[1][2][3] Gierke earned his Bachelor of Arts and juris doctor degrees from the University of North Dakota.
From there, he went on to serve in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps between 1967 and 1971.
In 1983, Governor Allen Olson appointed him Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court.
He later moved to Orlando, Florida, where he was a visiting professor, distinguished jurist, and adjunct instructor at the Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law (1998-2008).
During his tenure as national commander, Gierke was called upon to lead the initial challenges to the Supreme Court's Texas v. Johnson decision, which extended free speech rights to desecration of the U.S.