Opinion ID: 897820
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Judicial Vacancy

Text: [¶ 2] Under Section 27-05-02.1, N.D.C.C., this Court is required to review vacancies that occur and determine, within 90 days of receiving notice of a vacancy, whether the office is necessary for effective judicial administration. This Court may, consistent with that determination, order the vacancy filled in its current location or order the vacant office transferred to any location in which a judge is necessary for effective judicial administration. N.D.C.C. § 27-05-02.1(5). [¶ 3] Under N.D. Sup.Ct. Admin. R. 7.2, notice of a written consultation with the attorneys and judges of the Southeast Judicial District was posted February 8, 2006, on the website of the Supreme Court. Notice was also electronically provided to all presiding judges of the state. Written comments on the vacancy were invited and a hearing held March 27, 2006. This procedure is sufficient for purposes of the consultation required under N.D.C.C. § 27-05-02.1. [¶ 4] A Report containing population and caseload trends, and other criteria identified in N.D. Sup.Ct. Admin. R. 7.2, Section 4, was filed March 13, 2006, by the Southeast Judicial District. [¶ 5] Under the criteria of Section 4 of N.D. Sup.Ct. Admin. R. 7.2, the Court has considered all submissions received by the Court and its own administrative records on state-wide weighted caseload data. As noted below in ¶ 8, the district, as a whole, experiences a shortage of judicial resources with the current number of judges chambered within the district. We determine that Judgeship No. 5 is necessary for effective judicial administration in the Southeast Judicial District.