COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS
Honorable Daniel El-Dweek
Judge Daniel El-Dweek has spent his career serving the most underrepresented in the law profession and the country . He was the managing attorney for the Dakota Plains Legal Services in Ft . Thompson , S . D .; a staff attorney for the Regional Native Public Defense Corp in White Earth , Minn .; and a supervisor in the Williston Public Defenders Office prior to his 2015 appointment as a judge in Williston by Governor Jack Dalrymple . He has coached the high school mock trial team at Alexander High School for three years . The Alexander High School team represented North Dakota virtually at the National High School Mock Trial competition in 2022 , and this year , traveled to Little Rock , Ark ., to represent North Dakota . Judge El-Dweek has donated countless hours of his time to prepare these students and their teachers , and to instill in them a love of the law .
Trent Barkus
Trent Barkus volunteers for the National Cemetery Committee , and through his work on that committee , organizes the Memorial Day and Veteran ’ s Day programs . Barkus also performs military honors at funerals held at the cemetery . He volunteers weekly for the Barnes / Stutsman County Drug Court and served on the Governor ’ s Veterans Task Force , which made recommendations for new legislation this year . Barkus also does pro bono work for veterans or current service members . working and coordinating with the VA , the district court , and local entities in the past three years to start the local Veterans Court . Ogren worked tirelessly to handle a large client base during the various COVID-19 issues and shut-downs , and worked with the district court to ensure the steady stream of indigent defendants were represented and had their cases processed and handled without delay or interruption .
Cynthia Schaar
Cynthia Schaar is a special assistant attorney general for North Dakota Child Support . She was actively involved in family law for several decades , including serving as president of the State Bar Association of North Dakota ( SBAND ) Family Law Section in the 1990s and presenting at several family law conferences . In private practice , Schaar had at least one pro bono file open and lent her extensive expertise on family law issues to many attorneys . More recently , Schaar served on the SBAND Board of Governors , the Judicial Conduct Commission , and the Disciplinary Board . She has also served on the Quadrennial Child Support Review Committee since 2014 . While not volunteering for mission trips across the country , Schaar has also been active on the board of the Central Valley Health Unit for nearly 20 years .
RETIRING BOARD MEMBERS
Justice Douglas Bahr , 2017-2023 Ted Sandberg , 2019-2023
David Ogren
David Ogren has been the head of the public defender office in Grand Forks and Lakota ( Nelson County ) for many years . In addition to a career dedicated to indigent defense , Ogren has been instrumental in the Veterans Court and Veterans Legal Assistance in northeast North Dakota . Ogren has been a leading proponent in matching veteran indigent defendants with various veteran affairs ( VA ) services . He started his legal career as a U . S . Army military legal specialist and was part of the spearheading of the efforts in
Left to right , Tony Weiler , Ted Sandberg , Justice Douglas Bahr , and Jennifer Jensen .
SUMMER 2023 11