New North Dakota Slayer Statute Could Constitute Criminal Forfeiture

Bradley Meyers (Randy H. Lee Associate Professor of Law, University of North Dakota School of Law) has recently published his article entitled The New North Dakota Slayer Statute: Does It Cause a Criminal Forfeiture?, 83 N. Dak. L. Rev. 997 (2007).

Here is a summary of his article:

Prior to the recent change, the slayer statute provided that when one joint tenant killed another, the joint tenancy was severed, with each party taking an equal share as tenants in common. … The interest held by the husband was not covered by this constructive trust and its ownership were not the subject of the appeal to the supreme court. … The new North Dakota slayer statute does not discuss or justify the removal of property rights in the joint tenancy property from the killer. … The courts that have examined slayer statutes in multiple jurisdictions have determined that they did not result in forfeiture. … The North Dakota Legislature may have had many motives in passing the new North Dakota slayer statute: As a preventative measure to discourage killing; as a punishment for killers; to provide for compensation for the heirs and devisees of the victim other than the killers.