699: 'We have to have a thick skin'

699: 'We have to have a thick skin'

From Plain Talk by Forum Communications Co.

April 29, 2026 · 56 min · Episode 699

About this episode

Supreme Court Justice Jerod Tufte discusses the challenges of campaigning for judicial positions in North Dakota and the importance of applying the law impartially.

North Dakota doesn't typically see competitive judicial races, particularly for the state Supreme Court. But even when voters do have a choice, the candidates themselves are prohibited by ethical considerations from campaigning the way other candidates do. They can't tell voters how they'd rule on a particular case, or, for incumbents, why they ruled the way they did on previous cases. But judicial candidates can be "reassuring people that that you understand the proper role of the court and that that you will apply the law as it's written and not become somebody that people worry will stray outside into policy aspects," Supreme Court Justice Jerod Tufte said on this episode of Plain Talk. Tufte is concluding a 10-year term he was elected to in 2016, and campaigning for a new one. Tufte is facing a challenge from Watford City attorney Ari Johnson, who will be on a future episode of Plain Talk. Tufte says that a big part of the job is ruling on the law, and not public opinion. "We have to have a thick skin. We have to expect people will criticize our written opinions and find flaws, gaps or areas of disagreement ,and how we express our legal reasoning and how we apply to the the…

People in this episode

Host: Full Name

Guest: Jerod Tufte

Topics covered

  • judicial races
  • North Dakota
  • Supreme Court
  • legal reasoning
  • campaigning ethics

Keywords

  • judicial ethics
  • Supreme Court
  • North Dakota elections
  • legal opinions
  • campaigning

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: North Dakota, Plain Talk, Forum Communications Co.

More episodes of Plain Talk

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Plain Talk podcast page.