The State Bar Association of North Dakota Winter 2015 Gavel Magazine | Page 16

New judges, state court building,
being considered by legislators

New judges and staff, and the relocation of the North Dakota
Supreme Court to new building on the State Capitol grounds are
among the bills being considering during the current session of
the legislature.
The North Dakota Court system is requesting four new judges
and 15 additional court staff for Burleigh, Morton, Stark,
McKenzie, Ward and Williams Counties.
Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle described the need for the new
staff in his State of the Judiciary address to legislators on January
7. “In the past 10 years, the caseload in our courts has increased
dramatically, particularly in the oil-impacted counties. In these
counties, it is easy to see the connection to increased population,
increased business activity, and increased law enforcement,” said
VandeWalle. “In other areas of the state, most notably Burleigh
and Morton counties, it has been more of a gradual increase, yet
one that is so persistent that these two counties are now home to
the most active courts in the state.”
VandeWalle described how a shortage of judges and court staff
affects communities. “Those charged with crimes sit in jail longer
while they wait for their day in court and a judgment of guilt or
innocence. This is disruptive to their own lives and those of their
families; it is hard on the alleged victims and the witnesses who
wait to testify, and it costs the counties thousands of dollars in
incarceration costs,” he said. “But criminal cases, while a majority
in the court system, are not the only cases. Without an adequate
number of judges and staff, children wait to learn if they will
remain in foster care or return home; adults wait in uncertainty
for divorces to be finalized and issues of child custody and
property division to be decided; businesses wait for contracts to be
interpreted and enforced, and thousands of dollars go into trust
accounts until heirs and mineral rights issues can be adjudicated,”
he said.
He said the rule of law depends on courts being available in a
timely manner. “Without additional resources we are losing the
ability to meet on a timely basis the needs of those who come
to the court for help. The lack of resources, particularly in the
criminal arena, has led to a system of ‘conveyor-belt justice’ where
hearings are too often run by script and concluded in less than
five minutes,” VandeWalle said.
The proposal to remodel and expand the Liberty Memorial
Building to be the new home of the North Dakota Supreme
Court was outlined by Governor Jack Dalrymple in his executive
budget address in December.
Now the location of the State Library, which is pictured on page
14. the Supreme Court was the first occupant of the building,
along with the State Library, in 1924. The Court offices moved
to the second floor of the new State Capitol in 1934, and to the
Judicial Wing of the State Capitol in 1981. Early plans were to
build another building on the Capitol Grounds in the same style
as the Liberty Memorial Building to house the Supreme Court,
but it was never completed.
16 THE GAVEL

The proposal, estimated at $40 million, would remodel the current
building and add nearly 40,000 more square feet of building
space over the parking lot to the south of the building. Should
this be approved, the State Library would relocate to another site,
and other state agencies to take the space currently used by the
Supreme Court in the Capitol’s Judicial Wing.

Legislators to consider five Uniform Law acts

During each session of the North Dakota Legislature, the
North Dakota Uniform Law Commission recommends that
certain uniform laws be introduced. Five uniform acts have been
introduced in the 64th Legislative Assembly.
They are:

• S.B. 2107, the Uniform Act on Prevention and Remedies for
Human Trafficking;

• S.B. 2106, the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act;

• H.B. 1134, an amendment to the Uniform Commercial Code
Article 4A, which provides that Article 4A does apply to a
remittance transfer that is not an electronic funds transfer under
the Federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act;

• H.B. 1135, an amendment to the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer
Act, renamed the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act, to address
narrowly-defined issues, such as choice of law rules and burden
of proof rules for claims under the Act, and
• H.B. 1136, the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company
Act.
The North Dakota Uniform Law Commission promotes
uniformity in state laws. The commission meets during the
annual meeting of the National Conference of Commissioners
on Uniform State Laws. During this meeting, the commission
determines its legislative package for the upcoming legislative
session.
The North Dakota Legislative Management staff appoints
one member of each chamber to the 10-member commission.
They are Senator David Hogue and Re