Northeast Central Judicial District Judge John A. Thelen has announced his intent to retire effective August 1, 2025.
In a letter dated March 19th to Chief Justice Jon Jensen, Governor Kelly Armstrong noted that Judge Thelen had notified him on March 8th of his intent to retire.
Judge Thelen was appointed as District Court Judge by Governor Jack Dalrymple in 2015 for the Northeast Central Judicial District #4 located in Grand Forks, ND. He was elected in 2018 to complete an unexpired term and elected to a full term in 2020.
Born in 1952; Judge Thelen earned his Bachelors of Science in Economics from the University of North Dakota in 1978. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1981, and was admitted to the N.D. Bar on October 5, 1981. Judge Thelen worked in private legal practice from 1981-2009. He also worked as a Judicial Referee and Magistrate in the Northeast Central Judicial District from 2009-2015.
View Governor Armstrong's letter here: Download
