Table of Contents Categories
  • North Dakota federal courts
  • Federal district court, Eighth Circuit
  • Federal_courts
    •   Encyclosphere.org ENCYCLOREADER
      supported by EncyclosphereKSF

    United States District Court for the District of North Dakota

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 6 min
    District of North Dakota
    Eighth Circuit
    District of North Dakota-seal.png
    Judgeships
    Posts: 2
    Judges: 2
    Vacancies: 0
    Judges
    Chief: Peter Welte
    Active judges:
    Daniel Traynor, Peter Welte

    Senior judges:
    Patrick Conmy, Daniel Hovland


    The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota is one of 94 United States district courts. The court is headquartered in Fargo and has additional locations at Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot. The district was created in 1889, when the Dakota Territory was divided into North Dakota and South Dakota. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, based in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, at the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse and Building.

    Vacancies[edit]

    See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

    There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, out of the court's two judicial positions.

    Pending nominations[edit]

    There are no pending nominees for this court.


    Active judges[edit]

    Article III judges[edit]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    Peter Welte

    Donald Trump (R)

    		August 5, 2019 -

    North Dakota State University, 1989

    University of North Dakota, 1997

    Daniel Traynor

    Donald Trump (R)

    		January 13, 2020 -

    University of North Dakota, 1994

    University of North Dakota School of Law, 1997


    Active Article III judges by appointing political party[edit]

    The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

    • Democrat appointed: 0
    • Republican appointed: 2

    Senior judges[edit]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    Patrick Conmy

    Ronald Reagan (R)

    		January 5, 2000 -

    Harvard College, 1955

    Georgetown College Law Center, 1959

    Daniel Hovland

    George W. Bush (R)

    		November 10, 2019 -

    Concordia College, 1976

    University of North Dakota School of Law, 1979


    Senior judges by appointing political party[edit]

    The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

    • Democrat appointed: 0
    • Republican appointed: 2

    Magistrate judges[edit]

    Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

    Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

    Alice Senechal

    		October 2, 2014 -

    North Dakota State University, 1977

    University of Minnesota Law, 1984

    Clare Hochhalter

    		February 8, 2019 -

    Jamestown College, 1979

    University of North Dakota School of Law, 1983


    Former chief judges[edit]

    In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

    In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

    The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

    Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

    On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the President of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


    Former judges[edit]

    For more information on the judges of the District of North Dakota, see former federal judges of the District of North Dakota.

    Jurisdiction[edit]

    North Dakota counties (click for larger map)

    The District of North Dakota has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

    The jurisdiction of the District of North Dakota consists of all the counties in the state of North Dakota.

    The court is headquartered in Fargo and has additional locations at Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot.

    Caseloads[edit]

    This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in April 2021. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

    United States District Court for the District of North Dakota caseload stats, 2010-2019
    Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
    2010 609 584 438 2 0 305 26 6 10 13 7
    2011 592 558 398 2 0 297 21 6 8 15 7
    2012 819 628 658 2 0 410 18 7 8 20 7
    2013 877 725 798 2 0 439 30 8 12 23 7
    2014 910 872 824 2 0 455 30 8 12 18 6
    2015 869 823 943 2 0 435 39 10 11 88 18
    2016 970 839 1,026 2 0 485 23 11 11 87 15
    2017 823 1,002 872 2 3 412 26 13 22 41 11
    2018 740 805 804 2 12 370 20 13 13 46 13
    2019 773 776 781 2 7 387 16 13 11 58 17
    Average 798 761 754 2 2 400 25 9 12 41 11

    History[edit]

    The District of North Dakota was established by Congress and assigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on April 26, 1890 with one post to cover the entire state. Over time, one additional judicial post was added for a total of 2 current posts.[7]

    Judicial posts[edit]

    The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the District of North Dakota:[7]

    Year Statute Total Seats
    April 26, 1890 26 Stat. 67 1
    June 25, 1921 42 Stat. 66 2(1 temporary)
    1928 Temporary post expired 1
    February 10, 1954 68 Stat. 8 2

    Federal courthouse[edit]

    Four separate courthouses serve the District of North Dakota:[8]

    • William L. Guy Federal Bldg. in Bismarck
    • Quentin N. Burdick U.S. Courthouse in Fargo
    • Bruce M. Van Sickle U.S. Courthouse in Minot
    • Ronald N. Davies U.S. Courthouse in Grand Forks

    About United States District Courts[edit]

    The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

    There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

    There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

    There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[9][10]

    The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

    In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[11]

    Appointments by president[edit]

    The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through September 1 of the second year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Clinton had the most district court appointments with 70.


    Judges by district[edit]

    See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

    The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


    Judicial selection[edit]

    The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[10]

    Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
    1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
    2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
    3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

    Magistrate judges[edit]

    The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[12]


    External links[edit]

    See also[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ U.S. District Court - NH, "Magistrate Judges," archived April 14, 2014
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
    6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
    7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Federal Judicial Center, "The U.S. District Courts and the Federal Judiciary," accessed April 26, 2021
    8. ↑ United States District Court District of North Dakota, "Court Locations," accessed April 28, 2021
    9. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
    10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
    11. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
    12. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"
    Flag of North Dakota
    v • e
    State of North Dakota
    Bismarck (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2022 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

    Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Original source: https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_North_Dakota
    Status: cached on September 11 2022 03:40:47
    Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF