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.

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