BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Jon Jensen was elected Thursday to head the state’s high court.
Jensen, 54, was selected over Justice Lisa Fair McEvers. The ballots were cast by the state’s district court judges and each of the five justices on the high court.
The final tally was 39-16. Two ballots were not returned.
The vacancy was created after Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle, 86, announced in September he will not seek reappointment by his colleagues when his term expires at the end of the year. VandeWalle is the longest-serving chief justice in state history and the oldest in the nation.
Jensen was appointed by Gov. Doug Burgum in 2017 to replace Justice Carol Kapsner, who resigned after 18 years.
Jensen has never been elected by a vote of the people. He must run for a new 10-year term next year to stay on the high court.
His term as chief justice begins Jan. 1 and would run five years if he wins an election next November.
Jensen is a former presiding judge for the Northeast Central Judicial District in Grand Forks.
Prior to his judicial appointment in 2013 by then-Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Jensen and his wife, Linda Bata, were partners in a Grand Forks law firm, specializing in taxation law, business law and estate planning. He worked for another Grand Forks firm prior to that, specializing in civil litigation and criminal defense.
Jensen said he ran for the Supreme Court’s top post because he’s “passionate about the North Dakota judicial system.”
“We work in collaboration as a court and I don’t think that will change,” Jensen said.
There are five justices on the high court, and Jerod Tufte was the only one who did not express interest in the top position.
McEvers and Jensen were the top vote-getters last month, followed by Daniel Crothers. Neither of the two finalists got enough votes to win the position then, forcing a runoff election.
VandeWalle said he intends to remain on the court but not as chief justice. He was elected chief justice five times since 1993. Justice Ralph Erickstad held the post for two decades prior to that.
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