An Act amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, in Board of Finance and Revenue, further providing for restricted account within Agricultural College Land Scrip Fund.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Scott Barger and 6 co-sponsors

Courts must offer up to 10 hours of free post-trial psychological counseling to jurors in trials with graphic or traumatic evidence.

Referred to Appropriations

Summary — North Dakota HB 1047 (2025): Juror Counseling Following Graphic Evidence or Testimony

Status & Sponsor
- Title: An Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 29‑22 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to juror counseling.
- Introduced by: Judiciary Committee (at the request of the Supreme Court).
- Status: Passed both chambers (House vote: 80–11; Senate vote: 32–13) and filed with the Secretary of State (03/18/2025).

Purpose
- To require courts to offer short-term, no‑cost psychological counseling to jurors and alternate jurors who served on trials that involved extraordinarily graphic, gruesome, or emotionally traumatic evidence or testimony.

Key Provisions
- Mandatory Offer: The court shall offer up to ten (10) hours of post‑trial psychological counseling, without charge, to any juror or alternate juror who served on such a trial.
- Covered Cases: The offer applies only when the trial involved one or more of the following categories (or others as the court determines):
- Murder (NDCC § 12.1‑16‑01)
- Manslaughter (NDCC § 12.1‑16‑02)
- Negligent homicide (NDCC § 12.1‑16‑03)
- Felony‑level assault or domestic violence (chapter 12.1‑17)
- Sexual offenses (chapters 12.1‑20 or 12.1‑27.2)
- Child abuse or neglect (NDCC §§ 14‑09‑22, 14‑09‑22.1)
- Other offenses deemed appropriate by the court
- Timing: Counseling must be offered and provided no later than 180 days after the jury is discharged.
- Delivery Options: Counseling may be provided by the court system, a state agency, or via contract with outside providers; services may be delivered individually or in group settings.
- Cost: Counseling is provided without charge to the juror or alternate juror.

Who Is Affected
- Primary beneficiaries: Jurors and alternate jurors in North Dakota who served on qualifying trials.
- Administrative impact: State courts (administration and budgeting), potential state agencies, and contracted mental‑health providers who may be engaged to deliver services.

Practical and Policy Considerations
- Judicial discretion: The court determines whether a trial’s evidence or testimony is sufficiently “extraordinarily graphic, gruesome, or emotional,” and may expand the list of qualifying offenses as appropriate.
- Implementation: Courts will need procedures for offering counseling, tracking offers and uptake, and contracting providers or coordinating with state agencies — potentially creating modest administrative and fiscal responsibilities (the bill itself does not specify funding).
- Expected benefits: Addresses juror trauma, may improve juror well‑being and retention, and supports fair participation in the justice system.

Effective Date
- The bill creates a new section in NDCC ch. 29‑22; procedural records indicate filing with the Secretary of State on 03/18/2025. (No separate delayed effective date is specified in the text provided.)