Judges

Andrew Eyre

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 13:40:20 GMT

Judge Eyre was appointed District Judge for the Northeast Central Judicial District by Governor Armstrong in 2025 and maintains chambers in Grand Forks.

Judge Eyre was born in 1984 and raised in Wausau, Wisconsin. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse in 2007 and his Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 2013. While in law school, he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and the Order of Barristers.

He was admitted to the North Dakota Bar in 2013 and served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Grand Forks County until his appointment to the bench.

Jay Knudson

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 21:21:35 GMT

Judge Knudson was appointed as District Court Judge by Governor Doug Burgum in 2017 for the Northeast Central Judicial District #3 located in Grand Forks, ND.

Born in 1979; Judge Knudson grew up on a farm near Clifford, ND. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in economics from the University of North Dakota in 2001. He receieved his Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 2004, and was admitted to the N.D. Bar on September 27, 2004.

Judge Knudson worked in private legal practice in Grand Forks for six years following law school, and served as a staff attorney in the Indigent Defense Office in Grand Forks for four years. He was a Judicial Referee/Magistrate Judge for the Northeast Central Judicial District from 2015-2016 and was in private legal practice until his judgeship in 2017.

Jason McCarthy

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 21:15:03 GMT

Judge McCarthy was appointed as District Court Judge by Governor Jack Dalrymple in 2016 for the Northeast Central Judicial District #5 located in Grand Forks, ND.

Born in 1971; Judge McCarthy received his Bachelor's of Administration in Criminal Justice from Minnesota State University in Moorhead, MN in 1995. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1999 and was admitted to the N.D. bar on September 24, 1999. Judge McCarthy worked in the Grand Forks County States Attorney's office for 13 years.

Theodore Sandberg

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 18:46:15 GMT

Judge Sandberg was appointed as District Court Judge by Governor Doug Burgum in 2024 for the Northeast Central Judicial District judgeship #2 located in Grand Forks, ND.

Born in 1969; Judge Sandberg served in the United States Navy Submarine Force after high school from 1988 to 1991. He graduated from Wayne State University in 1994; and received his Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1997. He was admitted to the N.D. State Bar on January 8, 2009.

Judge Sandberg served as a law clerk to Circuit Court Judge James A. Batzer in Western Michigan from 1997 to 1998; and as a law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge A. Harry Branson in Anchorage, Alaska from 1999 to 2001. Judge Sandberg worked as a prosecuting attorney in Detroit, Michigan from 2001 to 2006; and worked in private legal practice from 2006 until his judgeship in 2024.

Judge Sandberg was elected to the SBAND Board of Governors from 2016 to 2024, and was elected SBAND President from 2024 to 2025. Judge Sandberg is also past-President of the Greater Grand Forks Bar Association and the North Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.

Kristi Pettit Venhuizen

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 21:21:18 GMT

Judge Venhuizen was appointed as District Court Judge by Governor Doug Burgum in 2023 for the Northeast Central Judicial District judgeship #6 located in Grand Forks, ND.

Born in 1973, Judge Vanhuizen grew up in Grand Forks. She graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice in 1995. She received her Juris Doctor from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas, in 1998. She was adminited to the N.D. Bar on September 30, 1998; the Kansas State Bar on April 30, 1999; and the Minnesota State Bar on February 10, 2000.

Judge Venhuizen was in private practice for 25 years. She also served as the city prosecutor in Grand Forks and the Traffic Safety REsource Prosecutor for the State of North Dakota.

Judge Venhuizen served on the SBAND Board of Governors from 2007-2013 and was elected SBAND President in 2011-2012. She is also a past president of the Greater Grand Forks County Bar Association and a former chair of the Inquiry Committee Northeast.