Peter D. Welte
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota
Assumed office
November 11, 2019
Preceded byDaniel L. Hovland
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota
Assumed office
August 5, 2019
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byRalph R. Erickson
Personal details
Born (1965-12-21) December 21, 1965 (age 58)
New Britain, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationNorth Dakota State University (BS)
University of North Dakota (JD)

Peter David Welte (born December 21, 1965) is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota.

Early life and education

Welte was born on December 21, 1965, in New Britain, Connecticut.[1] He received his Bachelor of Science from North Dakota State University and his Juris Doctor, with distinction, from the University of North Dakota School of Law.[2]

Legal career

From 1999 to 2003 he served in the State's Attorney's office of Grand Forks County as a line prosecutor. He was later elected State's Attorney for the same office in 2003 and served in that capacity until 2015. From 2015 to 2019 he was a shareholder in the Vogel Law Firm, where his practice focused on criminal defense and agriculture law.[2]

Federal judicial service

On January 16, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Welte to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. On January 17, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Welte to the seat vacated by Judge Ralph R. Erickson, who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on October 12, 2017.[3]

On February 13, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[4] On March 7, 2019, Welte's nomination was reported out of committee by a 16–6 vote.[5] On July 29, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 66–21 vote.[6] On July 30, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 68–22 vote.[7] He received his judicial commission on August 5, 2019. He has served as chief judge since November 11, 2019.[8]

References

  1. ^ Profile on Martindale
  2. ^ a b "President Donald J. Trump Announces Nineteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees" White House, January 16, 2019 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Nine Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, January 17, 2019
  4. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for February 13, 2019
  5. ^ Results of Executive Business Meeting – March 7, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee
  6. ^ On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Peter D. Welte to be U.S. District Judge for the District of North Dakota), United States Senate, July 29, 2019.
  7. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Peter D. Welte, of North Dakota, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of North Dakota)". United States Senate. July 30, 2019.
  8. ^ Peter D. Welte at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

External links

Legal offices Preceded byRalph R. Erickson Judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota 2019–present Incumbent Preceded byDaniel L. Hovland Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota 2019–present


Active district judges of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
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