Armstrong appoints Fargo attorney Mark Friese to North Dakota Supreme Court

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) – Gov. Kelly Armstrong has appointed longtime Fargo attorney Mark Friese to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Friese’s appointment is effective March 9.

Friese succeeds Justice Daniel Crothers, who on Nov. 26 announced his retirement after serving as a justice since 2005.

“I am honored and humbled to accept Governor Armstrong’s appointment,” Friese said in a statement to KVRR News. “I am hopeful that my background and experience will provide a complementary perspective to the Court. I look forward to returning to public service.

Friese is a shareholder with Vogel Law Firm in Fargo and has practiced primarily criminal defense law for 25 years, as well as civil litigation.

Before earning his law degree in 2000, Friese served as a Bismarck police officer for five years. Friese also served 24 years in the North Dakota Army National Guard, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2011.

Crothers’ current 10-year term expires in 2032. Because an appointment to the Supreme Court must continue for at least two years, Friese will serve until the 2028 general election and may run for the remaining four years of the 10-year term that began Jan. 1, 2023.