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A Minot man charged with theft from a local archery club is asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to release him from jail and replace the judge in the case who put him there.
In a petition filed in North Central District Court Oct. 2, Dallas Rice and his defense attorney Ashley Gulke argue Judge Gary Lee acted in violation of state court rules in treating a guilty plea in a plea agreement as a basis to immediately cancel bond and place Rice in custody.
Rice pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of more than $50,000 as part of a proposed plea agreement rejected by Lee at a Sept. 28 hearing. Rice also is charged with theft of more than $50,000, which was proposed to be dismissed under the plea agreement. Further details of the plea agreement were not publicly disclosed.
In the court filing, Rice asks the Supreme Court to determine whether Lee violated North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure by denying him the right to immediately withdraw his plea and in ordering his immediate confinement. Lee had indicated bond could be reconsidered at the upcoming Oct. 16 status conference in the case.
The petition seeks immediate reinstatement of the bond and reassignment to a new judge.
The petition noted the judges of the North Central District had referred the case of Rice and his wife and co-defendant, Nichole Rice, to a judge outside the district in March. The Supreme Court assigned Nichole Rice's case to Northwest District Judge Benjamen Johnson, who sentenced her to 60 days in jail with two years of probation.
The Supreme Court did not reassign Dallas Rice's case, which had been assigned to Lee after North Central District Judge Steven Lautt recused himself. Rice argues Lee should have recused himself.
"This certainly has the appearance of bias and the fundamental fairness of the case has been jeopardized," the petition stated.
The petition points out that Rice had not violated conditions of bond while previously on release. Lee had ordered a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, allowing Rice to remain out of custody if compliant with the court and having no contact with members of the Souris Valley Bowmen board. Rice was charged in March after Souris Valley Bowmen board members discovered $160,000 missing from its accounts and identified Rice, the organization's president, as the suspect. Rice repaid the $160,000. A further review of bank records by investigators calculated total unauthorized transactions of more than $183,000, but the archery club board is not seeking further restitution.