Name Ralph Erickson Role Judge | ||
 | ||
Education University of Jamestown | ||
Ralph Robert Erickson (born April 28, 1959) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota and a nominee to be a United States Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Contents
Education and career
Born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, Erickson received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Jamestown College in 1980 and a Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota in 1984. He was in private practice in West Fargo, North Dakota, from 1984 to 1994. He was a Magistrate judge for the Cass County Court, North Dakota from 1993 to 1994. He was a county judge for the Traill, Steele, Nelson & Griggs Counties Court, North Dakota in 1994. He was a state district judge for the East Central Judicial District Court, North Dakota from 1995 to 2003.
District court service
On January 7, 2003, Erickson was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota vacated by Rodney Scott Webb. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 12, 2003, and received his commission on March 14, 2003. He served as chief judge from 2009–2016.
Court of Appeals nomination
On June 7, 2017, President Trump nominated Erickson to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, to the seat vacated by Judge Kermit Edward Bye, who took senior status on April 22, 2015. A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee took place on July 25, 2017. His nomination was reported out of committee by a vote of 20-0 on September 14, 2017. His nomination is now pending before the full United States Senate.