Ralph Robert Erickson (born April 28, 1959) is an American lawyer who serves as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western Dist ...

Education and career

Born in

Thief River Falls, Minnesota Thief River Falls, sometimes referred to as Thief River or abbreviated as TRF, is a city in Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census. Thief River Falls is the county ...

, Erickson received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from

Jamestown College , mottoeng = Light and Truth , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Christian , endowment = $45 million , staff = , faculty = , president = Polly Peterson , p ...

in 1980 and a Juris Doctor from the

University of North Dakota School of Law The University of North Dakota School of Law is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota at the University of North Dakota (UND) and is the only law school in North Dakota. It was established in 1899. The law school is home to approximately 240 stude ...

in 1984. He was in private practice in West Fargo, North Dakota, from 1984 to 1994. He was a magistrate judge for the Cass County Court, North Dakota from 1993 to 1994. He was a county judge for the Traill, Steele, Nelson & Griggs Counties Court, North Dakota in 1994. He was a state district judge for the East Central Judicial District Court, North Dakota from 1995 to 2003.

Federal judicial service

District Court service

On January 7, 2003, Erickson was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to a seat on the

United States District Court for the District of North Dakota The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (in case citations, D.N.D.) is the United States District Court or the Federal district court, whose jurisdiction is the state of North Dakota. The court is headquartered out of ...

vacated by Rodney Scott Webb. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on March 12, 2003, and received his commission on March 14, 2003. He served as chief judge from 2009 to 2016. His service on the district court terminated on October 13, 2017, upon elevation to the court of appeals.

Court of Appeals service

On June 7, 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

nominated Erickson to serve as a United States circuit judge of the

, to the seat vacated by Judge

Kermit Edward Bye Kermit Edward Bye (January 13, 1937 – March 20, 2021) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Early life and education Born in Hatton, North Dakota, Bye earned a Bachelor of Science deg ...

, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on April 22, 2015. A hearing on his nomination before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

took place on July 25, 2017. On September 14, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 20–0 vote. On September 28, 2017, the

invoked cloture on his nomination by a 95–1 vote. His nomination was confirmed that same day by a 95–1 vote. He received his judicial commission on October 12, 2017. He is the chairperson of the

United States Judicial Conference The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

Committee on Codes of Conduct.

Personal life

Erickson spoke about his personal struggle overcoming

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

during his hearing in front of the senate judiciary committee. Responding to a question by senator

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...

asking "May I ask you how long you've been in recovery?", Erickson answered "It's over 26 years, Nov. 10, 1990, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, sir,".

References

External links

* *
Erickson at Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Ralph Robert 1959 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit North Dakota lawyers North Dakota state court judges People from West Fargo, North Dakota United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump University of Jamestown alumni