Lawrence Piersol
2009 - Present
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Lawrence L. Piersol is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. He joined the court in 1993 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton.
Early life and education
A native of Vermillion, South Dakota, Piersol graduated from the University of South Dakota with both his bachelor's degree and J.D. in 1962 and 1965 respectively.[1]
Military service
Piersol served in the U.S. Army's judge advocate general corps from 1965 to 1968.[1]
Professional career
- 2009-Present: Senior judge
- 1999-2005: Chief judge
- 1993-2009: Judge
- 1968-1993: Private practice, Sioux Falls, S.D.[1]
Judicial career
District of South Dakota
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| Nominee Information |
| Name: Lawrence L. Piersol |
| Court: United States District Court for the District of South Dakota |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 106 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: August 6, 1993
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| ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
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| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: October 20, 1993
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| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: November 18, 1993
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| Confirmed: November 20, 1993
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| Vote: Voice vote
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Piersol was nominated by President Bill Clinton on August 6, 1993, to a seat vacated by Donald Porter. The American Bar Association rated Piersol Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Piersol's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 20, 1993, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on November 18, 1993. Piersol was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on November 20, 1993, and he received his commission on November 22, 1993. Piersol served as chief judge of the district court from 1999 to 2005. He elected to take senior status beginning on July 31, 2009. He was succeeded in this position by Judge Jeffrey Viken.[1][2][3]
Noteworthy cases
Libertarian Party candidate off the ballot (2014)
South Dakota Secretary of State Jason Gant refused to place a Libertarian Party’s nominee for Public Utilities Commissioner on the ballot in the 2014 election. Ryan Gaddy, the nominee, was not an official member of the party when its convention was held. State law requires all candidates to be members of the party that nominates them in order to be placed on the ballot. Gaddy sent in a change of party form the Monday following the convention. As a result, Secretary of State Gant refused to put Gaddy on the ballot, leading to a lawsuit in federal court.
Judge Lawrence Piersol agreed with the secretary of state that Gaddy had no right to be on the ballot because state law prohibited it. Further, he concluded that the state law requiring a candidate to be a member of the nominating party is constitutional. Candidates from the Republican, Democratic, and Constitution parties were on the ballot for Public Utilities Commissioner.
Articles:
Iowa man threatens federal judge (2009)
- See also: United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa (United States, v. Robert Emil Swanson, 2009 WL 1052945)
- See also: United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa (United States, v. Robert Emil Swanson, 2009 WL 1052945)
Judge Piersol sentenced an Iowa man for threatening federal Judge Linda Reade of the Northern District of Iowa. The case was heard in South Dakota as judges in both the Northern District of Iowa and Southern District of Iowa recused themselves.[4]
Robert E. Swanson, who was convicted of threatening Judge Reade, faced a minimum of two years under federal sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors pushed for a harsher term because of his criminal record, which included convictions for a rape in 1974, a sexual assault in 1980, and an assault in 1986.[4]
Piersol commented that "Swanson's past crimes should be considered, even though they weren't included in the guidelines." Federal prosecutor Matthew Whitaker concurred with Piersol, saying, "because they were so long ago ... that skewed his history and made him seem less dangerous than he really was." Piersol sentenced Swanson to eight years in federal prison.[4]
See also
- United States District Court for the District of South Dakota
- United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Lawrence L. Piersol," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 541 — Lawrence L. Piersol — The Judiciary," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 103rd Congress," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, "Former Black Hawk County man gets prison for threatening judge," July 8, 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Donald Porter |
District of South Dakota 1993–2009 Seat #3 |
Succeeded by: Jeffrey Viken
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| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges | |||
| Senior judges |
Karen Schreier • Charles Kornmann • Lawrence Piersol • Jeffrey Viken • | ||
| Magistrate judges | William D. Gerdes • Veronica Duffy • Mark Moreno • Daneta Wollmann • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Andrew Bogue • John B. Jones • Donald Porter • John Emmett Carland • Alonzo Jay Edgerton • James Douglas Elliott • Alfred Lee Wyman • John Beck • George Mickelson • Fred Nichol • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Karen Schreier • Lawrence Piersol • Richard Battey • Andrew Bogue • John B. Jones • Donald Porter • John Beck • George Mickelson • Fred Nichol • Jeffrey Viken • | ||
