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Steven Zinter
Steven L. Zinter was an associate justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, representing the Third District from 2002 to 2018. Governor Bill Janklow (R) appointed Zinter to the court in 2002. He was retained in 2006 and 2014.[1][2] Zinter passed away October 30, 2018.[3] To learn more about this vacancy, click here.
Education
Zinter received his undergraduate degree in 1972 and his J.D. in 1975, both from the University of South Dakota.[4]
Career
- 2002-2018: Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court
- 1987-2002: Judge, Sixth Circuit Court
- 1997-2002: Presiding judge
- 1980-1986: State's attorney, Hughes County, South Dakota
- 1978-1986: Attorney, Private practice
- 1975-1978: Assistant attorney general, state of South Dakota[3][5]
Awards and associations
- Former trustee, Harry S. Truman Foundation
- Past president, South Dakota Judges Association[5]
Elections
2014
Zinter was retained to the Supreme Court with 81.8 percent of the vote on November 4, 2014. [2][6]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Zinter received a campaign finance score of 1.23, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 1.05 that justices received in South Dakota.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2006 Supreme Court retention election results"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Offices to be filled in the 2014 Elections," accessed October 2, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Office of Gov. Dennis Daugaard, "Governor Daugaard Orders Flags Half-Staff In Honor Of Supreme Court Justice Steven L. Zinter," October 30, 2018
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Justice Steven L. Zinter (SD)"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "South Dakota Supreme Court," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Supreme court justice retention letters," January 7, 2014
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
