North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Daniel Crothers, center, announced he will retire in February. At left is Justice Douglas Bahr; at right is Chief Justice Jon Jensen. (Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Daniel Crothers will retire from the bench on Feb. 28.
Crothers has served on the court since he was appointed by then-Gov. John Hoeven in 2005. He was then elected to an unfinished term in 2008, and 10-year terms in 2012 and 2022.
He announced his retirement in a Wednesday letter to Gov. Kelly Armstrong.
Crothers’ letter does not state the reason for his retirement.
“Justice Crothers has faithfully served the citizens of North Dakota and applied the laws of our state with the utmost dedication, fairness and professionalism for over two decades,” Armstrong said in a Wednesday statement. “His respect for the litigants who appear before the Supreme Court, as well as the separate-but-equal roles of the executive and legislative branches of state government, have been a hallmark of his years on the bench. ”
While justices are ordinarily elected, vacancies are filled by appointment of the governor.
Armstrong will soon convene a committee to put together a list of candidates for appointment, according to the Governor’s Office.
The members of the nominating committee include Justice Jerod Tufte, Eric Lahlum, Taylor Olson, Laura Mihalik, Paul Forster, Toby Kommer and non-voting member Tony Weiler, executive director of the North Dakota Bar Association.
Once the list is received, the governor can either choose someone to appoint, reject the list and ask the committee to reconvene or call for a special election to fill the seat.
Before joining the Supreme Court, Crothers served as an assistant state’s attorney for Walsh County and worked in private practice. He chairs North Dakota’s Committee on Judiciary Standards.
Crothers’ retirement comes after Chief Justice Jon Jensen announced he would step down as head of the court. Justices Lisa Fair McEvers and Tufte are running to succeed him in the role. Jensen will remain a justice.
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