North Dakota has a supreme court of five justices, seven district courts with 43 justices, and a system of local (county) courts. Supreme court justices are elected for 10-year terms, district court judges for 6-year terms.
According to the FBI Crime Index, in 2001 North Dakota had a total crime rate of 2,417.7 crimes per 100,000 population, including a total of 505 violent crimes and 14,834 crimes against property in that year.). As of June 2001, there were 1,080 inmates held in state and federal correctional facilities, an increase of 7.6% over the previous year. The state's incarceration rate stood at 158 per 100,000 population.
North Dakota does not have a death penalty. It was abolished in 1973, and the last execution in that state took place in 1930. North Dakota does provide for life without parole.