Nicholas D. Thornton

Judge Thornton was elected as District Court Judge in 2022 for the Southeast Judicial District judgeship #2 located in Valley City, ND.

Born in 1980; Judge Thornton is a native of Jamestown.  He graduated from Jamestown High School in 1998 and attended Minnesota State University in Moorhead, MN receiving his Bachelor of Administration in Criminal Justice in 2003.  He graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law and received his Juris Doctor in 2006.  Judge Thornton was admitted to the N.D. Bar on September 25, 2006.

Judge Thornton served as a law clerk for Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner at the North Dakota Supreme Court from 2006-2007. He was in private legal practice at the Serkland Law Firm from 2007-2008; Assistant Public Defender at the Fargo Public Defender’s Office 2008-2013; and in private legal practice at the Fremstad Law Firm, 2013-2022.