The State Bar Association of North Dakota Fall 2015 Gavel Magazine | Page 5

SBAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

TONY J. WEILER
SBAND Executive Director
I try to use my space in each Gavel to give
members an idea of what is happening
at SBAND, or what has been keeping us
busy. As many of you know, I serve as
the Secretary of the Judicial Nominating
Committee, which is tasked with
interviewing candidates for judgeships, and
sending those names on to the Governor for
consideration of appointment.
The Committee has been extremely busy
since I started with SBAND in June 2013,
and by the time you read this, the committee
will have met to discuss and interview
candidates for 18 different judgeships (for
one judgeship, the committee met twice).
The Judicial Nominating Committee is
comprised of six permanent members,
who can serve two consecutive three-year
terms. They are appointed by the Governor,
the Chief Justice, and the President of
SBAND. In each judicial district where
there is a vacancy, the above also appoint one
temporary member each.
With the creation of seven new judgeships
since the 2013 legislative session, and with
the retirement of other judges, the amount
of time spent doing this important work is
unprecedented in North Dakota. It is a lot
of work for the volunteer members, who
take the task very seriously. It has also been
rewarding work for me, as I’ve been able to
meet a lot of great lawyers who put their
names forward for the positions.

This also means we have a lot of new judges
in our state. A total of 22 judges have
taken the bench since 2010. Governor
Jack Dalrymple has appointed 15 District
Court Judges and one Supreme Court
Justice during his term. Interestingly, he
became governor in late 2010, but has made
all of his appointments since July 2013.
By comparison, Governor John Hoeven
appointed 10 District Court Judges, and one
Supreme Court Justice, during his 10 years
in office. From my close dealings with the
Judicial Nominating Committee, and the
Governor’s office, I can tell you that he has
been impressed with the quality of lawyers in
North Dakota, and the judges he’s been able
to appoint.
What else is happening, you might ask? We
continue to prepare for our Annual Meeting
in Grand Forks in June 2016, and we hope
to utilize the beautiful new School of Law.
We have also invited ABA President Paulette
Brown, and while she hasn’t officially
committed, I believe we have a great chance
to have her in attendance. If you h ]