The Hon. Douglas A. Bahr is a judge for the North Dakota South Central Judicial District. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Doug Burgum on August 9, 2018, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Sonna M. Anderson.
The South Central Judicial District includes Burleigh County, Emmons County, Grant County, McLean County, Mercer County, Morton County, Oliver County, Sioux County, and Sheridan County.
Prior to his appointment, Bahr spent time as special counsel to Crowley Fleck, a law firm based in Bismarck. Before that, he was the North Dakota Solicitor General and the Director of the Civil Litigation Division of the North Dakota Office of the Attorney General (1999 to 2016).
Bahr earned a bachelor’s degree in family science from Brigham Young University in 1987. He then completed a J.D. at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law in 1990.
After graduating from law school, Bahr began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Jerry L. Larson of the Iowa Supreme Court. He worked in that capacity until 1991, at which time he became an assistant attorney general for the North Dakota Office of the Attorney General.
His memberships have included the State Bar Association of North Dakota and the Association of the Bar of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
He and his wife, Laura, have six children. When not presiding over legal proceedings, he volunteers with the Boy Scouts, and he is actively involved as a volunteer teacher in his church.