What are South Dakota Court Records?

Located in the heartland of the U.S., South Dakota ranks No. 46 among other US states in terms of population, with over 909,000 inhabitants. The state's court structure comprises two levels of courts, namely the trial courts and the appellate court. These courts serve South Dakotans with openness, deliver justice efficiently, and make court records available to members of the public.

South Dakota court records are documents or files that contain details of court proceedings within the state. They may include records from the over 180,000 annually filed civil, criminal, and family cases and are typically maintained by the clerk of courts. A typical court record in South Dakota will include the following:

Case File

This is the entire collection of various documents and information submitted to the court throughout the life of a case. Such documents usually go into the records of such a case.

Transcript

This is a documented record of everything said in a court hearing or trial, typically written word-for-word (verbatim).

Complaint

This is a statement written by a plaintiff to begin a civil lawsuit. It typically details the defendant's alleged wrongdoings or states the plaintiff's claims against them.

Indictment

This is a formal accusation issued by a grand jury to charge a person with a crime, typically in felony cases, upon request by a prosecutor

Judgment

A judgment in a court record is a court's decision or decree that settles a case.

Order

This may be a judicial officer's decision or a court's directive or command

Docket

This is a summarized list of all vital court events in connection with a case, usually in the form of brief entries of court proceedings.

Brief

This is a written statement or argument by the attorney for each party in a case supporting their client's side of the case and stating why the case should be ruled in their client's favor.

Evidence

This refers to any proof presented at trial through exhibits, records, documents, and/or witnesses to prove or disprove facts relevant to a legal matter.

Court Minutes

This is a written record of court proceedings by the court clerk detailing what happened during trials or hearings. It documents every activity from start to recess, including the statements made by the defense and prosecution, witnesses' testimonies, and all other relevant details.

In South Dakota, court records are considered public records under the state's Sunshine Law. Consequently, they are open to inspection and copying unless statutorily labeled confidential or sealed by order of the court.

Types of Court Cases

The two major types of court cases filed within South Dakota's judicial system are civil and criminal cases.

Civil Cases

In South Dakota, civil cases are lawsuits in which an individual or company sues another in court for claims of being injured by the actions of the other party. The suing party is called the plaintiff, while the sued party is referred to as the defendant. In a civil case, an injury, which forms the basis of litigation, may be any harm done to property, body, rights, or reputation. To begin a civil case, the person or entity (or their attorney) that believes another individual or entity has injured them files a complaint with the clerk of courts in the county where the action would be tried. Afterward, the defendant is served a copy of the complaint to formally notify them that a lawsuit has been initiated against them.

In a civil case, the plaintiff must present evidence that is strong enough to convince the court that there is a high probability that their claim is true. This is known as providing a preponderance of the evidence. Generally, civil cases are disputes between two or more parties and are not a matter of breaking any state criminal law. Common types of civil cases in South Dakota include the following:

General Civil Cases - These are matters involving contracts, money disputes, elder abuse, name changes, civil harassment, and property damage.
Small Claims Cases - These are informal court cases between individuals and entities where the amount of controversy does not exceed $12,000.
Probate Cases - These involve matters relating to managing people and their personal affairs, such as wills, conservatorships, estates, and guardianships.
Mental Health Cases - These are lawsuits involving commitment to mental illness or substance abuse.
Family Law Cases - These include cases relating to divorce, child support, spousal support, adoptions, annulment, and child custody.
Juvenile Cases - These are cases involving minors for issues such as dependency and delinquency.
Landlord-Tenant Cases - These are lawsuits involving landlords and tenants, especially concerning money issues and eviction.

Criminal Cases

These are cases initiated by the state against individuals accused of committing criminal offenses or breaking South Dakota's criminal laws. Unlike civil cases, only the state is empowered by law to bring a criminal case against a person or a group of individuals. The state (prosecution) must be able to establish evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of an alleged offense. In South Dakota, criminal cases are initiated against individuals based on the following broad categories of criminal offenses:

Infractions/Petty Offenses - These are typically non-criminal violations of city codes, ordinances, or prohibited acts. They include minor violations such as parking and traffic violations and are usually punished by a fine.
Misdemeanors - These crimes are more serious than infractions but less severe than felony offenses, and South Dakota courts categorize them into classes based on their severity. Common examples of misdemeanor offenses include shoplifting and moving traffic violations.
Felonies - These are the most severe crimes and are punishable by death or imprisonment in South Dakota's penitentiary. They include murder, robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and manslaughter. Any criminal case involving felony offenses starts with a formal indictment of a criminal offense filed by the prosecuting attorney, a complaint filed by law enforcement in court, or a grand jury indictment.

What Are the Different Courts in South Dakota?

The South Dakota Constitution organizes the state's court system into a unified judicial system with two levels of court. These are the appellate and trial courts.

South Dakota Trial Courts

The trial courts in South Dakota are the Circuit and Magistrate Courts. The Magistrate Courts are typically supervised by the Circuit Courts.

Circuit Courts

The South Dakota Circuit Courts are the state's trial courts of general jurisdiction. Most civil and criminal cases in the state are first heard in the Circuit Courts. Sometimes, juries may help judges decide what is fair in Circuit Courts. In cases with a jury, the Circuit Court judges rule on what evidence the jurors may consider to reach their verdict. However, cases with no jury are generally decided by judges. The Circuit Courts in South Dakota have exclusive jurisdiction in felony trials and all types of civil actions, except in areas where they share concurrent jurisdiction with Magistrate Courts. They also have appellate jurisdiction over decisions made by Magistrate Courts.

The state is divided into seven judicial circuits and 46 Circuit Court judges, which include seven presiding judges. Circuit Court judges are typically elected by the voters within the circuit where they serve. In addition, at the time of taking office as a Circuit Court judge, a judge must be a voting resident of their circuit.

Magistrate Courts

The primary duty of South Dakota Magistrate Courts is to assist the Circuit Courts in handling and disposing of minor civil actions and misdemeanor criminal cases. Although they are the state's trial courts of limited jurisdiction, they bring the judicial process closer to the public, providing easy and direct access to average residents. South Dakota Magistrate Courts conduct preliminary hearings in all criminal cases and handle small claim cases where the amount of dispute does not exceed $12,000.

There are 17 full-time Magistrate Court judges in South Dakota and some clerk magistrates (lay magistrates) who have received specialized training and provide functions that must be handled expeditiously. Generally, the jurisdiction of the Magistrate Courts in the state depends on whether a clerk magistrate or a magistrate judge presides.

South Dakota Appellate Courts

The only appellate court in South Dakota is the Supreme Court. It is considered the state's highest court.

Supreme Court

As the highest court in South Dakota, the Supreme Court serves as an appellate court and hears appeals of circuit court judgments. It also makes final decisions on state law. The Supreme Court in South Dakota also exercises exclusive jurisdiction over certain types of cases. Such matters are usually filed directly with the Supreme Court. A dissatisfied person in a case ( may file a civil appeal to the state's Supreme Court any time within 30 days after receiving the Circuit Court's notice of entry of final judgment. For a criminal trial judgment, the appeal must be filed within 30 days after the Circuit Court hands down the final judgment.

After filing an appeal with the South Dakota Supreme Court, the court typically gives the parties involved in the case some time to prepare their case for argument. The appellant's attorney may order the trial's transcript from the Circuit Court reporter within 10 days after filing a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court. The court reporter is expected to prepare the transcript within 45 days unless they request an extension. Once the trial transcript is received, the appellant is required to file a brief with the clerk of the Supreme Court within 45 days. Typically, the brief should state the alleged errors committed by the trial court and must include case law to support their arguments.

After the appellant files a brief with the Supreme Court, a new 45-day period will start, during which the other party (appellee) must also file a brief to answer the issues raised in the appellant's brief. The brief should cite a case law to support their position. Afterward, another 15-day period will begin, during which the appellant may answer the points in the appellee's brief by filing a reply brief. The Supreme Court will be set to consider the case once both parties in the appeal have prepared the arguments. In an appeal, justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court may decide to hear oral arguments from the attorneys of both parties. This allows them to clarify the main points of the appeal. In other cases, the justices may not hear oral arguments. Instead, they will consider the trial record from the lower court and the briefs filed by both attorneys to make their decision.

The South Dakota Supreme Court is composed of five justices who are appointed by the Governor. One of these justices serves as the chief justice for a four-year term and may be re-elected for additional terms. The chief justice is also the administrative head of the state's unified judicial system. Each justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court is selected from the state's five geographic appointment districts.

Other South Dakota Courts

The South Dakota Judicial System also has specialty courts known as Problem-Solving Courts. They are specialized court sessions in the state that offer intensive probation programs for individuals with substance use and/or mental health disorders. The state's problem-solving courts operate in designated counties throughout South Dakota, and they include DUI Courts, Drug Courts, Veterans Treatment Courts, and Mental Health Courts. They primarily address the underlying problems that may be responsible for individuals' criminal behavior and help to ensure public safety.

How Many Federal Courts Are in South Dakota?

Only one federal district court operates in South Dakota - the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. The court's jurisdiction is for legal matters pertaining to diversity or federal law within the state. In criminal cases, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota's jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit only occurs if the United States initiates a prosecution or when the U.S. is a party to the case. On the other hand, the court only hears civil matters that arise out of a violation of United States law or treaties, a violation of a person's constitutional rights, or if the United States is one of the parties to the case.

Furthermore, the federal district court in South Dakota hears cases involving citizens of different states and civil maritime lawsuits. Generally, whether a matter before the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota is a criminal or a civil case, a jury (or judge) determines findings of fact, and a judge determines issues of law. Typically, the judges serving this court are nominated by the United States President and confirmed by the nation's Senate.

How Many Court Cases Are Filed Each Year in South Dakota?

In South Dakota, an average of 181,000 cases are filed with the state's main trial court (the Circuit Court) annually. The majority of these case filings at the trial court are criminal lawsuits. Typically, criminal cases dominate South Dakota's court time and resources, and court staff spends more time dealing with them than any other type of lawsuit. At least 120,000 criminal cases are filed yearly within the state's judicial system, while the average number of civil case filings is 50,000 yearly. Most years, the South Dakota Circuit Court witnesses less than 3,500 filings for probate cases.

At an average of 69,000 annually, non-contested Class 2 misdemeanors account for the highest number of criminal cases handled by South Dakota Courts. These include petty offenses and violations of municipal ordinances. About 12,000 felony cases are filed in the state every year. Every year, the Circuit Courts handle at least 18,000 small claims cases, about 2,500 divorce cases, 400 cases of adoption and termination of parental rights, over 4,000 mental illness cases, and nearly 100 administrative appeals. At least 250 appeals are filed with the South Dakota Supreme Court yearly.

How Do I Look Up Court Cases in South Dakota?

There are several ways to look up court cases or court records in South Dakota, as listed below:

Most court records in South Dakota may be accessed from the public kiosk terminals situated at each courthouse. It costs about 20 cents to print a page of a court record using this method.
A summary of South Dakota court cases may be accessed on the state's eCourts System. This system requires users to register and may cost them nominal fees.
Unless sealed, South Dakota criminal cases from 1989 to the present date are available on the UJS' Public Access Record Search (PARS). Interested persons may look up South Dakota criminal cases before 1989 at the Clerk of Court Offices for the county where their cases of interest were filed. This can be done either in person or by mail.
Docket entries in criminal and protection orders may be accessed through PARS using a person's date of birth and last name as the search criterion.
For civil and criminal record inquiries, an interested person may submit a Record Inquiry and Search Request Form.
Members of the public may look up South Dakota civil judgment records using the Civil Judgment Query System, the state court's civil judgment database. This system requires a registration. Registration is free. Unless sealed or confidential, civil cases from 2003 to the present are available on this database. Inactive civil money judgments from April 19, 2004, may be accessed on this system, while active ones are available for the past 20 years.

What Court Records Are Not Available to the Public in South Dakota?

State and federal statutes require South Dakota courts to keep some records confidential. As a result, such court records are typically not available for public disclosure and may only be accessed by authorized persons or government agencies. In other situations, court records sealed by court orders in the state are not publicly accessible.

Generally, records generated from divorce cases, juvenile cases, and adoption cases are closed to public access. Per Section 15-15A-7 of the South Dakota Codified Laws, the following are some documents or information in a court record or events related to the state's court system that are excluded from public access:

Adoption court records and adoption files
Civil case filing statement
Abortion records
Grand jury proceedings
Discovery material
Wills
Mental illness court proceedings
A person's involuntary commitment to drug and alcohol abuse
Any written communication between the attorney and the client
Presentence investigation reports
The location of domestic abuse victim
Abuse and neglect records and files
Guardianships and conservatorships
Juvenile records and juvenile court proceedings
Voluntary termination of parental rights records and proceedings