# United States District Court for the District of North Dakota

The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (in case citations, D.N.D.) is the United States District Court or the Federal district court, whose jurisdiction is the state of North Dakota. The court is headquartered out of Bismarck at the William L. Guy Federal Building and has additional locations at Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot. Appeals from the Court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
The district was created in 1889, when the Dakota Territory was divided into North Dakota and South Dakota. The Grand Forks courts are located at the Ronald 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 February 21, 2025, the United States attorney for the District of North Dakota is Jennifer Puhl.

## Current judges

As of January 13, 2020:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 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 |

## Former judges

| # | 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 | — | 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 to 8th 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 to 8th Cir. |
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1896, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 18, 1897, and received commission the same day.

## Chief judges

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 as senior 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.

## Succession of seats

Seat 1 :
| Seat established on November 2, 1889 by 25 Stat. 676 ||
| Thomas | 1890–1896 |
| Amidon | 1897–1928 |
| Seat abolished on June 2, 1928 (temporary judgeship expired) ||
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on June 25, 1921 by 42 Stat. 66 (temporary) ||||
| Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 1 on June 2, 1928 ||||
| Miller | 1922–1941 |
| Vogel | 1941–1954 |
| Davies | 1955–1971 |
| Benson | 1971–1985 |
| Webb | 1987–2001 |
| Erickson | 2003–2017 |
| Welte | 2019–present |
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 ||||
| Register | 1955–1971 |
| Van Sickle | 1971–1985 |
| Conmy | 1985–2000 |
| Hovland | 2002–2019 |
| Traynor | 2020–present |