FILE - North Dakota Rep. Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck, chairs a meeting of the Legislature’s interim Retirement Committee, Aug. 22, 2023, in Bismarck, N.D. On Friday, May 3, 2024, a jury in North Dakota convicted the state lawmaker of a misdemeanor in connection with a state-leased building he has ownership ties to. BISMARCK, N.D. — A jury in North Dakota on Friday convicted a state lawmaker of a misdemeanor in connection with a state-leased building he has ownership ties to.
Republican House Majority Leader Mike Lefor said the case is concerning because “legislators aren’t going to feel comfortable knowing what a conflict of interest is.” He called it a “slippery slope” for scenarios of a legislator who is a teacher voting on an education bill or a farmer voting on agricultural issues.Dockter’s charge is part of a nearly two-year-old controversy involving the building, leased by the late Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem for consolidating divisions of his office, that under Stenehjem incurred aDockter is a co-owner of companies that own and worked on the building.