A North Central District Court judge has denied a motion to dismiss the cases against two local nurse practitioners accused of overprescribing opioids and other alleged standard of care violations.

Desiree Desjardins, 52, Garrison, and Jennifer Napora, 45, Surrey, both formerly of Lakeview Health Clinic in Minot, were charged in North Central District Court in February 2023 after an investigation by agents of the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation assigned to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

District Judge Douglas Mattson filed his response denying the motion on March 8, following a hearing held on Feb. 28 in which the attorneys for Desjardins and Napora argued their clients were acting within the course of their professional practice. Mattson said the criminal information provided by the state in support of the charges “is sufficient on its face,” and disagreed with the defendant’s interpretation of North Dakota Century Code, saying it did not grant all practitioners an unfettered exception.

“The Court likewise finds here that Desiree Desjardins and Jennifer Napora are not immune from prosecution under Chapter 19-03.1 of the Century Code. It is up to the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Desiree Desjardins and Jennifer Napora willfully manufactured, delivered, or possessed with intent to manufacture or deliver, a controlled substance outside of their allotted course of professional practice such that their conduct was ‘willful.’ It is up to the Jury to decide whether or not the State has met its burden,” Mattson wrote in his order.

Mattson also disputed arguments made by Desjardin’s attorney Erich Grant and Napora’s attorney Ashley Gulke that there were flaws in the state’s use of the “Standard of Care” language, as he said it “does not adjust the requisite intent from the crime as charged.”

“Whether or not the actions taken by Desiree Desjardins and Jennifer Napora listed in the information go beyond the scope of their professional practice or research such that criminal actions have occurred is a question for the jury,” Mattson concluded.

The parties met for a pre-trial conference Wednesday. A date for a jury trial has not yet been set, based on court records.