---
title: "Carol Ronning Kapsner | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/carol-ronning-kapsner-5331"
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updated: "2026-10-07"
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# Carol Ronning Kapsner

North Dakota Supreme Court · Justice

## Profile

- Court: North Dakota Supreme Court
- State: North Dakota
- Role: Justice
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-10-02

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, North Dakota Supreme Court, 1998-present
- Former North Dakota Supreme Court justice, serving from 1998 until retirement in July 2017
- Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court from 1998 until her retirement on July 31, 2017, after nearly 19 years on the bench
- In October 1998, Governor Edward T. Schafer appointed her to fill the vacancy created by Justice Herbert L. Meschke’s retirement

### Education

- University of Colorado School of Law in — J.D. (1977)
- Indiana University English-literature M.A. in 1971 and a University of Colorado J.D. in 1977.
- M.A. in English literature from Indiana University in 1971 as a Woodrow Wilson and Indiana University fellow.
- Raised in Bismarck, she graduated from St. Mary’s Central High School in 1965 and the College of St. Catherine with an English-literature B.A. in 1969, with Phi Beta Kappa honors.
- Saint Catharine College — B.A.
- University of Colorado Boulder — J.D.
- St. Catherine University

### Additional information

- Governor Edward Schafer appointed her to succeed Herbert Meschke; she won elections in 2000 and 2010.
- Kapsner founded the Bismarck law firm Kapsner & Kapsner in 1977, practicing privately until 1998.
- She founded Kapsner and Kapsner in Bismarck in 1977 and practiced until 1998.
- She joined the Judicial Conference (1988–1996) and held roles on multiple judicial committees
- She held the role of president of the Burleigh County Bar Association (1980) and on the State Bar Association of North Dakota’s Board of Governors (1993–1995).
- Born November 25, 1947.
- Date of birth: 1947-11-25
- She studied at Oxford
- Her service included Burleigh County Bar leadership, the state bar’s Board of Governors, judicial planning, and the courts’ racial-and-ethnic-bias commission.
- During her tenure, she chaired the Judicial Planning Committee, co‐chaired the Commission to Study Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts, and served on committees on tribal‐state court affairs, judicial education, and personnel policy

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### remote hearing and evidence

Scope: statewide

North Dakota Administrative Rule 52 permits reliable electronic-means proceedings in district and municipal courts on the court's or a party's motion; a party seeking the proceeding must give notice and obtain court approval.

Evidence excerpt: Parties seeking to hold an electronic means proceeding must provide notice to the other parties and obtain approval from the court.

[North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rule 52: Reliable Electronic Means Proceedings](https://www.ndcourts.gov/news/north-dakota/north-dakota-supreme-court/general-news/remote-proceedings-by-electronic-means-a-useful-tool)
Source checked: 2026-07-27

### remote hearing and evidence

Scope: statewide

North Dakota's official Rule 52 guidance states that in civil actions a court may conduct a hearing, conference, other proceeding, or take testimony by reliable electronic means.

Evidence excerpt: In a civil action, the court may conduct a hearing, conference, or other proceeding, or take testimony, by reliable electronic means.

[North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rule 52: Reliable Electronic Means Proceedings](https://www.ndcourts.gov/news/north-dakota/north-dakota-supreme-court/general-news/remote-proceedings-by-electronic-means-a-useful-tool)
Source checked: 2026-07-27


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.ndcourts.gov/supreme-court/justices)
- [Official roster](https://www.ndcourts.gov/supreme-court/justices)
- [North Dakota Supreme Court current judicial profile](https://www.ndcourts.gov/supreme-court/justices)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/5331/carol-ronning-kapsner/)
- [North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rule 52: Reliable Electronic Means Proceedings](https://www.ndcourts.gov/news/north-dakota/north-dakota-supreme-court/general-news/remote-proceedings-by-electronic-means-a-useful-tool)
- [Wikidata: Carol Ronning Kapsner](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5044528)
- [North Dakota Supreme Court current judicial profile](https://www.ndcourts.gov/supreme-court/justices)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/5331/carol-ronning-kapsner/)
- [North Dakota Supreme Court Administrative Rule 52: Reliable Electronic Means Proceedings](https://www.ndcourts.gov/news/north-dakota/north-dakota-supreme-court/general-news/remote-proceedings-by-electronic-means-a-useful-tool)
- [Wikidata: Carol Ronning Kapsner](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5044528)

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