The adult son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer pleaded guilty on Friday to all the charges he faced in connection with a car-chase crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy.

Ian Cramer, 43, changed his plea in the Dec. 6, 2023, death of Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Martin, 53. The charges included homicide while fleeing peace officer, fleeing a peace officer, preventing arrest, reckless endangerment, driving under suspension, possession of methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

The judge ordered a mental and substance abuse evaluation ahead of his sentencing. The prosecution did not agree in advance to recommend a lower sentence as part of the plea deal. The homicide offense alone is punishable in North Dakota by up to 20 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.

Kevin Cramer, a Republican who is running for a second Senate term, has said his son “suffers from serious mental disorders which manifest in severe paranoia and hallucinations.”

Cramer wore an orange jumpsuit as he appeared for his sentencing over Zoom from jail. He repeatedly stated, “Yes, your honor” as the judge quizzed him on whether he understood the proceedings. The hearing lasted just 10 minutes.

Neither Cramer’s attorney nor staff in his father’s Senate office immediately responded to phone or email messages from the Associated Press seeking comment. A woman who answered the phone in the prosecutor’s office said the state’s attorney didn’t have any comment.

— Associated Press

Abortion measure suit to go unresolved

An anti-abortion group’s lawsuit to invalidate an abortion rights measure appearing on South Dakota’s statewide ballot won’t be resolved until after the November election.

Media reports of an apparent disconnect between attorneys and the Second Judicial Circuit over scheduling of the trial — initially set for Sept. 23-27 — led the court to issue an advisory with a timeline of judge assignments in the case. A hearing on the Life Defense Fund’s motion for summary judgment is now set for Dec. 2, weeks after the Nov. 5 election.

The release describes how, over about two weeks, the case was reassigned from Judge John Pekas after he learned of his wife’s need for surgery. However, the case then was assigned back to him after another judge was removed from the case.

In a statement, Life Defense Fund spokesperson Caroline Woods said both parties were surprised the trial was not going to happen next week.

“After an immense amount of preparation, Life Defense Fund is deeply disappointed that we are not allowed to provide our evidence to the court,” she said.

Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland said, “I think for us the bottom line is that through this whole process and just trying to stop the voters of South Dakota from weighing in, and they’ve been unsuccessful every step of the way, and now their hope was to have a trial during the height of the election, and that’s not going to happen. ... We’re going to have a vote, not a trial.”

— Associated Press

High court will decide RFK Jr.’s ballot fate

The Wisconsin Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name should stay on the fall presidential ballot.

Kennedy has been trying to get his name off ballots in key battleground states since he suspended his campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald Trump. At the same time, he’s said his supporters could continue backing him in most other states where votes for him won’t likely sway the outcome.

Earlier this month the North Carolina Supreme Court removed him from the ballot while the Michigan Supreme Court and a federal judge in Detroit said his name would remain.

Kennedy filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin on Sept. 3 seeking an order to scratch his name. A Dane County judge, however, said candidates must remain on the ballot unless they die.

The state Supreme Court agreed with a request to leapfrog a Wisconsin appeals court and settle the dispute. It said the justices will read briefs and likely decide without hearing arguments, and that a decision will emerge as “expeditiously as possible.”

Clerks have already started sending absentee ballots with Kennedy’s name.

— Associated Press