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South Dakota Supreme Court justice vacancy (June 2018)
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| Severson Vacancy South Dakota Supreme Court |
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Selection process About Justice Severson |
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| Recent news External links Footnotes |
South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Glen A. Severson retired in June 2018. He joined the court in 2009.
Under South Dakota law, supreme court justices are appointed by the governor from a list of at least two names provided by the South Dakota Judicial Qualifications Commission. Severson's replacement was Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard's second appointment to the five-member supreme court.
The appointee
Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) appointed Judge Mark Salter to fill Severson's vacancy.[1] At the time of his appointment, Salter was a judge on the Second Judicial Circuit in South Dakota. He was appointed by Governor Dennis Daugaard in August 2012.[2]
Prior to his appointment to the Second Judicial Circuit, Salter worked as the chief of the appellate division in the U.S. Attorney's Office, where he served as an attorney from 2004 to 2009. From 1997 to 2004, he worked as an attorney for the law firm Cutler & Donohoe. Salter also spent one year as a deputy state attorney for Turner County[2]
He received his undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University in 1990 and his J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1993.[2]
The selection process
South Dakota uses the assisted appointment method of judicial selection. 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. 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. If a judge retires before the end of his or her term, a replacement is sought by the same method normally used to select judges.[3]
The Judicial Qualifications Commission is made up of seven members: two 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]
About Justice Severson
Justice Severson was appointed to the South Dakota Supreme Court in 2009 by Republican Governor Mike Rounds to represent the state's Second Supreme Court District. He would have been up for retention election at the end of his term in 2020.[5] In 2017, he announced he would retire in June 2018.
Prior to his appointment to the bench, Severson worked in private practice from 1983 to 1992. He also served as the Huron city attorney from 1977 to 1992, and as a Beadle County deputy state's attorney in 1975. Severson was first appointed to the judiciary when he became a circuit court judge in 1993. He served there as that court's presiding judge from 2002 until his 2009 appointment to the South Dakota Supreme Court.[6]
Severson attended the University of South Dakota, receiving a B.S. in 1972. He went on to attend the University of South Dakota School of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1975.[6]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Dakota State News, "Gov. Daugaard To Appoint Judge Mark E. Salter To South Dakota Supreme Court," May 24, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "Gov. Daugaard names Mark Salter to Second Circuit Court bench," August 21, 2012
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: South Dakota," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "Judicial Qualifications Commission"
- ↑ Keloland, "Severson Sworn In As Supreme Court Justice," April 3, 2009
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "Supreme Court," accessed August 18, 2014
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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
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