Judge Daniel Traynor was sworn in on October 29 as a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit during a ceremony at the University of North Dakota School of Law in Grand Forks.
Traynor succeeds retiring Judge Ralph R. Erickson. The circuit hears federal appeals from seven states, including North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Traynor served as a federal district judge from 2020 to 2026 and practiced law in Devils Lake before joining the bench.
Traynor was appointed to succeed retiring Judge Ralph R. Erickson, also a graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Law. The Eighth Circuit hears federal appeals from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas.
The October 29 investiture took place in the law school’s VandeWalle Courtroom. Traynor previously served as a U.S. District Court judge for North Dakota from 2020 to 2026 and practiced business litigation and insurance law in Devils Lake before joining the bench.
Dean Del Crandall welcomed Traynor and his family. Guests included North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lisa McEvers, federal District Court Chief Judge Peter Welte and State Bar Association Executive Director Tony Weiler, who studied alongside Traynor in the class of 1997.
McEvers recalled that Traynor shared his knowledge of the Legislature and state politics with his classmates. Weiler praised his willingness to listen to both sides of an issue and his measured responses.
Erickson administered the oath of office. Traynor then recognized former North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle, for whom he had worked as a law clerk approximately 30 years earlier.
Traynor said his decision to hold the ceremony at UND reflected five generations of family connections to the institution’s law school. His grandfather, father and two brothers also attended; his brother Paul is currently a professor there.
The event also made up for ceremonies lost to extraordinary events: the 1997 Red River Flood prevented Traynor’s law school graduation, and the pandemic disrupted his earlier district court investiture.
Traynor called attention to the shortage of legal services in rural communities and tribal nations. He praised law schools for preparing prosecutors, defense attorneys and future judges who could serve those places.
He also cautioned that artificial intelligence cannot replace the counselor’s role of understanding people facing criminal charges, injuries or violations of their rights. “Machines do not have empathy,” Traynor said.
He chose UND for the ceremony because five members of his family graduated from its law school. Traynor spoke of legal service in rural and tribal communities and emphasized that technology cannot replace attorneys’ human judgment and empathy. “Machines do not have empathy,” he said.