South Dakota Supreme Court

South Dakota Supreme Court
Court information
Justices:	5
Founded:	1861
Judicial selection
Method:	Comm. select., Gov. appt.
Term:	8 years
Active justices
John Konenkamp  •  David Gilbertson  •  Steven Zinter  •  Glen A. Severson  •  Lori Wilbur  •
Former justices

The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. The main job of the court is to listen to appeals from the decisions rendered by lower courts in the state. The court also has authority over some original matters, and it can be called on to advise the state's governor regarding executive powers.

The South Dakota Supreme Court is also responsible for administering the South Dakota Unified Judicial System. This system was created in 1975 through an amendment to the South Dakota Constitution. The court is responsible for developing a budget for the entire state court system and for supervising the work of the state's circuit (trial) courts. The court also makes rules covering practices and procedures of the state's court system, how the courts are administered, the terms of court, bar admissions and attorney discipline questions.

Justices

The current justices of the court are:

Judge	Term	Appointed by	Party
Justice John Konenkamp	1994 - present	Walter Dale Miller
Chief Justice David Gilbertson	1995 - present	Bill Janklow
Justice Steven Zinter	2002 - present	Bill Janklow
Justice Glen A. Severson	2009-2020	Mike Rounds
Justice Lori Wilbur	2011 - 2014	Dennis Daugaard

Chief justice

The Justices select their own Chief Justice. Chief justices are elected to four-year renewable terms.

Judicial selection

The Supreme Court of South Dakota is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices appointed by the Governor and selected from five different appointment districts. Justices face a nonpolitical retention election three years after appointment and every eight years after that. The Supreme Court of South Dakota serves as the final appellate court in the state, reviewing the decisions of state circuit courts.

Qualifications

The South Dakota Judicial Qualifications Commission administers the process of selecting justices to the court.

To serve on the state's high court, a judge must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• A resident of South Dakota
• A voting resident within the judicial district which he or she will represent.
• Licensed to practice law in South Dakota.
• There is a mandatory retirement age of 70.

Caseloads

Fiscal year	Filings	Dispositions	Pending cases
2009	391	396	142
2008	362	344	159
2007	403	382	173
2006	478	400	209
2005	374	415	218
2004	439	452	270
2003	447	417	279
2002	457	428	278
2001	494	480	288
2000	508	514	290

Salaries

As of 2010, Associate Justices earn $118,173 annually and the Chief Justice earns $120,173.

Notable decisions

South Dakota Supreme Court upholds $10 billion oil refinery permit January 24, 2013 On January 24, the South Dakota Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion upholding the approval of an air quality permit that would enable the Hyperion Energy Center, a company based in Dallas, to begin construction on a $10 billion oil refinery. The permit was initially issued in August of 2009, and was upheld by a lower court in February 2012. A group of plaintiffs including the Sierra Club, Citizens Opposed to Oil Pollution, and Save Union County sued the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment, claiming that the board erred in approving the air quality permit because the study it conducted "did not include a full-scale environmental impact statement." However, according to Justice Steven Zinter's ruling, "the record indicates that other [environmental impact statement] concerns will be addressed in other regulatory proceedings that are necessary to construct and operate the proposed facility." In addition, plaintiffs argued that the permit was invalid because Hyperion did not begin construction by the original February 2011 deadline. Building was delayed due to the recession, which caused financing problems for the company. On this point, the Supreme Court ruled that the state was not in error when it extended Hyperion's construction deadline. Hyperion's victory in court is only one step on the road to constructing the oil refinery. Under the air permit's conditions, Hyperion is required to start construction by March 2013. However, last September, the company "quit making option payments to owners of more than 3,000 acres of farmland," which means that it no longer has control of the land where the refinery is supposed to be built. Hyperion's vice president has stated that the company will likely ask the board to extend the March deadline. If completed, Hyperion's refinery would process 400,000 barrels of Canadian tar sands crude oil every day, producing low-sulfur gasoline, diesel, liquid petroleum gas, and jet fuel.

History of the court

The capitol of South Dakota in Pierre, which houses the South Dakota Supreme Court

A Territorial Supreme Court that covered the area that is now South Dakota and North Dakota was created in 1861. President Abraham Lincoln appointed its first three justices: Philemon Bliss, Joseph L. Williams, and George P. Willisfon. The court did not meet to dispose of any cases until 1867.

In 1889, the Dakota Territory was split into North Dakota and South Dakota. Its Territorial Supreme Court was dissolved by President Benjamin Harrison. An election was held in South Dakota to select the first state supreme court. Justices Dighton Corson, Alphonso Kellam, and John Bennett were elected and sworn-in October 15, 1889. Since there was yet no capitol building for the new state, the oath-taking ceremony took place on the Hughes County courthouse veranda. The court used the county courthouse until 1891 when they began holding court in the state legislature's senate chambers. The South Dakota Supreme Court did not receive their own chambers until the autumn of 1905.

Between 1861 and 1889, when South Dakota become a state, thirty presidential appointees served as judges of the Territorial Supreme Court. Their decisions, cited as "Dakota Reports", cover six volumes.

See also

• News: Prairie dogs wreak havoc in South Dakota, ranchers seek state compensation, January 31, 2012
• News: Lori Wilbur appointed to South Dakota Supreme Court, August 17, 2011
• News: South Dakota man's death penalty case moves closer to execution, August 15, 2011
• News: Governor Daugaard to interview four finalists for Supreme Court vacancy, July 31, 2011
• News: South Dakota man's death penalty case to be heard by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 28, 2011

External links

• South Dakota Unified Judicial System Official Site
• STATE OF THE JUDICIARY MESSAGE, JANUARY 2013
• Institute for Legal Reform
• Argus Leader, "Attorney general argues for limits on death penalty appeals," Jan. 22, 2012

References