ND federal judges scramble to assign cases

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Federal court officials in North Dakota are scrambling to reassign dozens of cases handled by the late U.S. District Judge Rodney Webb, who died earlier this month. Some of them are complicated civil matters that have been on the docket for years.

Webb, who died after a battle with cancer, had been on senior status for the last seven years, meaning he was semiretired. Colleagues say he eased their caseload during demanding times and tackled complex matters, including a lawsuit between two high-tech companies. His job is not being filled.

"We're going to miss him and we're going to miss his hand in a lot of ways," said U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson. "Our judges will travel more and our judges will work longer hours. It's kind of the way it is."

Congress has authorized two district judges for North Dakota since at least 1960, court officials said, and there are no recommendations at the federal court level to give the state any more.

"There's no option," said Rob Ansley, the federal court clerk for the North Dakota district. "The judges on board will have to tighten their belts and jump in."

North Dakota has about 500 combined criminal and civil cases a year, said U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland of Bismarck, the state's chief federal judge.

Hovland and Erickson handle both civil and criminal matters. They are joined by another senior judge, Patrick Conmy, who also is semiretired.

"Judge Webb was a hard worker who loved to try cases and loved conducting jury trials," Hovland said. "We have never taken our senior judges for granted. They both have been more than willing to step in on very short notice."

About 40 of Webb's civil cases have yet to be reassigned, Hovland said.

"You lock yourself in a room and you read everything that Judge Webb has written and the lawyers have filed," said Erickson, asked how he takes over a case midstream. "The public doesn't need to be concerned that the work won't be done in a timely fashion. Even so, there's a bubble that we're going to have to work through."

Three magistrate judges — Karen Klein, Charles Miller and Alice Senechal — are not allowed to preside over criminal cases, but they can hear civil cases with the consent of those involved.

"Our magistrate judges have been well received by attorneys in this state, so they routinely consent to having them handle civil cases," Hovland said.

Webb presided over the Alien Technology Corporation's lawsuit against Intermec, Inc., a case involving two companies that make radio frequency identification products. That case, which was filed in 2006 and involves complicated patent disputes, has been turned over to Erickson.

Webb also presided over a class action civil lawsuit involving traffic fines against the city of Fargo filed in January 2007. A preliminary settlement has been reached but it has yet to close.