Gov. Kelly Armstrong has appointed Mark Friese, a Fargo attorney, to the North Dakota Supreme Court. The appointment is effective March 9 and comes after Justice Daniel Crothers announced his retirement from the court, which will take effect on February 28. Crothers has served on the state’s highest court since 2005.
Friese is currently a shareholder at Vogel Law Firm in Fargo, focusing mainly on criminal defense law for 25 years as well as civil litigation. Before joining the firm, he worked as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Dale Sandstrom for one year. His background also includes five years as a Bismarck police officer before earning his law degree in 2000. Friese retired from the North Dakota Army National Guard in 2011 with the rank of lieutenant colonel after serving for 24 years in various roles such as platoon leader and state judge advocate.
“Mark is a brilliant, fair-minded and well-respected lawyer who has excelled as one of our state’s premier trial attorneys for more than two decades,” Armstrong said. “His deep understanding of the law and broad experience as a police officer, Supreme Court clerk, law school instructor, defense attorney and military lawyer will bring a uniquely informed perspective to the Supreme Court and serve North Dakota citizens well.”
Friese has been involved with several committees related to the judiciary. He has served on the Supreme Court’s Joint Procedure Committee since 2018 and completed a three-year term on its Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee. He chairs the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents and became a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2023.
Born in Minot and raised in Bismarck, Friese holds undergraduate degrees from Bismarck State College and University of Mary, along with a law degree from University of North Dakota School of Law. He has taught at UND School of Law, North Dakota State University, and University of Mary’s Fargo campus. Since joining the State Bar Association in 2000, he has served on advisory boards including the East Central Judicial District Adult Drug Court Advisory Board since 2003 and acted as Criminal Justice Act Panel representative for District North Dakota since 2010.
Friese will fill Crothers’ seat until at least the general election in 2028 due to constitutional requirements that an appointee must serve at least two years before standing for election. If elected then, he could serve out the remaining four years of Crothers’ original ten-year term that began January 1, 2023.
Armstrong thanked Crothers for his more than two decades of service to the Supreme Court.
Friese lives with his wife RoxAnne; they have three adult children.
