Case Filings/ Dispositions | 2003 (F) (D) | 2004 (F) (D) | Civil Small Claims Admin Traffic Criminal Juvenile | 2,784 777 14,273 4,949 358 | 3,955 797 13,944 5,919 598 | 2,846 657 14,339 4,854 431 | 4,074 689 14,686 6,013 587 |
District Court
The Northeast Judicial District is served by six judges and one referee located in six chamber cities within the district to serve its citizens effectively relative to population and geography. Two chambers in the east, Grafton and Cavalier/Langdon, serve the eastern section of the district. The two-judge chamber in Devils Lake serves the central section of the district. The chambers in Rugby and Bottineau serve the western section of the district. In addition, the judges are regularly assigned to other cases throughout the district as the need arises. The district is also served by one judicial referee who travels throughout the counties of the district on a regular basis, handling all child support enforcement proceedings and some juvenile proceedings. The district maintains a budget of approximately $5.6 million for the biennium. Including county clerk employees, it has approximately 50 personnel.
Because of its rural character, the district puts special effort towards maintaining a strong communication network among its personnel and to structure its administration of cases among the judges and referee in a manner that best serves the citizens of the judicial district.
With the implementation of administrative reorganization in August of 2004, the Northeast Judicial District combined with the Northeast Central Judicial District to form Administrative Unit 1. Our new trial court administrator is Chris Bleuenstein. Kim Nelsen serves as the administrative unit's trial court manager. The two districts have established a committee which had been meeting regularly, even before formal administrative restructuring occurred, to develop uniform procedures where appropriate for its court personnel and judicial officers. This is an ongoing process designed to improve the ability of the Northeast Judicial District and the Northeast Central Judicial District to provide efficient and quality services to the citizens of the two districts.
The district continues to adopt and/or maintain programs that make the court system more user friendly to the citizens. In addition to small claims court, more citizens are making more use of Administrative Rule 8.5 summary divorce proceedings. During the past year the district has also worked to assure a more equitable distribution of the caseload among the judges in the district.
The total caseload filings for the district have remained relatively unchanged. Civil and juvenile proceedings saw a slight increase in case filings while small claims and criminal proceedings saw a slight decrease. The district continues its commitment to recovering monetary obligations from those convicted of criminal offenses. The continued abuse of controlled substances, particularly methamphetamine, has together with the rural character of the district continued to create challenges in maintaining an effective indigent defense program within the district as well as to establish better solutions that meet the challenges presented by this great danger to our citizens.
Juvenile Court
The juvenile court for the Northeast Judicial District operates out of three sites: Bottineau, Devils Lake, and Grafton. On August 1, 2004, these offices began the administrative process of merging with the Northeast Central Judicial District and its juvenile court at Grand Forks. The two judicial districts are designated as Administrative Unit 1. Juvenile court site managers have been regularly meeting with the Unit 1 Director of Juvenile Court Services and Trial Court Administrator regarding the implementation of uniform policies and procedures as well as developing a budget for the juvenile court sites.
Balanced and Restorative Justice programs continue to be provided in the Bottineau, Devils Lake, and Grafton regions. Juvenile Accountability Conferencing, Keys to Innervisions, Victim Empathy Seminars, alcohol and drug testing/services and community service are meeting the needs of juvenile offenders, victims and communities. The Youth Assessment Screening Instrument (YASI) is being utilized by juvenile court officers to determine risk and protective factors on offenders who are placed on probation.
In 2004, community service hours totaled 8299 and restitution collected totaled $43,236.01.
District Court Judges: Karen Braaten, Presiding Judge; Bruce E. Bohlman; Debbie Kleven; Lawrence E. Jahnke; and Joel D. Medd
Judicial Referees: Harlan Dyrud and David Vigeland.
Number of Counties in District: 2
District Court Chambers: Grand Forks
Case Filings/ Dispositions | 2003 (F) (D) | 2004 (F) (D) | Civil Small Claims Admin Traffic Criminal Juvenile | 2,517 646 8,856 3,748 278 | 4,417 635 8,813 6,149 523 | 2,796 637 7,768 4,056 273 | 4,630 727 7,770 5,865 483 |
District Court
2004 was a year of changes for the Northeast Central Judicial District. Judge Bruce E. Bohlman retired at the end of the year and Judge Sonja Clapp joined our four remaining judges. Our judge assignment practice has changed somewhat in that we now rotate the five judges on a three year civil/two year criminal rotation with two judges rotating each year. Currently, judges Joel D. Medd, Debbie G. Kleven, and Sonja Clapp are hearing civil cases and judges Lawrence E. Jahnke and Karen K. Braaten are hearing criminal cases.
The Grand Forks County Courthouse remodeling project was completed and in August the district court staff were able to return to the beautifully refurbished and remodeled courthouse which now includes two new larger courtrooms, new clerk of court and court administration offices, new public restrooms, and other refurbished areas. The project successfully maintains the 1913 historical look and character of the courthouse and yet contains state of the art heating and cooling systems and allows for the appropriate wiring and cabling required to meet the technology needs of a modern courthouse facility.
Like the other districts in North Dakota, we are working on combining with the Northeast Judicial District as Unit One. We welcomed Christopher Bleuenstein as Unit One's Trial Court Administrator. Chris' office is located at the Grand Forks County Courthouse and his assistant, Kim Nelsen, offices in Devils Lake.
Our Family Court Pilot Project continues under the new leadership of Judge Medd. There were 18 Family Court case files opened in 2004. Funding for this pilot project is through a VAWA STOP grant with funding in place until July, 2005. Currently, we are looking at the possibility of completing an evaluation of the Family Court Project to determine the project's effectiveness at meeting the needs of the families involved and the needs of our community and the judiciary.
The NEC Juvenile Drug Court will be celebrating its 5th anniversary in May, 2005. A study completed by Dr. Kevin M. Thompson, NDSU, in November 2004 supports that the NEC Juvenile Drug Court has been effective in reducing the probability that graduates from its court will re-offend as adults. The study reflected that the NEC court had 24 graduates of which 17 were male and 7 were female, 18 Caucasian and 6 minority, and who spent an average of 11.1 months in drug court prior to graduation.
Juvenile Court
The Northeast Central Judicial District juvenile court has been busy working on the continuation of programs and new Administrative Units consistency.
One of our programs is the Grand Forks Drug Court. We are now in the 5th year of operation. We currently have eleven participants, with several others ready to be staffed into drug court. The statistical data regarding Juvenile Drug Court participants has been very encouraging. With careful statistical analysis being done on an ongoing basis by Dr. Kevin Thompson of North Dakota State University, the data reveals that our drug court graduates are not only doing better currently as far as recidivism, but are doing well and adjusting better in adult life as well. This study is the only one of its kind in the country-tracking participants into adulthood. We are very pleased with our program, and proud of the dedication of the team and the participants. We are also thankful for the energy and support for this program by Justice Mary Maring.
The Northeast Central and Northeast Judicial District Juvenile Courts have been meeting on a regular basis since November in an effort to provide consistency for those who come in contact with our court system. We have learned a great deal from each other and have been making good strides in our efforts. We have come to support each other with knowledge and services and look forward to a continuation of this process.