Governor Kelly Armstrong has appointed Devils Lake attorney Ashley Samuelson to an open judgeship in the Northeast Judicial District.
The vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Donavan Foughty on September 30. Foughty had served there since 1995.
Samuelson has served as a staff attorney for the Northeast Judicial District since 2017. She also served as a special assistant attorney general for the Devils Lake Regional Child Support Unit from 2011 to 2017, and spent three years in private practice at Robert Vogel Law Office. Samuelson also clerked for now-retired North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Gerald VandeWalle.
She grew up in Edmore and received her bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of North Dakota.
The Northeast Judicial District includes eleven counties – Benson, Bottineau, Cavalier, McHenry, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Renville, Rolette, Towner and Walsh.
Samuelson’s appointment to the judgeship is effective November 28.