North Dakota Code 40-18-01 – Jurisdiction and qualifications of municipal judge
1. The municipal judge within a city having a population of five thousand or more must be licensed to practice law in this state, unless no person so licensed is available in the city. In a city with a population of less than five thousand, the municipal judge need not be licensed to practice law in this state, nor may the judge be required to be a resident of the city. The municipal judge has jurisdiction to hear, try, and determine offenses against the ordinances of the city.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 40-18-01
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- population: means the number of inhabitants as determined by the last preceding state or federal census. See North Dakota Code 1-01-47
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
2. In a city with a population of less than five thousand, the city may, by resolution or ordinance, require that municipal judges of the city be licensed to practice law in this state.
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the municipal court has no jurisdiction to hear, try, and determine an offense which would be a violation of section 39-08-01 or equivalent ordinance, if the individual charged with the offense has twice previously been convicted of a violation of section 39-08-01 or equivalent ordinance within the seven years preceding the commission of the offense charged or if the individual charged with the offense has three times previously been convicted of a violation of section 39-08-01 or equivalent ordinance within the fifteen years preceding the commission of the offense charged. If such an offense is charged in the municipal court and the municipal judge has notice of a violation of section 39-08-01 or equivalent ordinance twice within the seven years, or three times within the fifteen years, preceding the commission of the offense charged, the municipal judge shall dismiss the charge, without prejudice, and direct that the charge be filed against the individual in district court.
4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a municipal court in which the judge is not a person licensed to practice law in this state has no jurisdiction to hear, try, and determine an offense that would be a violation of section 39-08-01 or equivalent ordinance.