No person may be compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in a criminal action. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in any criminal proceedings before a court or grand jury or state‘s attorney’s inquiry, if a person refuses to answer a question or produce evidence of any kind on the ground that the person may be incriminated thereby, and if the prosecuting attorney, in writing and with approval of the attorney general, requests the court to order that person to answer the question or produce the evidence, the court after notice to the witness and hearing may so order, and that person shall comply with the order. In the case of a state’s attorney’s inquiry, such application must be made to the district court. No testimony or    other information compelled under the order, or any information directly or indirectly derived from the testimony, may be used against the witness in any criminal proceeding, except a prosecution for perjury, giving a false statement, or contempt committed in answering, or failing to answer, or in producing, or failing to produce, evidence in accordance with the order.

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Terms Used In North Dakota Code 31-01-09

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.