State v. Borner

The State of North Dakota (plaintiff) charged Borner (defendant) with conspiracy to commit extreme-indifference murder. Extreme-indifference murder requires only that the defendant's conduct manifested extreme indifference to human life, not that he intended anyone's death, while conspiracy requires an agreement between two or more people to intentionally commit a crime. Borner argued he could not be guilty of conspiracy because he never intended to cause a death; the state argued he could be guilty of conspiracy if he merely agreed to engage in the risky conduct that ended up causing death.