Little v. Graff

MESCHKE, Justice.

We hold that it was not an error of law for the trial court to conclude that the warden does not have the statutory authority to con-fíne at the prison all women convicts who are sentenced to the Missouri River correctional center. Therefore, we decline to vacate the trial court’s writ of habeas corpus ordering a woman prisoner transferred from the prison to the Center.

Unlike penological practice elsewhere, the North Dakota Legislature has authorized the sentencing judge to designate the initial place of a convict’s confinement. NDCC 12.1-32-02(1); State ex rel. Olson v.…