By Dave Thompson
Bismarck, ND – North Dakota Chief Justice Gerald Vandewalle says he expects there will be more study on how North Dakota chooses its judges -- before the Legislature makes changes.
An Interim committee studied the issue -- after the federal courts threw out Minnesota's rules that governed how elections for judge are to be conducted. Those rules prohibited political party involvement -- and limited what candidates could and couldn't say during campaigns. North Dakota has similar rules.
Vandewalle says he's concerned that the rulings could mean judge races could become partisan -- and nasty. But he says so far, that hasn't happened in North Dakota.
"We had one contested race this year, which was for an open seat," said Vandewalle. "I don't know how much it cost, but it was done with decorum -- I don't know if there were any outrageous contibutions or outside money coming in, to my knowledge."
But Vandewalle says he's worried high-dollar campaigns will eventually come to judge races in North Dakota.
The Interim committee is recommending further study.