Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Gerald VandeWalle
Gerald VandeWalle was a judge of the North Dakota Supreme Court. He assumed office in 1978. He left office on January 31, 2023.
VandeWalle was appointed to the state supreme court in August 1978 by Governor Arthur A. Link (D). He began service as chief justice in January 1993 and was re-elected to four five-year terms between 1994 and 2014. VandeWalle stepped down from the position of chief justice on December 31, 2019. He retired on January 31, 2023.[1][2][3][4][5] To learn more about this vacancy, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[6] VandeWalle received a confidence score of Indeterminate.[7] Click here to read more about this study.
Biography
VandeWalle received his B.S. from the University of North Dakota in 1955 and his J.D. from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1958.[8] He was the special assistant attorney general from 1958 to 1975, and in 1975 became the first assistant attorney general. In 1978 VandeWalle was appointed by Governor Arthur A. Link (D) to serve on the North Dakota Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice from 1993 to 2019.[3] In 2008 VandeWalle was awarded the American Inns of Court Professionalism award for the Eighth Circuit, and in 2009 was awarded the American Bar Association's Robert J. Kutak award.[9][10] VandeWalle has served as the chair of the Federal-State Tribal Relations Committee of the Conference of Chief Justices, the American Bar Association's Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, the National Center for State Courts, and the National Center for State Court's Research Advisory Council. He also has served as the co-chair for the ABA Bar Admissions Committee, and president of the Conference of Chief Justices.[3]
Elections
2014
- See also: North Dakota judicial elections, 2014
VandeWalle ran for re-election to the North Dakota Supreme Court. He ran unopposed in the primary on June 10, 2014, and was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.[11]
2004
VandeWalle was re-elected to the court in 2004.[3]
1994
VandeWalle was re-elected to the court in 1994.[3]
1984
VandeWalle was re-elected to the court in 1984.[3]
1978
VandeWalle was appointed to the state supreme court in August 1978 by Governor Arthur A. Link (D).[3]
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[12]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[13]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
Gerald
VandeWalle
North Dakota
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Indeterminate - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Held political office as a Republican
- Appointed by a Democratic governor
Partisan Profile
Details:
VandeWalle served as First Assistan Attorney General for North Dakota under a Republican attorney general. He was appointed by Gov. Arthur A. Link (D).
Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
VandeWalle received a campaign finance score of -0.97, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of 1.00 that justices received in North Dakota.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[14]
Noteworthy events
On August 6, 2020, court officials said VandeWalle had tested positive for coronavirus and was receiving medical treatment.[15]
State supreme court judicial selection in North Dakota
- See also: Judicial selection in North Dakota
The five justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court are chosen in nonpartisan elections. Judicial candidates compete in a primary election, and the top two candidates advance to the general election in November.[16] If a justice retires or dies in office, the governor may appoint a justice to the court for two years, when the appointed justice must then run in a nonpartisan election.[17]
Once elected, judges serve 10-year terms. At the expiration of a judge's term, he or she must run for re-election to remain on the court.[16]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- a U.S. and state citizen and
- a licensed attorney.[16]
Chief justice
The court's chief justice is chosen by a vote of the supreme and district court judges to serve a five-year term.[16]
Vacancies
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement with help from a judicial nominating commission. Alternatively, the governor may call a special election to fill the vacancy. Appointed judges are to serve for at least two years, after which they must run in the general election to finish the remainder of the unexpired term.[18] If a justice retires or dies in office, the governor may appoint a justice to the court for two years, when the appointed justice must then run in a nonpartisan election.[19] The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Knox Radio, "VandeWalle to retire from North Dakota high court," November 18, 2022
- ↑ Judgepedia.org, “Judicial selection in North Dakota,” accessed November 21, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Supreme Court of North Dakota, "Gerald W. VandeWalle," archived October 20, 2014
- ↑ University of North Dakota School of Law, "Chief Justice VandeWalle, Class of '58, Running for Another 10-year Term," archived October 22, 2014
- ↑ Grand Forks Herald, "Runoff election will determine new ND Supreme Court chief justice," November 25, 2019
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle," accessed June 29, 2021
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Kutak Award Committee," accessed June 29, 2021
- ↑ American Inns of Court, "Professionalism Award Recipients By Circuit," accessed June 29, 2021
- ↑ North Dakota Voting Information, "Official Results Primary Election," June 10, 2014
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ AP, "Former North Dakota chief justice tests positive for COVID," August 6, 2020
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Dakota," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ State of North Dakota, "Supreme Court," accessed September 8, 2022
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Dakota," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ State of North Dakota, "Supreme Court," accessed September 8, 2022
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of North Dakota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of North Dakota
State courts:
North Dakota Supreme Court • North Dakota Court of Appeals • North Dakota District Courts • North Dakota Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in North Dakota • North Dakota judicial elections • Judicial selection in North Dakota
