North Dakota
West Fargo man found guilty of murdering his wife claims his 6th amendment right was violated during trial
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – An appellant’s brief filed with the North Dakota Supreme Court is claiming that the 6th amendment was violated in the trial of Spencer Moen, who was found guilty of murdering his wife, Sonja Moen, in October 2024.
Court documents show that Moen and his attorney claim that the district court allowed two minor witnesses to testify remotely via Zoom, from a separate location, without establishing that live testimony would result in serious emotional trauma or without making factual findings to justify the necessity for remote testimony.
The two minor witnesses in question are Moen’s youngest children, who were inside the home at the time of the murder back in August of 2023. Moen’s brief says that “The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article I § 12 of the North Dakota Constitution guarantees the right of an accused in a criminal prosecution to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”
Moen and his attorney are now asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to hear oral arguments and reverse his conviction and remand for a new trial.
The State of North Dakota filed their brief within 30 days of Moen’s filing and states that the 6th amendment was not violated. According to their brief, they claim that the state’s motion to have this one-way testimony by Moen’s children was because “it was unlikely that they would’ve been able to provide trustworthy evidence if they testified in their father’s presence and doing so would harm their psychological well-being.”
On August 9, 2024, the court found that the testimony of the kids in front of Moen would result in them suffering emotional distress or trauma that would impact their ability to speak in front of them.
The State of North Dakota is requesting that the court affirm the criminal judgment against Moen. They have also requested oral arguments to respond to any questions that the Court may have.
Moen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on December 30, 2024.
According to the North Dakota Appellate Case System, there are no future hearings scheduled for Moen at this time.
Copyright 2025 KVLY. All rights reserved.
WEST FARGO — Three incumbents from West Fargo will run for reelection to their state legislative seats.
North Dakota Sen. Judy Lee and Reps. Jim Jonas and Austen Schauer, all Republicans, announced Sunday, Dec. 14, that they would campaign to represent District 13 in the state Legislature. The district covers much of north West Fargo.
Special to The Forum
Lee was first elected to the North Dakota Senate in 1994. Jonas and Schauer have served in the state House since 2023 and 2019, respectively.
The three ran unopposed in the 2022 election. The next election for their seats is in 2026.
Forum file photo
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WATFORD CITY, N.D. (KUMV) – The North Dakota Department of Transportation awarded more than 150 million dollars in bids to continue expanding highway 85 south of Watford City.
More than $83.8 million will go to Park Construction out of Minneapolis for one segment. It covers about five and a half miles south of the Long X Bridge, going through another section of the badlands. It’s expected to be a three-year project due to the rough terrain.
The next segment covers 12 and a half miles south from the badlands to the highway 200 intersection. The winning bid went to Strata out of Grand Forks for $61.7 million. It will be a two-year project.
Funding for these projects were provided by both the state and federal government.
Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Isaiah Griffin had 18 points in Western Illinois’ 69-66 overtime win against North Dakota on…
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Isaiah Griffin had 18 points in Western Illinois’ 69-66 overtime win against North Dakota on Saturday.
Griffin had three steals for the Leathernecks (4-7). Karyiek Dixon scored 17 points while shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 5 for 6 from the line and added 18 rebounds. Lucas Lorenzen shot 3 for 13 (1 for 9 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points.
Eli King led the way for the Fightin’ Hawks (4-9) with 13 points, two steals and four blocks. Greyson Uelmen added 13 points for North Dakota. Garrett Anderson had 11 points and six rebounds.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
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