James D. Hovey

Judge Hovey was appointed as District Court Judge by Governor John Hoeven in 2010 for the Southeast Judicial District judgeship #4 located in New Rockford, ND. He was elected in 2014, and re-elected in 2016.  

Born in 1964; Judge Hovey received his Bachelor of Administration degree in Russian and Soviet Studies from the University of North Dakota in 1987.  He graduated from the University of Arizona with a Masters in Administration in Russian Language and Literature in 1991. He received his Juris Doctor with distinction from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1996, and was admitted to the N.D. Bar on September 27, 1996.  

Judge Hovey served as an instructor for the University of North Dakota Center for Legal studies in 2002, taught basic Russian as a graduate student and completed 260 hours of language instruction at Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia. He was the city attorney in Larimore, N.D. from 2001 until his judgeship in 2010.