The business meeting of the Judicial Conference was called to order at 1:46 p.m. on June 17, 2010,
by Chair M. Richard Geiger. Sally Holewa, State Court Administrator, called the roll:
Judges of Supreme Court
Gerald W. VandeWalle Dale V. Sandstrom Mary Muehlen Maring Carol Ronning Kapsner Daniel J. Crothers
Judges of District Court
Donovan Foughty M. Richard Geiger Michael G. Sturdevant William W. McLees Richard L. Hagar Gary H. Lee David W. Nelson Gail Hagerty Sonna M. Anderson Bruce B. Haskell David E. Reich Thomas J. Schneider Robert O. Wefald Joel D. Medd Debbie Gordon Kleven William A. Herauf H. Patricki Weir John T. Paulson John E. Greenwood Daniel D. Narum Douglas R. Herman John C. Irby Steven L. Marquart Steven E. McCullough
Judges of Municipal Court
Robert A. Keogh DeNae H.M. Kautzmann
Surrogate Judges
Ronald E. Goodman Benny A. Graff William F. Hodny Everett Nels Olson Allan L. Schmalenberger Kirk Smith
Clerk of the Supreme Court
Penny Miller
Members of the Bar
Michael F. Daley Steven J. Lies Sherry Mills Moore
A quorum was declared and the business meeting proceeded.
Judge Robert Wefald made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 23, 2009 Judicial
Conference. The motion carried and the minutes were approved.
Chair Geiger noted for the record that Judge Thomas Merrick, Judge Todd Cresap and Kathryn
Rand, Dean of the University of North Dakota Law School, have joined the Judicial Conference
since the last meeting.
He then called for a moment of silence in memory of former colleagues Judge James Bekken, Judge
Lester Ketterling and Judge Adam Gefreh.
Chair Geiger announced that Judge Sonna Anderson has been named the new Chair of the
Committee on Legislation. He then called on her for a Committee report. Judge Anderson reported
that the Committee was not currently working on any legislation.
Chair Geiger announced that the North Dakota District Judge’s Association has appointed Judge H.
Patrick Weir to replace Judge Robert Wefald whose term had expired, and re-appointed Judge
Steven McCullough to the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference. He expressed
appreciation to Judge Wefald for his service on the Committee.
Chair Geiger introduced Judge David Reich as the chair of a new Judicial Education Subcommittee
on the benchbook and alerted the members that the subcommittee would be contacting them to
obtain any checklists and forms they regularly use for case processing.
At this time, the education portion of the agenda commenced. The first session was delivered by
Judge Gail Hagerty and Donna Wunderlich, Unit 3 Trial Court Administrator, who presented
information on the Law School for Clergy program they delivered this past spring in Bismarck.
Lee Ann Barnhardt, Director of Judicial Education and Communication, provided a list of dates for
future educational opportunities and conducted a drawing for three $1,500 scholarships for courses
offered by the National Judicial Conference. The winners were Judge Gary Lee, Justice Dale
Sandstrom and Judge John Greenwood. Following the drawing, Jonathon Byers of the Office of the
Attorney General and Shannon Hilfer of the Dakota Children’s Advocacy Center delivered a
presentation on the use of therapy dogs in child abuse cases.
Following the education portion of the meeting, Chair Geiger called for any additional business to
come before the Conference. There being none, Judge Wefald moved to adjourn. The motion
carried and the meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sally Holewa State Court Administrator Executive Secretary to the Judicial Conference