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Order in the Court: Judges balance
judicial shortage amid rising caseload
By Jack Dura, Bismarck Tribune
Editor’s Note: This is a shortened reprint of the original article. The full
version of this article ran in the Bismarck Tribune on March 3, 2018.
Sally Holewa says North Dakota’s South Central Judicial District
needs three bodies and one toe.
“They definitely have the biggest overall shortage as far as judicial
bodies, that’s for sure,” the state court administrator said.
With a shortage of 3.06 judicial officers, the South Central Judicial
District encompassing Burleigh, Morton, and seven other counties
has the most need for district judges and judicial referees in the state.
A 2017 weighted caseload study analyzed each of North Dakota’s
eight judicial districts, with varied results for each, but a general
shortage suggested across the state.
Comprised of a metro area, rural counties, the state capital, and
penitentiary amid a growing population, the South Central Judicial
District has had its plate full for years with steadily rising case
numbers. Last year, the district met with 831 criminal cases from the
Dakota Access protests a