RETIRED JUSTICE DALE V . SANDSTROM : Serving North Dakota for More than Four Decades
By Kylie Blanchard , Clearwater Communications
Newly retired North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Dale V . Sandstrom served a lengthy career in elected office in North Dakota . Beginning on the Public Service Commission ( PSC ) in the early 1980s and ending on the bench of the state ’ s Supreme Court ( the Court ) in 2016 , his dedication to the state spanned more than 33 years . Twenty-four of those years were spent on the Court , and both his time in elected office and as a justice have been topped by only six other individuals in North Dakota since statehood .
The Road to a Law Career
Sandstrom spent his childhood in Fargo , graduating from Fargo South High School in 1968 . “ Growing up in Fargo , it was an amazing place to live ,” he says , noting many key national figures visited and spoke in the community .
He was active in Boy Scouts and was also active in debate during high school , which piqued his interest in politics . At North Dakota State University ( NDSU ), he was undecided between pursuing a career in medicine or law . “ My first year , I decided on law and graduated with a major in political science and a minor in speech ,” Sandstrom notes .
While he didn ’ t have a heavy law influence in his life , he says he remembers the impact of speaking with a few lawyers during his formative years . “ The first time I talked to a lawyer , I was working on a citizenship merit badge for Boy Scouts . I talked to Lyle
Huseby , a high-profile criminal defense lawyer in Fargo ,” Sandstrom says . “ I had a Scoutmaster who was a lawyer as well .”
He decided to pursue his law degree at the University of North Dakota ( UND ) School of Law . “ I had never been in a courtroom until my first year in law school after I joined Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity ,” he notes .
In his third year of law school , Sandstrom interned at the Grand Forks County state ’ s attorney ’ s office working on criminal cases . “ It was a really great experience ,” he notes . While also in law school , he worked on staff for the Criminal Law Commission . “ I worked in the community crime prevention areas , and we proposed one of the first crime victim rights acts .”
Sandstrom graduated with his juris doctor in 1975 and began his first job out of law school as assistant attorney general under Attorney General Allen I . Olson , heading the Consumer Fraud and Antitrust Division . In 1981 , Governor Olson named him state securities commissioner . Sandstrom ran for the PSC in 1982 but was narrowly defeated .
In 1983 , Sandstrom was appointed to the PSC to fill a vacancy and was re-elected in 1984 and 1990 . In 1992 , he was elected to the Supreme Court , assuming office on Dec . 31 , 1992 . “ When I first ran , there were two seats up , and I ran for a four-year term of an unexpired term .”
He was re-elected to 10-year terms in 1996 and 2006 . Sandstrom says his transition from the PSC to the Court wasn ’ t too difficult , with both jobs dealing with a variety of cases and the need for a majority to reach a decision . “ I really enjoyed both jobs , and they were both challenging ,” he notes . “ Really , I ’ ve enjoyed all my jobs .”
Impacts on the Supreme Court
With a focus on education , technology , and service , Sandstrom spent
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