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The Administrative Office has moved its physical location to 300 2nd Ave NE, Suite 212 in Jamestown, ND.  The mailing address will remain P.O. Box 149, Valley City, ND 58072.  The phone numbers and all other relevant contact information remains the same.

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel will hold a quarterly meeting of the Commission on September 21, 2023 in Jamestown, ND.

Attorney Justin Borgen has been hired in the Minot public defender office.  He joins Eric Baumann and Katie Miller as the third attorney in the office.

The Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents held its quarterly meeting at the North Dakota State Capitol on May 19, 2023.

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for indigents is hosting its annual training for staff lawyers, contract attorneys.  The event is being held at the Baymont Inn and Suites in Mandan, ND.

Brooke Chilla was hired as an attorney with the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents.  She is serving as an attorney in the Bismarck-Mandan Public Defender Office.

Gordon Dexheimer has been hired as an attorney for the Fargo Public defender Office.

The Commission on Legal Counsel met in March to conduct a quarterly meeting.  

The Commission held a quarterly meeting of the Commission on December 20, 2022.  The agenda was posted to the Secretary of State.  .  

The Commission has preliminarily approved 5 appellate performance standards.

The N.D. Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents seeks comments to suggested changes on the performance standards as it relates to criminal and juvenile matters.

Commission Formally Adopts changes to Policies at March 17, 2022 meeting.  Those policies have been updated in the Standards and Policies section of the website.

The Commission has updated the income guidelines for eligibility.  The income guidelines reflect 125% of the official poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9902(2). 

 https://www.indigents.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/Copy%20of%20Inco…

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents held a quarterly meeting on December 2, 2021.

Director Travis Finck participated in the Justices Teaching Institute that was hosted by the North Dakota Supreme Court.  He represented the appellant in a mock oral argument.  Article and photos found here

Three employees with the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents have recently been sworn in to practice law in North Dakota:

Jesus Gandara

Rebecca Jund

Daniel Howell

Welcome aboard!!

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents met on September 16, 2021 and made preliminary approval of changes to several policies and the guidelines.  They were sent out for comment on September 22, 2021.

 The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents will hold its quarterly meeting on September 16, 2021 in the Peace Garden Room at the North Dakota State Capitol.

The Commission recently held a CLE in June in Fargo where attorneys and contractors.  Simultaneously, the Commission held a quarterly meeting.

The Devils Lake PD office has a new mailing address.  To contact the office, you can send mail to P.O. Box 1032, Devils Lake, ND 58301.

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel met for  a quarterly meeting in Bismarck on March 15.

The N.D. Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents celebrated the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case in Gideon v. Wainwright.

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel completed its annual winter CLE on December 4, 2020.  If you attended the CLE, it may be claimed for a total for 5 CLE credits (4 regular, 1 ethics).  The Event Code is 20201204NDCLCI   

The Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents met on November 23, 2020 and conducted its quarterly meeting.

The Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents is set to hold their annual Winter CLE on December 4, 2020.  Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the training will be provided in an online format.  The CLE has been approved for 4 hours of general credit and 1 hour of ethics credit in North Dakota.

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for indigents will hold its next quarterly meeting on November 23, 2020 @ 10:00 a.m. in Bismarck.  The agenda will be posted with the secretary of state when finalized. 

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents is set to hold a quarterly meeting on September 10, 2020.  The meeting will take place at the Peace Garden Room of the state capitol. 

The Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents will be meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday August, 6, 2020.  The meeting will be held virtual on Microsoft Teams or via telephone.  The Commission's Valley City Administrative Office will serve as the physical location.  To access the meeting, you may dial (701) 328-0950, Conference ID 887 870 274#

The Indigent Defense Summer CLE held on Microsoft Teams on June 25, 2020 has been submitted for credit in Minnesota.  North Dakota has previously approved the credit.  If you have any questions, please contact the Valley City administrative office.

The Commission had to cancel its in person Indigent Defense Summer CLE due to concerns for the safety of the attendees and presenters.  The agency will host a CLE on June 25, 2020 on Microsoft Teams.  If you are interested in attending, please contact Jennifer Williams at jewilliams@nd.gov and let her know you would like to register and what email we can send the login information too.  The list of speakers and bios can be found here.  The online webinar has been approved for 6.5 hours of regular credit and 1.0 hours of ethics.

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents has approved changes to three policies.  Pursuant to the rule on adoption of standards and policies, the Commission is providing notice to interested parties for comment.  If a party wishes to comments, all comments must be sent to clcivc@nd.gov no later than August 17, 2020.  At that time, the Commission will decide whether to adopt the policies as originally drafted or as modified due to comments.

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents leaves presumed rate of reimbursement at current levels.

The North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents has announced the opening of its 8th public defender location in Devils Lake, North Dakota.  

Governor Doug Burgum will release the guidelines for preparation of the 2021-23 budget requests on May 1, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. The press briefing will be streamed live via the Governor's Facebook page or agencies can connect using Microsoft Teams Live.

The Governor’s remarks and other handouts will be posted to the OMB website after the presentation.

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, Executive Director Travis Finck has informed employees and contractors the summer CLE will be modified and held in an online format.  

John R. Justice (JRJ) Grant Program is available to assist certain prosecutors and public defenders in repayment of their eligible student loans.

June 29, 2018 Valley City and Public Defender Offices
Approved for 1.0 ND CLE credit
Event Code 20180629NDCLCI

June 25-26 at the Fargo Ramada
approved for 11.5 CLE credits in ND, including 1.5 ethics credit
approved for 10.0 regular credits in MN, and 1.5 ethics credit (event code 206165)

June 21-22 Minot Clarion
Approved for 12.5 credits in ND, including 3.0 ethics credits
Event Code 20180621NDCLCI

May 11, 2018 Valley City and Public Defender Offices
Approved for 1.0 ND CLE credit
Event Code 20180511NDCLCI

April 27, 2018 Valley City and Public Defender Offices
Approved for 1.0 ND CLE Credit
Event Code 20180427NDCLCI

January 19, 2018 Valley City and Public Defender Offices
Approved for 1.0 ND CLE credit
Event Code 20180119NDCLCI

December 1, 2017 Fargo Holiday Inn
Approved for 3.5 ND CLE credits, 0.0 ethics
Event Code 20171201NDCLCI

November 15, 2017 Valley City and Public Defender Offices
Approved for 1.0 ND Ethics CLE credit
Event Code 20171115NDCLCI

September 28, 2017 Valley City and Public Defender Offices
Approved for 1.0 ND CLE
Event Code 20170928NDCLCI

October 24, 2017
Approved for 1.0 ND CLE credits
Event Code 2017024NDCLCI

August 18, 2017 Valley City and Public Defender Offices
Approved for 1.0 ND CLE credit
Event Code 20170818NDCLCI

June 21-22, 2017 Bismarck Ramkota
Approved for 11.25 ND CLE credits including 1.0 ethics credit
Approved for 10.25 standard credits in MN and 1.0 ethics credit in MN (event code 242079)
Event Code 2050-06-21-17

December 2, 2016 Bismarck Radisson
approved for 3.5 ND CLE credits, 0.0 ethics
Event Code 20161202

June 22-23 at the Grand Forks Alerus Center
Approved for 12.25 credits in ND, including 1.5 ethics credits.
Approved for 10.75 standard credits in MN, and 1.5 ethics credits.
Event Code 20161202NDCLCI

December 4 at the Bismarck Ramada
approved for 3.75 CLE credits in ND (Event #20151204NDCLCI)

December 5 at the Bismarck Ramada
approved for 3.5 CLE credits in ND (Event #20141205NDCLCI)

July 9 at the Bismarck Radisson
approved for 3.75 CLE credits in ND

June 26, 2014 at the Grand Forks county office building
approved for 2.0 CLE credits in ND

June 24-25 at the Bismarck Ramkota
approved for 12.0 CLE credits, in ND, including 1.0 ethics credit
approved for 12.0 CLE credits in MN (event code 192136)