The State Bar Association of North Dakota Fall 2015 Gavel Magazine | Page 5

SBAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TONY J. WEILER SBAND Executive Director I try to use my space in each Gavel to give members an idea of what is happening at SBAND, or what has been keeping us busy. As many of you know, I serve as the Secretary of the Judicial Nominating Committee, which is tasked with interviewing candidates for judgeships, and sending those names on to the Governor for consideration of appointment. The Committee has been extremely busy since I started with SBAND in June 2013, and by the time you read this, the committee will have met to discuss and interview candidates for 18 different judgeships (for one judgeship, the committee met twice). The Judicial Nominating Committee is comprised of six permanent members, who can serve two consecutive three-year terms. They are appointed by the Governor, the Chief Justice, and the President of SBAND. In each judicial district where there is a vacancy, the above also appoint one temporary member each. With the creation of seven new judgeships since the 2013 legislative session, and with the retirement of other judges, the amount of time spent doing this important work is unprecedented in North Dakota. It is a lot of work for the volunteer members, who take the task very seriously. It has also been rewarding work for me, as I’ve been able to meet a lot of great lawyers who put their names forward for the positions. This also means we have a lot of new judges in our state. A total of 22 judges have taken the bench since 2010. Governor Jack Dalrymple has appointed 15 District Court Judges and one Supreme Court Justice during his term. Interestingly, he became governor in late 2010, but has made all of his appointments since July 2013. By comparison, Governor John Hoeven appointed 10 District Court Judges, and one Supreme Court Justice, during his 10 years in office. From my close dealings with the Judicial Nominating Committee, and the Governor’s office, I can tell you that he has been impressed with the quality of lawyers in North Dakota, and the judges he’s been able to appoint. What else is happening, you might ask? We continue to prepare for our Annual Meeting in Grand Forks in June 2016, and we hope to utilize the beautiful new School of Law. We have also invited ABA President Paulette Brown, and while she hasn’t officially committed, I believe we have a great chance to have her in attendance. If you h ]