Administrative Rule 11 - AUTHORITY AND APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE

Obsolete Date: 8/11/2021

1. The chief justice exercises all administrative authority of the chief justice under Sections 3 and 11 of Article VI of the North Dakota Constitution.

2. The chief justice may exercise authority concurrent with and has supervision over the Clerk of the Supreme Court in all matters under N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 5.

3. The chief justice must sign and execute on behalf of the Supreme Court any order directed to be entered by the Court.

4. The chief justice may designate any justice or justices of the Supreme Court as administrative justice or justices to act in the absence, disqualification, or at the direction of the chief justice. An administrative justice, in the absence, disqualification, or at the direction of the chief justice has the administrative authority of the chief justice.

5. The chief justice must designate a presiding judge, elected under N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 2, who will have the administrative authority of the chief justice in the event the chief justice and all the justices of the Supreme Court are incapacitated and unable to act. In the event the designee is incapacitated, the district judge with the longest service as a district judge will have the administrative authority of the chief justice.

6. The chief justice is appointed by the justices of the Supreme Court and the district judges of all judicial districts in accordance with sections 7, 8 and 9. Vacancies in the office of chief justice are filled by vote as prescribed in this rule. Appointment results must be sent to all justices and district judges by e-mail and posted on the Supreme Court website.

7. The chief justice is appointed for a term of five years or until that justice’s term expires, whichever occurs first beginning January 1. A justice desiring to be included on the ballot must notify the state court administrator in writing before November 10 of the year the vote is to be taken. Thestate court administrator must set a place, date, and time for the public opening of the ballots, which must allow for a minimum of 14 days to return the ballots. Ballots must be sent by the state court administrator to each justice and every district judge. Upon receiving the ballot, each justice or district judge will mark one choice for chief justice and return it for receipt by the state court administrator by the date and time set for the public opening. The candidate with a majority of the votes cast will be declared the winner. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, reballoting will take place with only the top two candidates remaining in contention. For reballoting, within seven days after the prior vote count, the state court administrator must set a place, date, and a time for the public opening of ballots which must allow for a minimum of 10 days to return the ballots, and send new ballots to each justice and every district judge. Upon receiving the ballot, each justice or district judge will mark one choice for chief justice and return it for receipt by the state court administrator by the date and time set for the public opening.

8. The following instructions must be provided with each ballot: “Along with these instructions you should have one ballot with the names of all justices of the Supreme Court who have asked to have their names included on the ballot, one envelope marked ‘Chief Justice Ballot--Inner Envelope’ and one pre-addressed outer envelope. Mark with an ‘x’ in front of your one choice for chief justice, seal your ballot in the inner envelope provided and place this in the outer pre-addressed envelope provided and return it to the state court administrator for receipt by _______________.” The state court administrator must fill in the blank with the date and time set for the public opening.

9. Ballots that are not received by the date and time set for the public opening, ballots that are returned unmarked, and ballots that are returned casting a vote for a write-in candidate will not be counted. Proxy votes are not allowed.

10. A vacancy in the office of chief justice that occurs outside the regular appointment cycle because of illness, retirement or resignation, death or other circumstance will be filled within 60 days in the manner prescribed under sections 7, 8 and 9. Election under this section will be for a term not to exceed the shorter of the end of the five year term during which the vacancy has occurred or expiration of the justice’s current term.