North Dakota
North Dakota’s highest court is the North Dakota Supreme Court. The court has four justices and one chief justice. The chief justice is chosen for a five-year term by other members of the supreme court along with district judges. (Source: State of North Dakota Courts)
Judicial Selection
North Dakota Supreme Court justices are selected through a nonpartisan election, where multiple candidates may vie for the seat. The elected justice serves a 10-year term. Justices may seek additional terms through nonpartisan elections. When a seat opens in the middle of a justice’s term, the governor appoints a candidate from a list provided by a judicial nominating commission. Alternatively, the governor may fill the seat by calling for a special election. An appointed justice holds office until North Dakota’s next general election more than two years after appointment, unless the remainder of the seat’s term runs out before then. The elected justice serves the remainder of the unexpired term. There are no term limits, nor is there a mandatory retirement age.
State Constitution
North Dakota’s first and only state constitution was adopted in 1889. As of January 1, 2024, it had 162 amendments. (Source: John Dinan, 2024)
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2025’s Most Significant State Constitutional Cases
Leading legal thinkers weighed in on the state constitutional rulings our readers should know about from this past year.
Why We Should Care About Diversity on the Bench
New data shows women and people of color are underrepresented on state high courts.
Supreme Court and Election Law Still Feel the Fallout 25 Years After Bush v. Gore
The 5–4 decision started a long slide in public approval for the court, accentuated by a widening partisan gap.
Bush v. Gore Introduced a Fringe Theory that Threatened Elections Decades Later
The “independent state legislature theory,” shut down in 2023 by the U.S. Supreme Court, would have robbed state courts of the power to review state laws related to federal elections.
Judging Democracy: A Former Justice Reflects on Bush v. Gore 25 Years Later
The legal battles over the 2000 presidential election were the beginning of a cautionary tale reminding us that democracy does not sustain itself.
How Originalism Revived an Abortion Ban a Majority of the North Dakota Supreme Court Held Unconstitutional
Although three of the five justices on the court concluded the ban violated state due process rights, a state rule requiring a supermajority to strike down a law means the dissenting opinion controls.
"Liberty" is a Big Word, and That’s OK
A recent abortion rights decision in North Dakota demonstrates that the distinction between “fundamental” and “non-fundamental” rights doesn’t always make sense in state constitutional jurisprudence.
Everyone Benefits When Judges Come from a Variety of Backgrounds
Amid attacks on “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the need for representative state supreme courts is as urgent as ever.