United States District Court for the District of North Dakota

United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (D.N.D.)
Map
Appeals to	Eighth Circuit
Established	April 26, 1890
Judges assigned	2
Chief judge	Ralph R. Erickson
Official site

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 and has additional locations at Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot. 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 authorised, however, this was never made permanent and the judgeship expired in 1928. In 1954, a second permanent judgeship was authorised, 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. Christopher C. Myers is the United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota. 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).

Current judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
12	Chief Judge	Ralph R. Erickson	Fargo	1959	2003–present	2009–present	—	G.W. Bush
11	District Judge	Daniel L. Hovland	Bismarck	1954	2002–present	2002–2009	—	G.W. Bush
9	Senior Judge	Patrick Anthony Conmy	Bismarck	1934	1985–2000	1985–1992	2000–present	Reagan

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Age at appointment	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Thomas, Alfred DelavanAlfred Delavan Thomas	ND	1837–1896	1890–1896	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Harrison, B.B. Harrison	death
2	Amidon, Charles FremontCharles Fremont Amidon	ND	1856–1937	1896[1]–1928	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1928–1937	Cleveland, Cleveland	death
3	Miller, AndrewAndrew Miller	ND	1870–1960	1922–1941	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1941–1960	Harding, Harding	death
4	Vogel, Charles JosephCharles Joseph Vogel	ND	1898–1980	1941–1954	1954	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Roosevelt, F.F. Roosevelt	reappointment
5	Davies, RonaldRonald Davies	ND	1904–1996	1955–1971	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1971–1996	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
6	Register, George ScottGeorge Scott Register	ND	1901–1972	1955–1971	1955–1971	{{{age at appointment}}}	1971–1972	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
7	Benson, PaulPaul Benson	ND	1918–2004	1971–1985	1971–1985	{{{age at appointment}}}	1985–2004	Nixon, Nixon	death
8	Van Sickle, Bruce MarionBruce Marion Van Sickle	ND	1917–2007	1971–1985	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	1985–2007	Nixon, Nixon	death
10	Webb, Rodney ScottRodney Scott Webb	ND	1935–2009	1987–2001	1993–2001	{{{age at appointment}}}	2001–2009	Reagan, Reagan	death

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat established on November 2, 1889 by 25 Stat. 676 Thomas 1890–1896 Amidon 1897–1928 Seat abolished on June 2, 1928 (temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 2 Seat established on June 25, 1921 by 42 Stat. 66 (temporary) Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 1 on June 2, 1928 Miller 1922–1941 Vogel 1941–1954 Davies 1955–1971 Benson 1971–1985 Webb 1987–2001 Erickson 2003–present

Seat 3 Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 Register 1955–1971 Van Sickle 1971–1985 Conmy 1985–2000 Hovland 2002–present

See also

• Courts of North Dakota
• List of United States federal courthouses in North Dakota

Notes

1. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1896, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 18, 1897, and received commission on February 18, 1897.

External links

• United States District Court for the District of North Dakota Official Website
• United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota Official Website