IN RE: the VACANCY IN JUDGESHIP NO. 3 with Chambers in Fargo (2026)

[¶1] On August 3, 2026, Governor Kelly Armstrong notified the Supreme Court of the retirement of the Honorable Steven E. McCullough, Judge of the District Court, East Central Judicial District, effective November 1, 2026. Judge McCullough's retirement will create a vacancy under N.D.C.C. § 27-05-02.1.

[¶2] Under N.D.C.C. § 27-05-02.1, within 90 days of receiving notice of a vacancy, this Court is required to determine whether the office is necessary for effective judicial administration. This Court may, consistent with that determination, order the vacancy filled, order the vacant office transferred to another judicial district in which an additional judge is necessary, or abolish the vacant judicial office, with or without a transfer.

[¶3] Under N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 7.2, notice of a written consultation with attorneys and judges and other interested persons in the East Central Judicial District was posted August 23, 2026, on the website of the Supreme Court regarding the vacancy to be created by Judge McCullough's retirement in Judgeship No. 3. Written comments on the vacancy were permitted through September 18, 2026. This procedure is sufficient for purposes of the consultation required under N.D.C.C. § 27-05-02.1.

[¶4] The State Court Administrator filed weighted caseload statistics on August 27, 2026, based on the average of calendar year 2025 filings and annualized calendar year 2026 filings for the East Central Judicial District and statewide. The District filed a report containing population and caseload trends, and other criteria identified in N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 7.2, Section 4, on September 17, 2026. No other written comments were received.

[¶5] The East Central Judicial District is comprised of Cass, Steele, and Traill Counties. The District has eleven district judges and two judicial referees. All judges in the District are assigned cases throughout the District. Cass County has one juvenile drug court, two adult drug courts, and a veterans treatment court. All asbestos-related personal injury cases filed in North Dakota in the last five years have been filed in Cass County, and those cases consume a large amount of judicial time. Interpreters were needed in 1,297 instances in 38 different languages from 2021 through 2025.

[¶6] The population of the East Central Judicial District increased from 194,320 in 2020 to an estimated 211,511 in 2025, with Cass County growing by 9.36 percent. The populations of Steele and Traill Counties remained steady. Case filings, excluding traffic and game and fish cases, increased from 12,003 in 2022 to 13,488 in 2025. The weighted caseload statistics show the two-year average need for judicial officers in the District decreased from 14.13 to 13.22 from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, resulting in a shortage of 0.22. The weighted caseload report states that this is due to an estimated decrease of 3,046 filings, primarily in felony, misdemeanor, and administrative traffic cases, partially offset by an increase in contract collection cases. The need for judicial officers for the treatment courts in Fargo is 0.731 judicial officers. The District's shortage is the greatest of any judicial district in the state.

[¶7] Vacating or moving this judgeship would cause a shortage in the East Central Judicial District making it difficult to provide effective judicial services.

[¶8] Under the criteria of Section 4 of N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 7.2, this Court has considered all submissions and its own administrative records on statewide weighted caseload data.

[¶9] Based on the record before us, this Court determines this office is necessary for effective judicial administration in its present location.

[¶10] IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that Judgeship No. 3 at Fargo in the East Central Judicial District be filled in the manner provided by N.D.C.C. ch. 27-25.

PER CURIAM.

[¶11] Lisa Fair McEvers, C.J. Jerod E. Tufte Jon J. Jensen Douglas A. Bahr Mark A. Friese