The Commission itself, and the employees of the Valley City administrative office do not provide legal advice or directly represent clients in legal proceedings. Representation is provided through the attorneys in the public defender offices and through various contracted counsel.
Public Defenders
North Dakota presently has seven full time public defender offices. They are located in Dickinson, Minot, Williston, Grand Forks, Fargo, and Bismarck. Each public defender office is a separate firm who handles cases independently from the other public defender offices and contracted counsel. If you have been assigned to a public defender office or contractor, their information is found below.
The public defender offices may be contacted directly at the numbers provided below.
Eric Baumann, Supervising Attorney
18 Second St. NE, Ste. 1
Minot, ND 58703
Phone number: 701-857-7750
Email: minotpublicdefender@nd.gov
Kevin McCabe, Supervising Attorney
Michael Ferguson, Attorney
135 Sims, Ste. 221
Dickinson, ND 58601
Phone number: 701-227-7460
Email: dickinsonpublicdefender@nd.gov
511 W. 2nd St., Suite B
Williston, ND 58801
Phone number: 701-774-0510
Email: willistonpublicdefender@nd.gov
David Ogren, Supervising Attorney
Jessica Ahrendt, Attorney
Kristen Clow, Attorney
311 South 4th Street, Suite 102
Grand Forks, ND 58201
Phone number: 701-795-3910
Email: gfpublicdefender@nd.gov
Justin Balzer, Supervising Attorney
James Loraas, Attorney
Brooke Chilla, Attorney
410 East Thayer, Ste. 201
Bismarck, ND 58501
Phone number: 701-328-7190
Email: bismanpublicdefender@nd.gov
Monty Mertz, Supervising Attorney
Daniel Bertsch, Attorney
Leah Viste, Attorney
Leah Carlson, Attorney
Leon Walter, Attorney
912 3rd Ave. S.
Fargo, ND 58103
Phone number: 701-298-4640
Email: fargopublicdefender@nd.gov
Contracted Attorneys
In order to meet the mission of the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents and statutory requirements to provide counsel through private contractors, the Commission contracts with private counsel. Private attorneys have monthly contracts with the Commission and provide services for criminal and/or juvenile indigent persons. The number of contracts in any given area depends on the number of case assignments the particular judicial district shows for the year. The attorneys have a written contract which spells out their basic rights and responsibilities for the contract period. Contract attorneys are private counsel who are independent and not associated with any one individual public defender office.
The list of contractors for any given area in North Dakota may be found by contacting the Administrative Office.
Contractors must enter case closing information through the Commission's case reporting system .