Ballots were counted Dec. 10 in the election for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Justice Lisa McEvers was chosen to replace Chief Justice Jon J. Jensen commencing Jan. 1, 2026.

Chief Justice Jensen announced in November that he would not continue in his position. He has served as Chief Justice since 2020 and on the court since 2017.

Justice McEvers graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1997. She was a Law Clerk to the North Dakota Supreme Court during the 1997-1998 term, then in private practice from 1998-2001. She then served as Cass County Assistant State’s Attorney from 2001-2005 before being appointed as North Dakota Commissioner of Labor in 2005. In 2010, she was appointed District Judge, and elected to the position in 2012. In 2014 she was appointed to the North Dakota Supreme Court, where she was subsequently elected to an unexpired term in 2016 and re-elected to a ten-year term in 2018.

She will be the first female Justice to serve as Chief Justice in North Dakota.

Justice McEvers Biography: https://www.ndcourts.gov/supreme-court/justices/lisakfairmcevers