South Dakota Supreme Court

The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. It is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the governor, one from each of five geographic appointment districts. Justices face a nonpolitical retention election three years after appointment and every eight years after that, and the justices choose their own chief justice. The court is the final appellate court in the state, reviewing decisions of the state circuit courts, and it may issue original or remedial writs and advise the governor on the scope of executive powers. It also administers the unified court system, preparing the judiciary budget, appointing court personnel, supervising the circuit courts and making rules on practice, procedure, bar admission and bar discipline. Its history begins with the Supreme Court of the Dakota Territory, established in Yankton in 1861 as the first territorial supreme court in American history. After statehood in 1889 the first state justices, Dighton Corson, Alphonso G. Kellam and John E. Bennett, were sworn on October 15, 1889. Judith Meierhenry became the first female justice in 2002.