Robert Gusinsky
Robert Gusinsky is a judge of the South Dakota Supreme Court District 1. He assumed office on December 8, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Gusinsky was a circuit judge for the Seventh Judicial Circuit in South Dakota. Gusinsky was appointed by Governor Dennis Daugaard on May 10, 2013.[1] He was re-elected in 2014 for a term that expired in 2022.[2]
Gusinsky first became a member of the South Dakota Supreme Court through an appointment. Governor Larry Rhoden first appointed him to the court in 2025 to the seat vacated by Janine M. Kern. To learn more about this appointment, click here.
Biography
Education
Gusinsky received his degree in aeronautical engineering in 1990 from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and his J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1996.[1]
Career
- 2013-2025: Judge, South Dakota Seventh Judicial Circuit
- 2007-2013: Assistant United States attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office
- 1996-2007: Attorney in private practice
- 1990-1993: Commercial airline pilot and flight instructor[1]
Awards and associations
- Member, Board of Directors of the South Dakota Lions Eye and Tissue Bank
- Member, Blue Knights, a law enforcement motorcycle association[1]
Elections
2014
See also: South Dakota judicial elections, 2014
Gusinsky ran for re-election to the Seventh Judicial Circuit.
General: He was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[2]
State supreme court judicial selection in South Dakota
- See also: Judicial selection in South Dakota
The five justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court are appointed by the governor from a list of at least two names provided by the South Dakota Judicial Qualifications Commission.[3] The commission is made up of seven members: two circuit court judges, three lawyers, and two members of the public. The judges are elected by the judicial conference, the lawyers are chosen by the state bar association, and the members of the public are appointed by the governor.[4]
Newly appointed judges serve for at least three years, after which they must run in a yes-no retention election during a regularly scheduled general election. Subsequent terms last eight years.[5]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the court is chosen by peer vote and serves in that capacity for four years.[5]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- a resident of South Dakota;
- a voting resident within his or her respective district;
- licensed to practice law in the state; and
- under the age of 70.*[5][6][7]
Vacancies
If a judge retires before the end of his or her term, a judicial nominating commission recommends candidates to the governor, and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least three years before running in a yes-no retention election.[5]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
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Officeholder South Dakota Supreme Court District 1 |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "Governor Daugaard names Robert Gusinsky as Seventh Circuit judge," May 10, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Current candidates for primary election - 6/3/2014," updated May 6, 2014, accessed May 8, 2014pg. 63
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Judicial System," accessed April 15, 2025
- ↑ South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "Judicial Qualifications Commission," accessed April 15, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: South Dakota," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Under the South Dakota code, a supreme court justice who turns seventy while in office must be "automatically retired on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of January next after the general election at which members of the Legislature are elected."
- ↑ Justia US Law, "Section 16-1-4.1: Mandatory retirement of justices at age seventy—Conclusion of pending matters," accessed September 10, 2014
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of South Dakota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of South Dakota
State courts:
South Dakota Supreme Court • South Dakota Circuit Courts • South Dakota Magistrate Courts
State resources:
Courts in South Dakota • South Dakota judicial elections • Judicial selection in South Dakota
