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State v. Stewart7/29/1999
Appeal from the District Court of Burleigh County, South Central Judicial District, the Honorable Benny A. Graff, Judge.
AFFIRMED.
Opinion of the Court by Kapsner, Justice.
[ ] Patrick Stewart appealed from an order deferring the imposition of his sentence for making a false claim or statements to the North Dakota Workers Compensation Bureau. We hold the administrative remedy for making a false claim or false statements to the Bureau under N.D.C.C. § 65-05-33 is a civil sanction, and therefore a subsequent criminal prosecution under that statute does not violate the double jeopardy clause of the federal constitution. We affirm.
I.
[ ] Stewart received workers compensation benefits for injuries incurred during the course of his employment in 1993. The Bureau periodically required Stewart to complete income and work status cards. In November 1996, Stewart signed an income and work status card which indicated he had done some work, but he had not been paid for it. The Bureau employed Francine Johnson to investigate Stewart's work status and employment income. Johnson videotaped Stewart while he was operating a backhoe, driving truck, and removing snow. On December 19, 1996, Johnson interviewed Stewart without advising him that he was the subject of an investigation. During the interview, Stewart told Johnson he had assisted an excavating company by operating a backhoe, driving truck, and removing snow. On December 23, 1996, the Bureau issued a notice of intent to discontinue Stewart's benefits, which stated he had provided a false statement regarding his return to work status. In May 1997, the Bureau subpoenaed the excavating company's bank records, which indicated the company had paid Stewart $1,410 during the summer and fall of 1996. According to Stewart, he received the money for personal property sold to a principal of the excavating company. After additional investigation, the Bureau issued an October 1997 order denying Stewart further benefits for his injury and requiring him to return previously paid benefits.
[ ] Stewart requested a rehearing on the Bureau's administrative termination of benefits. On April 27, 1998, an administrative law Judge recommended finding Stewart did not willfully file a false claim or make false statements to obtain benefits from the Bureau. The ALJ recommended reversing the Bureau's October 1997 order. Stewart acknowledges that the recommendation of the ALJ was not a final determination in the administrative proceeding.
[ ] Meanwhile, on December 18, 1997, the State charged Stewart with a class C felony under N.D.C.C. § 65-05-33 for willfully filing a false claim or making false statements to the Bureau. After the ALJ issued the recommended decision in the administrative proceeding in April 1998, Stewart moved on May 4, 1998, to dismiss this criminal prosecution, claiming the Bureau's investigation violated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and his Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the adjudication in the administrative proceeding barred the criminal prosecution. In June 1998, the trial court denied Stewart's motion to dismiss, ruling the remedy for violations of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments was the suppression of any statements made as a result of the violations, not the dismissal of the prosecution. The court also decided the administrative remedy for making false statements to the Bureau was a civil sanction and did not bar the criminal prosecution or violate double jeopardy. Stewart entered an Alford plea to a class A misdemeanor violation of N.D.C.C. § 65-05-33, reserving his right under N.D.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2) to appeal the trial court's decision denying his pre
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