County courts abolished - Election of additional district court judges - Case file transition - Budget and property considerations
N.D. Cent. Code § 27-05-00.1
in effect27-05-00.1. County courts abolished - Election of additional district court judges -
Case file transition - Budget and property considerations.
1. Following the completion on January 1, 1995, of the terms of the judges of all county
courts, the county court and office of judge of the county court in each county are
abolished.
2. District court judgeships are established on January 2, 1995, in number equal to the
number of county judges serving the county courts on January 1, 1991, or the number
of county judges serving the county courts on January 1, 1994, whichever is the lesser
number. The district court judgeships established pursuant to this subsection must be
filled by election at the general election in 1994. All statutes relating to the district court
apply to the district court judgeships established pursuant to this subsection, except as
otherwise provided by this section.
3. The supreme court shall designate by rule, prior to January 1, 1994, the judicial district
for each additional district court judgeship established pursuant to subsection 2. The
judicial district designated by the supreme court for each district court judgeship
established pursuant to subsection 2 is the area of election for that office at the
general election in 1994. The supreme court shall designate, prior to January 1, 1994,
staggered terms for each district court judgeship established pursuant to subsection 2
in a manner that results in approximately one-third of those offices with initial terms of
two years, one-third with initial terms of four years, and one-third with initial terms of
six years. Any judge elected pursuant to subsection 2 shall take office on January 2,
1995, and shall hold office until completion of the designated initial term or until a
successor is elected and has qualified. Subsequent to these initial terms, a judge
elected to a judgeship established by subsection 2 shall hold office for the term
provided in section 27-05-02.
4. All case files, untried cases, or any other unfinished business of each county court
abolished pursuant to subsection 1 must be considered case files, untried cases, and
other unfinished business of the district court of the judicial district in which that county
is located.
5. Beginning in 1992, the budget for the district courts submitted to the legislative
assembly pursuant to section 27-01-01.1 and to the director of the budget for
informational purposes pursuant to section 54-44.1-13 must include all salaries and
expenses for the district court judgeships established pursuant to subsection 2. Any
equipment, furnishings, and law libraries in the control and custody of the county
courts on January 1, 1991, and any property acquired by county courts from that date
until January 1, 1995, must be transferred on January 2, 1995, to the custody and
control of the district court of the county in which each county court is located until the
state court administrator determines that these items are no longer needed by the
district court. Upon that determination, custody and control of the property must revert
to the county.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t27c05.pdf#nameddest=27-05-00p1Fetched: 10/16/2026