Courts & rulings
South Dakota · highest court
South Dakota Supreme Court
Merit + retention
Chief: Elected by the justices from among their own members (peer vote) to a four-year term as chief justice.
Justices
All judges & justices →- Steven R. Jensen
- Mark E. Salter
- Patricia J. DeVaney
- Scott P. Myren
- Robert Gusinsky
Roster as of 2026-06-13.
Constitution of the State of South Dakota
Adopted 1889. Its declaration of rights sits in Article VI (Bill of Rights). This court has the final word on what the South Dakota constitution means.
Interstitial, departs when state-specific factors justify it
How a state reads its own rights provisions relative to the federal floor, lockstep vs departure.
State-court structure and selection methods are from official and reference sources; the justice roster is point-in-time. Civibrief carries each state's highest court (lower state courts are out of scope for now).