On December 23, 2025, the North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion regarding a records request addressed to the McHenry County State’s Attorney. The opinion concluded that the State’s Attorney did not violate state law by refusing to release certain records connected to criminal investigations and other protected matters. Specifically, the records were withheld under North Dakota Century Code (N.D.C.C.) sections 44-04-18.7, 27-20.2-23, 50-25.1-11, and 12.1-35-03.
However, the opinion also found that while the refusal to release these specific records was lawful due to applicable exemptions in open records laws, the McHenry County State’s Attorney did not provide the requested records within a reasonable timeframe.
The full text of the official opinion is available at this link.
