The Honorable John T. Paulson, Presiding Judge
Jodie Koch, Administrative Assistant
District Court Judge: John T. Paulson, Presiding Judge; James M. Bekken; Ronald E. Goodman; John E. Greenwood; Richard W. Grosz; and Mikal Simonson.
Number of Counties in District: 11
District Court Chambers: Valley City, Jamestown, New Rockford, Ellendale, and Wahpeton.
District Court
The Southeast Judicial District was bolstered by the North Dakota Supreme Court's decision to fill the judicial vacancy created by Randall Hoffman's resignation. John E. Greenwood was selected to fill this position and his investiture was held on August 27, 1999.
Gregg's County was transferred to the Southeast Judicial District effective September 1, 1999. Griggs County was previously part of the Northeast Central Judicial District. This increased the Southeast Judicial District's area to eleven counties.
Southeast District Bar Association President Laura Wick Loberg died unexpectedly in November, 1999. Ms. Loberg held the indigent defense contract for the counties of Barnes, Dickey, and LaMoure.
The unified court information system (UCIS) continues to be the backbone of information serving as the case management system. Ransom County was added as an on-line user in December, 1999. Plans to implement UCIS in Foster County are also underway. Regular training is offered to the clerks focusing on UCIS components. Plans are underway to implement this training as a regular offering to judges, court reporters, and court recorders.
The implementation of the mediation pilot project continues in the Southeast Judicial District. Judges also regularly recommend and order parties to participate in a parent education course (Children of Divorce). This course is taught by local facilitators and is offered through the NDSU extension service.
Juvenile Court
The juvenile court management system (JCMS) was tested and is in the process of being fully implemented in our district. This program allows juvenile courts to enter information, track statistics, and monitor trends in juvenile justice. This program will also allow docket currency standards to be applied to juvenile court cases and, hence, manage this information more effectively.
Guardians Ad Litem
New court rules regarding guardians ad litem and custody investigators mandated some modifications in the Southeast Judicial District's lay guardian ad litem program. The guardians ad litem in divorce/custody cases will now be licensed attorneys and the former lay guardian ad litem's role will be that of a custody investigator. The lay guardian ad litem will continue to serve in the same capacity in juvenile cases. New training requirements have been established and will be offered to lay guardians ad litem/custody investigators via the interactive video network.
SOUTHEAST JUDICIAL DISTRICT CASELOAD FOR CALENDAR YEARS 1998 AND 1999
| Case Filings/ Dispositions | 1998 (F) (D) | 1999 (F) (D) | ||
| Civil Small Claims Admin Traffic Criminal Juvenile | 4,963 984 11,866 5,303 376 | 7,639 957 11,866 5,832 376 | 3,037 1,048 16,412 4,693 255 | 3,608 1,089 16,203 4,785 255 |