North Dakota's Supreme Court has refused to order Secretary of State Al Jaeger to list a Bismarck attorney as a fall challenger to incumbent Justice Daniel Crothers.

A Dickinson district judge and four retired judges handled the case after all five Supreme Court justices disqualified themselves from hearing it, the case docket shows. A written opinion will be issued later, the docket said.

The substitute justices on Wednesday declined Robert V. Bolinske's request for an injunction and writ directing Jaeger to list Bolinske as a candidate in the Supreme Court race.

"I'm surprised that they wouldn't even give me a hearing on something that I think is fairly important, but they're the court and I am not," Bolinske said.

Jaeger had faced a Wednesday deadline for providing county auditors with a list of names and addresses for candidates for statewide offices, district offices and Congress in the Nov. 4 election.

"It was good to know, because this afternoon I was able to go ahead and certify the ballot without having any doubt that anything is going to stand in the way of us getting the ballots printed," Jaeger said of the Supreme Court's ruling.

State law requires that Bolinske run first in the June primary election to qualify for a November race against Crothers, Jaeger said.

Bolinske disputed Jaeger's analysis. He said he did not undertake a primary campaign because of health problems.

Crothers is running unopposed to complete former Justice William Neumann's term on the high court. The former Fargo attorney was appointed as Neumann's successor after he resigned in March 2005 to become director of the state Bar Association.

Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle and Justices Mary Muehlen Maring, Carol Ronning Kapsner, Dale Sandstrom and Crothers disqualified themselves from hearing the case shortly after Bolinske filed his petition Monday.

Southwest District Judge Allan Schmalenberger of Dickinson and four retired North Dakota district judges - Benny Graff, William Hodny, Everett Nels Olson and Ronald Goodman - were appointed as surrogate justices for the case.