CLOSING THE RECORD:
A look back at Justice Crothers’ Distinguished Career
By Katie Winbauer and Quinn Askew Submitted Photos
As Justice Daniel J. Crothers prepares for retirement, he leaves behind more than 20 years of service to the North Dakota Supreme Court. The duration of his tenure ranks ninth out of a total of 53 justices of the Court, strong evidence of his commitment to public service. North Dakotans, as the beneficiaries of his knowledge, professionalism, and commitment to fairness for over two decades, owe a debt of gratitude.
In both honest reflection and in an effort to avoid cliches, Crothers would not point to a single case in his career that stood out as the most significant. Instead, he reflected on a time in which the Court received a spate of petitions during election season. The cases were high-profile and involved both the legislative and executive branches of government. The Court had to respond quickly, but with no less attention than any other case is given. Crothers specifically recalled a moment during that timeframe in which the courtroom was full.“ I think it was a good learning experience for everyone in the courtroom to understand what the three branches do and should be doing,” Crothers said.
At its core, the case was about the separation of powers – a theme that animated Crothers’ judicial career. In fact, he was known to give tours of the capitol where he emphasized just that. His tour started in the legislative wing, where he pointed out how the size of the room accommodated the many individuals involved. The legislative wing has seats lining the chambers and extra seats in each meeting room for the public to participate in the policymaking.
Crothers then walked down the hall, where the executive branch’ s open doors allow the public to inquire and engage with the elected leader charged with implementing policy. And finally, he walked to the judicial wing and into the courtroom, where there is no space left for public input. The bar serves as a physical separation between the two participating parties and the general public. Each party is provided a seat at a table in the courtroom and the public can only observe. Crothers maintained that the structure reflects the Court’ s adjudicative independence, a fundamental principle.
A LITIGATOR’ S TRANSITION TO THE BENCH
Justice Daniel J. Crothers
The Court’ s only justice to have been born in Fargo, Crothers grew up the son of an attorney and judge, but he did not initially envision following his father’ s footsteps. After enough exposure to legal theory, Crothers became interested“ how the parts fit together” in a practical sense and went to law school. He graduated from the University of North Dakota( UND) School of Law in 1982 and thereafter clerked for the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Crothers returned to North Dakota and served briefly as a prosecutor in Walsh County before entering private practice. In 1987, he joined the Nilles Law Firm and was a partner there until his appointment to the Court. He served as president of the State Bar Association of North Dakota from 2001-2002.
At Nilles, Crothers practiced commercial litigation. The work was often high-stakes, complex, and demanding. As is the nature of litigation, Crothers was always advocating for the best outcome for his clients. At times, however, he felt distance between legal theory and real-world consequences in practicing law.
Photo provided by North Dakota State Courts
Justice Crothers was appointed to the North Dakota Supreme Court in 2005 by Gov. John Hoeven.
Crothers applied for the Court vacancy left by Justice Bill Neumann’ s retirement. In June 2005, Gov. John Hoeven appointed him to the Court. Following his initial appointment, Crothers won election to an unexpired four-year term in 2008 and then to a 10- year term in 2012. He faced only a write-in opponent in the 2008 election.
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