N.D. Supreme CourtNorth Dakota Courts Annual Report 2005
North Dakota Judicial Conference
The North Dakota Judicial Conference was originally established as an arm of the judicial branch of state government in 1927. At that time, the organization was known as the North Dakota Judicial Council. Present statutory language covering the Judicial Conference is found in N.D.C.C. Ch.27-15.
There are currently sixty-six members of the Judicial Conference. The conference consists of all Supreme Court justices and district court judges. Other members are the attorney general; the dean of the University of North Dakota School of Law; the clerk of the Supreme Court; two judges of the municipal courts, as appointed by the Municipal Judges Association; and five members of the North Dakota Bar Association, who are appointed by the Bar Association. All surrogate judges, as appointed by the Supreme Court under N.D.C.C. §27-17-03, are also conference members.
The members of the conference serve during the time they occupy their respective official positions. The term of office of the two municipal judges is two years. The term of office for the five members of the bar is five years. Vacancies on the Judicial Conference are filled by the authority originally selecting the members.
The state court administrator serves as the executive secretary of the Judicial Conference.
The officers of the Judicial Conference consist of the chair and chair-elect, who are selected for a term of two years by the members of the conference. In addition, there is an executive committee consisting of the chair, chair-elect, a justice of the Supreme Court elected by the Supreme Court, and two district judges elected by the Association of District Judges.
Under North Dakota law, the Judicial Conference is required to meet twice each year. These meetings are usually held in June and November. Special meetings, however, may be called by the chair. While members of the Judicial Conference are not compensated for their services, they are reimbursed for their expenses while discharging their conference duties.
The Judicial Conference has four major duties:
1. Solicit, receive, and evaluate suggestions relating to the improvement of the administration of justice.
2. Consider and make recommendations to the Supreme Court for changes in rules, procedures, or any matter pertaining to the judicial system.
3. Coordinate continuing judicial education efforts for judges and support staff.
4. Establish methods for review of proposed legislation which may affect the operation of the judicial branch.
Several committees have been established to support the activities of the full conference. The committees and respective committee chairs during 2005 were as follows:
1. Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, Judge Ronald Goodman, Chair.
2. Committee on Legislation, Judge Robert O. Wefald, Chair.
3. Committee on Judicial Compensation, co-chairs Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner and Judge Douglas Herman.
4. Jury Standards Committee, Judge Joel D. Medd, Chair.
Committee membership results from appointment by the chair after consultation with the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference. The bylaws provide that non-conference members can serve on either standing or special committees.
The officers and Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference during 2005 were as follows:
Justice Mary Muehlen Maring, Chair
Justice Douglas Herman, Chair-Elect
Judge John T. Paulson, Past Chair
Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner, Executive Committee
Judge Gail Hagerty, Executive Committee
Judge Bruce Romanick, Executive Committee
North Dakota Judicial Conference
Judges of the Supreme Court
Gerald W. VandeWalle
Dale V. Sandstrom
Mary Muehlen Maring
Carol Ronning Kapsner
Daniel J. Crothers
Judges of the District Court*Indicates Presiding Judge
East Central District
*Georgia Dawson
Douglas R. Herman
John C. Irby
Steven L. Marquart
Steven E. McCullough
Frank L. Racek
Cynthia Rothe-Seeger
Wade Webb
Northwest District
*William W. McLees
Robert W. Holte
Gary H. Lee
Douglas L. Mattson
David W. Nelson
Gerald H. Rustad
Northeast District
*M. Richard Geiger
Lee A. Christofferson
Laurie A. Fontaine
Donovan Foughty
Lester Ketterling
John C. McClintock, Jr.
South Central District
*Gail Hagerty
Sonna M. Anderson
Bruce B. Haskell
Donald L. Jorgensen
Burt L. Riskedahl
Bruce Romanick
Thomas J. Schneider
Robert O. Wefald
Southwest District
*Allan L. Schmalenberger
Zane Anderson
Ronald L. Hilden
Northeast Central District
*Karen K. Braaten
Sonja Clapp
Lawrence E. Jahnke
Debbie Kleven
Joel D. Medd
Southeast District
*John T. Paulson
James M. Bekken
Ronald E. Goodman
John E. Greenwood
Richard W. Grosz
Mikal Simonson
Judges of the Municipal Courts
Robert A. KeoghJulie Evans
Surrogate Judges of the Supreme and District Courts
Norman J. Backes
Bruce E. Bohlman
Benny A. Graff
Gordon O. Hoberg
William F. Hodny
Jon R. Kerian
Lawrence A. Leclerc
Everett Nels Olson
Kirk Smith
Attorney General Wayne K. StenehjemClerk of the Supreme Court Penny MillerDean of the UND School of Law Paul A. LeBel
Members of the Bar
Michael F. Daley
Dennis E. Johnson
Steven J. Lies
Sherry Mills Moore
Michael D. Sturdevant
Executive Secretary Sally Holewa66 Members