The State Bar Association of North Dakota Winter 2014 Gavel Magazine | Page 15

maring reFLeCts on nearLy 18 years on the suPreme Court
On March 1, Mary Muehlen Maring
would have completed 18 years on the
North Dakota Supreme Court. She retired on December 31, just two months
shy of marking that anniversary.
Appointed to the Supreme Court by
Governor Ed Schafer in 1996, Maring
had been in private practice in Fargo for
the first 20 years of her legal career.
Reflecting on her busy tenure on the
Supreme Court, Maring noted several
highlights and milestones.
“When I first came to the court, I
thought I had an idea of what to expect,
but I really didn’t,” she recalls. “I believe
this is the case with many lawyers who
have not been on the bench. They don’t
realize how different a judicial position
is from practicing law. It’s a big adjustment.”
She says she was not prepared for the
demands on the justices outside the
courtroom, many that involve the Supreme Court’s responsibility to manage
the state’s judicial system. “I was surprised at all the administrative responsibilities we had. Some of this has lifted
over the years with the addition of more
trained court administrative staff, but the
justices continue to be very involved.”
The Court still meets weekly to deal
with administrative issues and considers
all motions made to the court in the past
week. “In addition to the many committee assignments, as state officials there
are responsibilities such as attending
events and meetings, including everything from greeting visiting dignitaries
to speaking at schools.”
Education outreach has been a major
emphasis of Maring’s, and one of the
programs she helped start is the Justice
Teaching Institute, a civic outreach effort
that brings high school teachers to the
court chambers to learn about the rule of
law and constitution. “We have done five
of these and have averaged 20 people per
program. The feedback from the teachers
has been tremendous.”
She also helped launch the juvenile

The Gavel Winter 2014

drug court soon after joining the Court.
It opened in 2000 and is going strong
across North Dakota today. “The adult
drug courts soon followed and have also
been a success.”
She says two other significant administrative advancements were made when
court administrators were hired to manage four districts in the state, and when
clerks of court were transitioned into
becoming state employees.
Also significant is the recent statewide
move to a completely paperless electronic filing system. “This has increased
efficiency,” she says, “but it has not come
easy. It is especially beneficial for the
trial judges who travel from city to city. “
Maring believes implementing mediation for family law was a big step
forward for the work of the court, as is
the introduction in January of mediation
at the appellate level. “And, we now have
a separate indigent defense commission,”
she says. “It has been a major step in
the right direction, much more effective
than when the court contracted with
private attorneys for this defense.”
These changes have all been positive
and have strengthened the state’s judicial
system, she believes. However, she sees
many challenges that remain. “We still
have areas with aging populations and
not a lot of need for court services.
There may need to be some adjustments
in judicial district boundaries to address
this. Creating two districts out of the
Northwest Judicial District last year will
help with that and better address population growth.”
The increase of caseloads in several
areas of the state and the “windshield
time” many state judges are putting in to
hear these cases will remain a concern,
Maring believes. “There is so much to
consider in where these cases are heard,
such as the availability of law enforcement, jails, social workers and courtroom security, along with having enough
population for a jury pool and transportation options. The concept of trial

“

When I first came to the
court, I thought I had
an idea of what to expect, but I really didn’t.

”

centers many emerge again in the future.”
In her retirement, she will serve as a
surrogate judge for the Supreme Court,
although she will not be involved in
the administrative issues of the court.
There are only three surrogate judges in
Bismarck, and I expect we will be called
on quite a bit.”
Maring is also looking forward having
time to pursue some other interests, such
as training so she can do mediation at
the trial court and appellate level. She
also is interested in training for hospice
work and volunteering more at her
church. “I also would like to have the
time to develop some hobbies, which I
have never had the time to pursue.”

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