Pemberton v. North Dakota
Annotate this CaseLorenzo Pemberton appealed an order denying his application for postconviction relief. Pemberton argued he was convicted of a non-cognizable offense, attempted knowing murder, which did not require the defendant to have an intent to cause the death of another human being. He also argued he received ineffective assistance of counsel. After review, the North Dakota Supreme Court determined attempt to “knowingly” commit a murder was indeed a non-cognizable offense and that the erroneous jury instruction allowing conviction for attempted knowing murder was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Judgment was reversed and the matter remanded for further proceedings.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.