Hon. Lawrence E. Jahnke (Ret.) was a judge for the Northeast Central Judicial District of North Dakota. He was appointed to the bench by former Governor George Sinner in 1989. Jahnke retired on March 15, 2015.
The Northeast Central Judicial District includes Grand Forks and Nelson Counties.
During his judicial tenure, he served as presiding judge for the Northeast Central Judicial District.
Prior to beginning his judicial career, Jahnke had worked as a private practice attorney since 1986. Before that, he served on active duty as a judge advocate in the United States Air Force for twenty years (1966 to 1986).
He received a B.S.B.A. from the University of North Dakota in 1964. Jahnke went on to complete a J.D. at the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1966. He was admitted to practice in North Dakota (1966), the United States Court of Military Appeals (1968), and the United States Supreme Court (1971).
Jahnke was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.