Nicholas W. Chase

Judge Chase was appointed as District Court Judge by Governor Doug Burgum in 2022 for the East Central Judicial District judgeship #6 located in Fargo, ND. 

Born in 1968; Judge Chase received his Bachelor's degree from Minot State University in 1991.  He received his Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota in 1995, and was admitted to the N.D. State Bar on September 22, 1995.  

Judge Chase served as a special assistant North Dakota attorney general and worked in practice from 1998 to 2002.  He served as a law clerk for Senior Circuit Judge Myron Bright in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1997-1998, and for Magistrate Judge Karen Klein in U.S. District Court from 1995-1997.  

Judge Chase served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of North Dakota from 2002 to 2022.  As an assistant U.S. Attorney, he led the office's Appellate, White Collar Fraud, Criminal Immigration, and Asset Recovery units.  Judge Chase tried numerous cases to verdict, including illegal labor trafficking, child exploitation, violent crime, international bank fraud, narcotics, money laundering, farm program fraud, and Jamaican lottery fraud.  Judge Chase was promoted to first assistant U.S. attorney in 2019.  He was appointed to serve as interim U.S. attorney in February 2021.