Jerod Elton Tufte (born April 9, 1975) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as a justice of the

North Dakota Supreme Court The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...

since 2017. He previously served as state's attorney for

Kidder County Kidder County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,394. Its county seat is Steele. History The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with areas partit ...

, counsel for Governor Jack Dalrymple, and district judge.

Early life and education

Tufte was born in Minot, North Dakota. He graduated from

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

in 1997 and the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in 2002.

Career

Prior to law school, Tufte was a computer engineer for

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

. After graduating from law school, he was a law clerk to Judge

Roger Leland Wollman Roger Leland Wollman (born May 29, 1934) is a Senior United States Circuit Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is the older brother of Harvey L. Wollman, former Governor of South Dakota. ...

of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from 2002 to 2003. He worked private practice in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

and Steele, North Dakota. He served as

State's Attorney for from 2005 to 2011 and Sheridan County State's Attorney in 2011. He was a

JAG Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judg ...

officer for the

North Dakota Army National Guard The North Dakota Army National Guard (ND ARNG) is headquartered at the Fraine Barracks in Bismarck, North Dakota, and consists of the 68th Troop Command, headquartered in Bismarck, and the 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, headquartered in Fargo ...

from 2008 to 2016. He was legal counsel to Governor Jack Dalrymple from 2011 to 2014. In 2014, Governor Dalrymple appointed Tufte district judge of the Southeast Judicial District. He served as district judge chambered at the

Barnes County Courthouse The Barnes County Courthouse in Valley City, North Dakota was built in 1925. "It is one of three distinctive county buildings in North Dakota (the others Ward County Courthouse, Ward and Burke County Courthouse (North Dakota), Burke counties) whic ...

in Valley City from 2014 to 2016. He was elected to the Supreme Court in 2016 and took office January 1, 2017.

References

External links

North Dakota Supreme Court website
1975 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Case Western Reserve University alumni Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court National Guard (United States) officers North Dakota National Guard personnel North Dakota lawyers People from Minot, North Dakota Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law alumni United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps {{NorthDakota-state-judge-stub