United States District Court for the District of North Dakota

United States District Court for the District of North Dakota
(D.N.D.)
LocationBismarck
More locations
Appeals toEighth Circuit
EstablishedNovember 2, 1889
Judges2
Chief JudgePeter D. Welte
Officers of the court
U.S. AttorneyMac Schneider
U.S. MarshalDallas L. Carlson
www.ndd.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (in case citations, D.N.D.) is the United States District Court or the Federal district court, whose jurisdiction is the state of North Dakota. The court is headquartered out of Bismarck at the William L. Guy Federal Building and has additional locations at Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot. Appeals from the Court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The district was created in 1889, when the Dakota Territory was divided into North Dakota and South Dakota. The Grand Forks courts are located at the Ronald N. Davies Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. In 1921, a second temporary judgeship was authorized, however, this was never made permanent and the judgeship expired in 1928. In 1954, a second permanent judgeship was authorized, and the strength of the court has remained unchanged since.

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of North Dakota represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of December 12, 2022, the United States attorney for the District of North Dakota is Mac Schneider.

Current judges

As of January 13, 2020:

# Title Judge Duty station Born Term of service Appointed by
Active Chief Senior
13 Chief Judge Peter D. Welte Fargo 1965 2019–present 2019–present — Trump
14 District Judge Daniel M. Traynor Bismarck 1970 2020–present — — Trump
9 Senior Judge Patrick Anthony Conmy inactive 1934 1985–2000 1985–1992 2000–present Reagan
11 Senior Judge Daniel L. Hovland Bismarck 1954 2002–2019 2002–2009
2016–2019 		2019–present G.W. Bush

Former judges

# Judge State Born–died Active service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed by Reason for
termination
1 Alfred Delavan Thomas ND 1837–1896 1890–1896 — — B. Harrison death
2 Charles Fremont Amidon ND 1856–1937 1896–1928[Note 1] — 1928–1937 Cleveland death
3 Andrew Miller ND 1870–1960 1922–1941 — 1941–1960 Harding death
4 Charles Joseph Vogel ND 1898–1980 1941–1954 1954 — F. Roosevelt elevation to 8th Cir.
5 Ronald Davies ND 1904–1996 1955–1971 — 1971–1996 Eisenhower death
6 George Scott Register ND 1901–1972 1955–1971 1955–1971 1971–1972 Eisenhower death
7 Paul Benson ND 1918–2004 1971–1985 1971–1985 1985–2004 Nixon death
8 Bruce Van Sickle ND 1917–2007 1971–1985 — 1985–2007 Nixon death
10 Rodney Scott Webb ND 1935–2009 1987–2001 1993–2001 2001–2009 Reagan death
12 Ralph R. Erickson ND 1959–present 2003–2017 2009–2016 — G.W. Bush elevation to 8th Cir.
  1. ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1896, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 18, 1897, and received commission the same day.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

See also

References

46°48′32″N 100°47′18″W / 46.80889°N 100.78833°W / 46.80889; -100.78833