Abolition of municipal court in a city with a population of fewer than five thousand
N.D. Cent. Code § 40-18.1-24
in effect40-18.1-24. Abolition of municipal court in a city with a population of fewer than five
thousand.
1. The governing body of a city with a population of fewer than five thousand having a
municipal court may by resolution abolish its municipal court. The jurisdiction of a
municipal court abolished by resolution must be transferred to the district court of the
district in which the city is located.
2. The city auditor shall provide a copy of the resolution abolishing the court to the
presiding judge and clerk of court of the district court for the district in which the city is
located, the state's attorney for the county in which the city is located, and the state
court administrator. The resolution must provide the effective date of the transfer of
cases, which must be at least ninety days following the date of the resolution.
3. At least ten days before the effective date of the transfer, the clerk of the municipal
court shall deliver to the clerk of the district court all cases pending action by the
district court after the effective date of the resolution.
4. On the effective date of transfer, all proceedings relating to ordinance violations must
be within the jurisdiction of the district court. Judgments of courts which cease to exist
on the effective date of the resolution continue in effect and the district court may
enforce the judgments. Fines, forfeitures, and costs due and unpaid on the effective
date of the transfer and those which are subsequently collected on cases pending on
the effective date of the transfer must be collected by the district court and remitted to
the city.
5. The authority, duties, powers, jurisdiction, and term of the municipal judge terminates
on the last day of the month in which all municipal cases have been transferred to the
district court or the expiration of the judge's term, whichever occurs first.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t40c18-1.pdf#nameddest=40-18p1-24Fetched: 10/16/2026