In Re the Judicial Vacancy in District Judgeship No. 2

ORDER

[¶ 1] On February 4, 2000, the Supreme Court received notification from the Honorable Kirk Smith, Judge of the District Court with chambers in Grand Forks, Northeast Central Judicial District, that he would not seek reelection when his term expired at the end of this year. Judge Smith’s declaration that he does not intend to seek reelection created a judicial vacancy under Section 27-05-02.1(4), N.D.C.C.

[¶ 2] Following the recent abolition of Judgeship No.5 in the Southwest Judicial District and its effect of accomplishing the statutorily-required reduction of the number of judges in…