North Dakota Supreme Court
Left to right: (Sitting) Justice Dale V. Sandstrom; Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle; Justice William A. Neumann; (Standing) Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner; Justice Mary Muehlen Maring
The North Dakota Supreme Court has five Justices. Each Justice is elected for a ten-year term in a nonpartisan election. The terms of the Justices are staggered so that only one judgeship is scheduled for election every two years. Each Justice must be a licensed attorney and a citizen of the United States and North Dakota.
One member of the Supreme Court is selected as Chief Justice by the Justices of the Supreme Court and the District Court Judges. The Chief Justice's term is for five years or until the Justice's elected term on the court expires. The Chief Justice's duties include presiding over Supreme Court conferences, representing the judiciary at official state functions, and serving as the administrative head of the judicial system.
The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court for the State of North Dakota. It has two major types of responsibilities: (1) adjudicative and (2) administrative.
In its adjudicative capacity, the Supreme Court is primarily an appellate court with jurisdiction to hear appeals from decisions of the district courts. All appeals from these courts must be ripe for review by the Court. In addition, the Court also has original jurisdiction authority and can issue such original and remedial writs as are necessary to exercise this authority.
The state constitution requires that a majority of the Justices is necessary before the Court can conduct its adjudicative business. In addition, the Court cannot declare a legislative enactment unconstitutional unless four of the Justices so decide. When the Court reverses, modifies, or affirms a trial court judgment or order, it is required to issue a written opinion stating the reasons for its decision. Any Justice disagreeing with the majority opinion may issue a dissenting opinion which explains the reasons for the disagreement with the majority.
In its administrative capacity, the Supreme Court has major responsibilities for ensuring the efficient and effective operation of all nonfederal courts in the state, maintaining high standards of judicial conduct, supervising the legal profession, and promulgating procedural rules which allow for the orderly and efficient transaction of judicial business. Within each area of administrative responsibility the Court has general rulemaking authority.
The Court carries out its administrative responsibilities with the assistance of various committees and boards. It exercises its authority to admit and license attorneys through the State Board of Law Examiners. Its supervision of legal ethics is exercised through the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court and its supervision of judicial conduct is exercised through the Judicial Conduct Commission. Continuing review and study of specific subject areas within its administrative jurisdiction is provided through five advisory committees - the Joint Procedure Committee, the Joint Committee on Attorney Standards, the Judiciary Standards Committee, the Court Services Administration Committee, and the Judicial Planning Committee. Other committees, such as the Juvenile Policy Board, the Personnel Policy Board, the Continuing Judicial Education Commission, and the North Dakota Legal Counsel for Indigents Commission, also provide valuable assistance to the Supreme Court in important administrative areas.
Administrative personnel of the Supreme Court also play a vital role in helping the court fulfill its administrative functions. The clerk of the Supreme Court supervises the calendaring and assignment of cases, oversees the distribution and publication of Supreme Court opinions, administrative rules and orders, decides certain procedural motions filed with the Court, and serves as an ex-officio member to the State Board of Law Examiners and the Disciplinary Board. The state court administrator is responsible for the budgetary oversight of the judicial system, prepares statistical reports on the workload of the state's courts, provides judicial educational services, and performs such other administrative duties that are assigned by the Supreme Court. The state law librarian supervises the operation of the state law library.
A 138% increase in appeals of drug offenses contributed to the overall increase in new filings in the North Dakota Supreme Court in calendar year 2002. This increase is not surprising considering the increase in drug related arrests and prosecutions in the state.
Appeals in tort, malpractice, probate and attorney discipline cases increased more than other civil case filings. The number of appeals in family related cases, remained relatively stable, accounting for 22% of the civil caseload in 2002. This is down from 28% last year.
The most appeals originated from the South Central Judicial District, followed by the East Central, Northwest Southeast, Northeast Central, Northeast and Southwest Districts.
In 18% of all actions filed in 2002, one or more parties represented themselves on appeal. For the past several years, the level of self-represented litigants has fluctuated between 14% and 24%.
The Justices each authored an average of 42 majority opinions, and an additional 71 opinions concurring and/or dissenting with the majority position were separately authored. Oral arguments were scheduled in 208 cases, and the Justices also continued the practice of having weekly motions and administrative conferences.
The year ended with Justice William A. Neumann being elected to another 10 year term on the Court. Additionally, the Court adopted rules to allow for the electronic filing of documents in appellate cases. This capability, and the web page, make the North Dakota Supreme Court one of the most technologically advanced and accessible appellate state courts in the nation.
Caseload Synopsis of the Supreme Court 30 20 13 0 Caseload Overview of North Dakota Courts The Court of Appeals was established in 1987 to assist the Supreme Court in managing its workload. Since it was established, the Court of Appeals has written opinions disposing of 75 cases. Cases assigned to the Court of Appeals under Administrative Rule 27 may include family law issues; appeals from administrative agency decisions; appeals from trial court orders on motions for summary judgment; appeals involving cases originating under the Uniform Juvenile Court Act; and appeals from misdemeanor convictions. Authorization for the Court of Appeals extends to January 1, 2004. No cases were assigned or heard by the Court of Appeals in 2002.2001 2002 Percent
DifferenceNew Filings
Civil
Criminal307
195
112353
237
11614.98
21.54
3.57Transferred to Court of Appeals
Civil
Criminal 0
0
0 0
0
0 0
0
0New Filings Balance
Civil
Criminal307
195
112353
237
11614.98
21.54
3.57Filings Carried Over From Previous Calendar Year 152 185 -17.84 Total Cases Docketed 505 492 2.64 Dispositions
Civil
Criminal340
242
98333
216
117-2.05
-10.74
19.39Cases Pending as of December 31
Civil
Criminal152
99
53172
120
52 13.16
21.21
-1.89Civil Criminal BY OPINION:
Affirmed
Affirmed and Modified
Reversed; Reversed & Remanded;
Reversed in Part & Remanded
Affirmed in Part & Reversed in Part;
Affirmed in Part & Dismissed in Part
Affirmed by Summary Disposition
Discipline Imposed
Original Jurisdiction--Denied
Original Jurisdiction--Granted
Certified Question Answered
Remanded
Reinstatement Ordered
65
1
27
19
1
0
0
1
1
34
0
23
0
0
0
0
0
0Dispositions by Opinion 165 70 BY ORDER:
Dismissed
Dismissed After Conference
Original Jurisdiction--Denied
Original Jurisdiction--Granted
30
7
12
2
24
11
11
1Dispositions by Order 51 47 Total Dispositions for 2002 216 117 Level of Court Filings 2001 2002Dispositions 2001 2002Supreme Court 307 353 341 333 District Courts 145,942 156,521 157,784 168,036