Gov. John Hoeven has formally notified the Judicial Nominating Committee of the vacancy on the North Dakota Supreme Court created by the resignation of Justice William Neumann, which was effective March 14. The governor's notice triggers a series of statutory deadlines for filling the vacancy.
The governor's April 4 leter was sent to Bernie Dardis, chair of the Judicial Nominating Committee. Neumann, who is now executive director of the State Bar Association of North Dakota, serves as secretary to the Judicial Nominating Committee.
The vacancy will be filled as provided in N.D. Const. Art. 6, § 13, and Chapter 27-25 N.D.C.C. Under N.D.C.C. § 27-25-03, the Committee has 60 days to submit a list of nominees to Governor Hoeven.
The judgeship will retain Neumann's unexpired term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2012. Under the constitutional amendment adopted in 1998, a person appointed to the judgeship would continue to serve until the 2008 general election, with the person elected in 2008 serving the remainder of the term.
The Committee will be mailing a flyer to all State Bar Association of North Dakota members notifying them of the opening.
Applications may be obtained from the secretary of the Judicial Nominating Committee ((701)255-1404; Bill@sband.org). The application form and information concerning the interview process will be mailed to interested parties.
Once the Committee has completed the interview process and has made its recommendations to Governor Hoeven, by law he will have 30 days to make a selection from the list of nominees.
April 4, 2005