District Judge Richard Hagar removed from new cases due to backlog

July 31, 2011

North Dakota: North Dakota District Court Judge Richard L. Hagar has been blocked from accepting any new cases by Presiding Judge William W. McLees, Jr.. McLees ordered Hagar to resolve all pending matters and past judicial decisions before he would be allowed to accept new cases. Hagar has failed to resolve cases in a timely manner for quite some time, and has failed to meet docket currency and administrative standards. Other justices have attempted to help Hagar clear his backlog but have been for the most part unsuccessful. Hagar has been unsuccessful in getting the backlog cleared despite discussions with McLees and has even allowed many self-imposed deadlines to pass without any progress. McLees has taken into account the flooding that has affected the area and brought hardships to many of the court's judges, but despite having homes flooded other judges have completed their work on time, where as Judge Hagar has been absent for the most part. Hagar now has 15 days to provide a written report of all back cases and a plan to resolve all of them, and must complete both within 30 days. Failure to do so will resort in Hagar being brought before the North Dakota Judicial Conduct Commission with the recommendation that Hagar be suspended.