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| United States District Court for the District of North Dakota | |
|---|---|
| (D.N.D.) | |
 | |
| Location | Bismarck |
| Appeals to | Eighth Circuit |
| Established | November 2, 1889 |
| Judges | 2 |
| Chief Judge | Peter D. Welte |
| Officers of the court | |
| U.S. Attorney | Nicholas W. Chase |
| U.S. Marshal | Dallas L. Carlson |
| www | |
TheUnited States District Court for the District of North Dakota (incase citations,D.N.D.) is the United States District Court or the Federal district court, whose jurisdiction is the state ofNorth Dakota. The court is headquartered out ofBismarck at theWilliam L. Guy Federal Building and has additional locations atFargo,Grand Forks, andMinot. Appeals from the Court are heard by theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (except forpatent claims and claims against the U.S. government under theTucker Act, which are appealed to theFederal Circuit).
The district was created in 1889, when theDakota Territory was divided into North Dakota andSouth Dakota. The Grand Forks courts are located at theRonald N. Davies Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. In 1921, a second temporary judgeship was authorized, however, this was never made permanent and the judgeship expired in 1928. In 1954, a second permanent judgeship was authorized, and the strength of the court has remained unchanged since.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of North Dakota represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of October 10, 2025[update], theUnited States attorney for the District of North Dakota isNicholas W. Chase.
As of January 13, 2020[update]:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
| 13 | Chief Judge | Peter D. Welte | Fargo | 1965 | 2019–present | 2019–present | — | Trump |
| 14 | District Judge | Daniel M. Traynor | Bismarck | 1970 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 9 | Senior Judge | Patrick Anthony Conmy | inactive | 1934 | 1985–2000 | 1985–1992 | 2000–present | Reagan |
| 11 | Senior Judge | Daniel L. Hovland | Bismarck | 1954 | 2002–2019 | 2002–2009 2016–2019 | 2019–present | G.W. Bush |
| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfred Delavan Thomas | ND | 1837–1896 | 1890–1896 | — | — | B. Harrison | death |
| 2 | Charles Fremont Amidon | ND | 1856–1937 | 1896–1928[Note 1] | — | 1928–1937 | Cleveland | death |
| 3 | Andrew Miller | ND | 1870–1960 | 1922–1941 | — | 1941–1960 | Harding | death |
| 4 | Charles Joseph Vogel | ND | 1898–1980 | 1941–1954 | 1954 | — | F. Roosevelt | elevation to8th Cir. |
| 5 | Ronald Davies | ND | 1904–1996 | 1955–1971 | — | 1971–1996 | Eisenhower | death |
| 6 | George Scott Register | ND | 1901–1972 | 1955–1971 | 1955–1971 | 1971–1972 | Eisenhower | death |
| 7 | Paul Benson | ND | 1918–2004 | 1971–1985 | 1971–1985 | 1985–2004 | Nixon | death |
| 8 | Bruce Van Sickle | ND | 1917–2007 | 1971–1985 | — | 1985–2007 | Nixon | death |
| 10 | Rodney Scott Webb | ND | 1935–2009 | 1987–2001 | 1993–2001 | 2001–2009 | Reagan | death |
| 12 | Ralph R. Erickson | ND | 1959–present | 2003–2017 | 2009–2016 | — | G.W. Bush | elevation to8th Cir. |
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.
A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known assenior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.
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| Note | American Samoa does not have a district court or federal territorial court; federal matters there go to theDistrict of Columbia,Hawaii, orits own Supreme Court. |
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