Section 12.1-32-09 - Dangerous special offenders - Habitual offenders - Extended sentences - Procedure1. A court may sentence a convicted offender to an extended sentence as a dangerous special offender or a habitual offender in accordance with this section upon a finding of any one or more of the following:a. The convicted offender is a dangerous, mentally abnormal person whose conduct has been characterized by persistent aggressive behavior and the behavior makes the offender a serious danger to other persons.b. The convicted offender is a professional criminal who has substantial income or resources derived from criminal activity.c. The convicted offender is a habitual offender. The court may not make such a finding unless the offender is an adult and has previously been convicted in any state or states or by the United States of two felonies of class C or above committed at different times when the offender was an adult. For the purposes of this subdivision, a felony conviction in another state or under the laws of the United States is considered a felony of class C or above if it is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more.d. The offender was convicted of an offense that seriously endangered the life of another person and the offender had previously been convicted of a similar offense.e. The offender is especially dangerous because the offender used a firearm, dangerous weapon, or destructive device in the commission of the offense or during the flight therefrom. A conviction shown on direct or collateral review or at the hearing to be invalid or for which the offender has been pardoned on the ground of innocence must be disregarded for purposes of subdivision c. In support of findings under subdivision b, it may be shown that the offender has had control of income or property not explained as derived from a source other than criminal activity. For purposes of subdivision b, a substantial source of income means a source of income which for any period of one year or more exceeds the minimum wage, determined on the basis of a forty-hour week and a fifty-week year, without reference to exceptions, under section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, for an employee engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, and which for the same period exceeds fifty percent of the offender's declared adjusted gross income under chapter 57-38.
2. The extended sentence may be imposed in the following manner:a. If the offense for which the offender is convicted is a class A felony, the court may impose a sentence up to a maximum of life imprisonment.b. If the offense for which the offender is convicted is a class B felony, the court may impose a sentence up to a maximum of imprisonment for twenty years.c. If the offense for which the offender is convicted is a class C felony, the court may impose a sentence up to a maximum of imprisonment for ten years.3. Whenever an attorney charged with the prosecution of a defendant in a court of this state for an alleged felony committed when the defendant was over the age of eighteen years has reason to believe that the defendant is a dangerous special offender or a habitual offender, the attorney, at a reasonable time before trial or acceptance by the court of a plea of guilty, may sign and file with the court, and may amend, a notice specifying that the defendant is a dangerous special offender or a habitual offender who upon conviction for the felony is subject to the imposition of a sentence under subsection 2, and setting out with particularity the reasons why the attorney believes the defendant to be a dangerous special offender or a habitual offender. In no case may the fact that the prosecuting attorney is seeking sentencing of the defendant as a dangerous special offender or a habitual offender be disclosed to the jury before a verdict. If the court finds that the filing of the notice as a public record may prejudice fair consideration of a pending criminal matter, the court may order the notice sealed and the notice is not subject to subpoena or public inspection during the pendency of the criminal matter, except on order of the court, but is subject to inspection by the defendant alleged to be a dangerous special offender or a habitual offender and the offender's counsel.4. Upon any plea of guilty, or verdict or finding of guilt of the defendant of such felony, a hearing must be held, before sentence is imposed, in accordance with this subsection as follows: a. By a jury, or the court if a jury is waived by the defendant, if the notice alleges that the defendant is a dangerous special offender under subdivision a, b, d, or e of subsection 1. The jury, or the court if a jury is waived, must find that the defendant is a dangerous special offender under one or more of these subdivisions by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. However, in the case of a notice alleging only subdivision e of subsection 1, the trial jury, or the trial court if a jury is waived, may make a special finding of proof of this subdivision without an additional hearing subsequent to a verdict or finding of guilt.b. By the court if the notice alleges that the defendant is a habitual offender under subdivision c of subsection 1. The court must find that the defendant is a habitual offender by a preponderance of the evidence.5. Except in the most extraordinary cases, the court shall obtain a presentence report and may receive a diagnostic testing report under subsection 5 of section 12.1-32-02 before holding a hearing under this subsection. The court shall fix a time for the hearing and notice thereof must be given to the defendant and the prosecution at least five days prior thereto. The court shall permit the prosecution and counsel for the defendant, or the defendant if the defendant is not represented by counsel, to inspect the presentence report sufficiently before the hearing as to afford a reasonable opportunity for verification. In extraordinary cases, the court may withhold material not relevant to a proper sentence, diagnostic opinion that might seriously disrupt a program of rehabilitation, any source of information obtained on a promise of confidentiality, and material previously disclosed in open court. A court withholding all or part of a presentence report shall inform the parties of its action and place in the record the reasons therefor. The court may require parties inspecting all or part of a presentence report to give notice of any part thereof intended to be controverted. In connection with the hearing, the defendant is entitled to compulsory process and cross-examination of such witnesses as appear at the hearing. A duly authenticated copy of a former judgment or commitment is prima facie evidence of such former judgment or commitment. If the jury or the court finds, after hearing, one or more of the grounds set forth in subsection 1, that the defendant is a dangerous special offender or a habitual offender, the court shall sentence the defendant to imprisonment for an appropriate term within the limits specified in subsection 2.