North Dakota Supreme Court justice vacancy (January 2023)
| North Dakota Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| VandeWalle vacancy |
| Date: January 31, 2023 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Douglas Bahr |
| Date: January 9, 2023 |
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R) appointed Douglas Bahr to the North Dakota Supreme Court effective February 1, 2023. Bahr succeeded Gerald VandeWalle, who retired on January 31, 2023. Bahr was Gov. Burgum's second nominee to the five-member supreme court.[1]
At the time of the vacancy under North Dakota law, the governor appointed a replacement with help from a judicial nominating commission. Alternatively, the governor could call a special election to fill the vacancy. Appointed judges served for at least two years, after which they needed to run for election to finish the remainder of the unexpired term.[2]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the North Dakota Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- A list of candidates who applied to the vacancy.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2023.
The appointee
- See also: Douglas Bahr
Douglas Bahr was an assistant attorney general for North Dakota from 1991 to 1998. He also served as the state's solicitor general during his tenure as the director of the Civil Litigation Division from 1999 to 2016. In 2018, Gov. Burgum (R) appointed Bahr to serve as a judge for the South Central Judicial District.[3]
Bahr earned a bachelor's degree in family science from Bringham Young University in 1987. He earned a J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1990.[3]
Bahr has served as the president of the North Dakota State Bar Association and as the bar association president for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.[3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
The North Dakota Judicial Nominating Committee announced three finalists on December 21, 2022.[4]
- District Judge Douglas Bahr
- District Judge Stacy Louser
- Assistant United States Attorney Jake Rodenbiker
Applicants
Seven applicants applied to fill the vacancy.[5]
- District Judge Douglas Bahr
- Attorney David Hagler
- Attorney Kiara Kraus-Parr
- District Judge Daniel El-Dweek
- Attorney Angela Elsperger Lord
- District Judge Stacy Louser
- Attorney Jake Rodenbiker
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in North Dakota
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.[6] 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.[7]
North Dakota Judicial Nominating Committee
The North Dakota Judicial Nominating Committee is an independent state commission in North Dakota established by the North Dakota Century Code that plays a role in the state's judicial selection process.[8] The committee has six members, selected by the governor, the state Bar association, and the chief justice of the state supreme court.
North Dakota uses the assisted appointment method of judicial selection for vacancies in its state courts. Using this method, the governor appoints state judges from a list of names submitted by the committee.
The committee is a hybrid commission, which means that there is no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state Bar association. As of October 17, 2025, 11 states used this type of commission. To learn more about controlling majorities in judicial selection commissions, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: North Dakota Supreme Court
Justices
Following VandeWalle's retirement, the North Dakota Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Daniel Crothers | Appointed by Gov. John Hoeven (R) in 2005 | |
| ■ Jon Jay Jensen | Appointed by Gov. Doug Burgum (R) in 2017 | |
| ■ Lisa Fair McEvers | Appointed by Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) in 2014 | |
| ■ Jerod Tufte | Elected |
About the court
Founded in 1889, the North Dakota Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Jon Jay Jensen. In 2018, the court decided 461 cases.[9]
As of January 2023, four judges were appointed by Republican governors, and one judge was elected in nonpartisan elections.
The North Dakota Supreme Court meets in Bismarck, North Dakota.[10]
In North Dakota, state supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. There are 13 states that use this selection method. To read more about the nonpartisan election of judges, click here.
About Justice VandeWalle
- See also: Gerald VandeWalle
Justice VandeWalle joined the North Dakota Supreme Court in 1978. He was appointed to the court by Gov. Arthur A. Link (D). He served as Chief Justice from 1993 to 2019.[3]
Before serving on the state supreme court, VandeWalle served as North Dakota Special Assistant Attorney General from 1958 to 1978.[3]
VandeWalle earned a B.S. in commerce from the University of North Dakota, and in 1958 he earned a J.D. from the University of North Dakota School of Law.[3]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2023
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2023
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2023. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2022.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ North Dakota Office of the Governor, "Burgum appoints Judge Douglas Bahr to succeed VandeWalle on North Dakota Supreme Court on Feb. 1," January 9, 2023
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Dakota," accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 North Dakota Office of the Governor, "Burgum appoints Judge Douglas Bahr to succeed VandeWalle on North Dakota Supreme Court on Feb. 1," January 9, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ State of North Dakota Courts, "Judicial Nominating Committee names finalists for Supreme Court vacancy," December 21, 2022
- ↑ State of North Dakota Courts, "Judges, attorneys apply for Supreme Court vacancy," December 2, 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
- ↑ North Dakota State Legislature, "N.D.C.C. Chapter 27-25. Judicial Nominating Committee," accessed November 12, 2021
- ↑ State of North Dakota Courts, "2018 Annual Report North Dakota Court System," accessed September 21, 2019 (page 20)
- ↑ State of North Dakota Courts, "Supreme Court," accessed August 17, 2021
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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
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