section 11 of the North Dakota Constitution guarantees the same, providing: All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great. Excessive bail shall…”
State v. Skarsgard (Consolidated w/ 20060305), 2007 ND 160 (2007, Crothers, J.)
State v. Kensmoe, 2001 ND 190 (2001, Sandstrom, J.)
City of Jamestown v. Erdelt, 1994 ND 57 (1994, Meschke, J.) · construes, quotes the provision
- “…’s policy of holding any person detained for DUI for eight hours, regardless of when bond is posted or if they are a danger to themselves or the public. This expansive interpretation of the City’s powers threatens the right to bail guaranteed under Article I, Section 11 of the North Dakota Constitution.2 We interpret statutes to avoid constitutional questions if possible. Little v. Graff, 507 N.W.2d 55, 59 (N.D.1993). As we held in Stutlien, 505 N.W.2d at 743, “[i]n order to give meani…”
State v. Goeller, 1978 ND 31 (1978, Pederson, J.)
In re Amundson, 1945 ND 36 (1945, Morris, J.) · quotes the provision
- “…requisition of the Governor of another state. 2. The courts of this State do not have inherent power to admit a person to bail who is held in custody under a warrant of rendition issued by the Governor in extradition proceedings. [*84] 3. The provision of section 6 of the North Dakota Constitution that, 'All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great' does not apply to persons who are held in cus…”
State v. Tucker, 1928 ND 141 (1928, per curiam) · quotes the provision
- “…tion of jurisdiction is raised which is likewise involved upon a prior appeal from a judgment, which appeal has been previously submitted, such question will not be considered upon appeal from the order but will be decided upon the appeal from the judgment. Section 6 of the state Constitution, which provides that all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great, applies to bail before conviction and…”
State ex rel. West v. Collins, 1901 ND 76 (1901, Wallin, J.) · quotes the provision
- “…ued in the custody of the sheriff without bail. Upon this state of facts the question first arising upon this application is whether the petitioner is entitled to bail as a matter of strict legal right. Counsel for the petitioner contend that he is, and cite section 6 of the state constitution, and section 8446 of the Revised Codes of 1899 in support of their contention. The' first sentence of section 6 of the constitution is as follows: "All persons shall be bailable by sufficient s…”

Excessive fines and civil penalties

Schmitz v. State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, 2022 ND 113 (2022, Jensen, J.)
WSI v. Boechler, PC, et al., 2022 ND 98 (2022, Tufte, J.) · quotes the provision
- ¶ 15: “…The Defendants argue the penalties assessed against the law firm violate the excessive fines clauses of the North Dakota and U.S. Constitutions: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed…." N.D. Const. art. I, § 11; U.S. Const. amend. VIII. The excessive fines clause was recently held to apply to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment. Timbs v. Indiana, 139 S. Ct. 682 (2019). There is no dispute that the clause constra…”
Black Hills Trucking, Inc. v. North Dakota Industrial Commission, 2017 ND 284 (2017, Kapsner, J.)
State v. Flohr, 1981 ND 134 (1981, Pederson, J.)

Cruel or unusual punishment and proportionality of sentences

State v. Wallette, 2025 ND 190 (2025, Jensen, J.)
State v. Greene, 2025 ND 10 (2025, Tufte, J.)

Other applications

State v. Fontaine, 1986 ND 13 (1986, Erickstad, J.) · quotes the provision
- “…ntees that “[i]n criminal prosecutions in any court whatever, the party accused shall have the right ... to appear and defend in person and with counsel.” This basic right is also guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Article I, Section 11, of the North Dakota Constitution provides “[a]ll persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties.... Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed....” Rule 44 of the North Dakota Rules of Criminal…”
Gableman v. Hjelle, 1974 ND 105 (1974, Paulson, J.)

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