New judge sworn in, leaders hopeful it will help with caseload

There's a new judge in the South Central District to help handle and increasing case load.

Judge Pamela Nesvig was sworn Monday afternoon.

She’s no stranger to the court room.

Before being appointed by Gov. Doug Burgum she was a judicial referee since 2015 covering the same area.

An increase in caseloads in the South Central District of the state has forced government leaders to add a judge to the mix.

Pamela Nesvig is the 10th judge for the nine-county area.

"I can be fair and impartial to both parties and I want to as an end result give them a fair decision. And a decision they may not necessarily like but the process went the appropriate manner and they were heard," said Nesvig.

The new judgeship was created by the Legislature this year.

"We don't want to have a high burnout rate. We want to have a reasonable work flow as well and workload. So we hope this helps equalize things in the district," said North Dakota Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford.

The room was filled with heads of departments including BCI, Mandan Police Department and Bismarck Police Department and several Justices.

ND Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald VadeWalle said: "I knew she was going to be good because she's been a referee. She's great and she'll be great."

Nesvig says she received the Governor's call while on vacation in Washington with her family. Her husband captured the moment she got the news. She says it's a hike she'll never forget.

Many in attendance said Nesvig was the right person for the position.

Chief Justice VandeWalle says he looks forward to reading her opinions moving forward.