BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Daniel Crothers today informed Gov. Kelly Armstrong that he plans to retire Feb. 28, 2026, after serving more than 20 years on the high court.
“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. “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. I’ve always enjoyed my conversations with Justice Crothers, and I deeply appreciate his commitment to the legal profession and preparing the next generation of lawyers for the future. Kjersti and I wish him all the best in retirement, and on behalf of all North Dakotans, we thank him for his remarkable legacy of service.”
Crothers was born in 1957 and raised in Fargo, American Samoa and Albuquerque, N.M. He attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and earned his law degree from the UND School of Law in 1982. Crothers clerked in the New Mexico Court of Appeals from 1982 to 1983 and worked in private practice from 1983 to 1986, also serving an assistant state’s attorney in Walsh County from 1983 to 1984. He was a member and partner with the Nilles Law Firm in Fargo from 1987 to 2005, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court by then-Gov. John Hoeven. Crothers was elected to a 10-year term on the Supreme Court in 2012 and re-elected to another 10-year term in 2022.
Crothers served as president of the State Bar Association of North Dakota from 2001 to 2002 and as a member and chair of several Bar Association and Court committees relating to lawyer and judicial ethics and professional conduct. He currently serves as chair of North Dakota’s Committee on Judiciary Standards. He also is a past chair of the North Dakota Judicial Conference and current chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Professional Responsibility. Crothers also has served as adjunct faculty at National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, and is a regular worldwide presenter on seminars for judges and lawyers on ethics, technology and evidence, according to the Supreme Court.
Under state law, a Judicial Nominating Committee convened by the governor must forward a list of nominees to Armstrong to fill the Supreme Court vacancy within 60 days of when the committee receives notice that the vacancy exists. Within 30 days of receiving the list, the governor has three options: 1) fill the vacancy by appointing from the list of nominees; 2) return the list of nominees and direct the committee to reconvene; or 3) call for a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.