South Dakota Supreme Court Weighs Proposed Western Judicial Merger

The South Dakota Supreme Court heard public concerns at the Capitol in Pierre regarding a proposal to combine the state’s 4th and 7th Judicial Circuits into a single 12-county 4th Circuit headquartered in Rapid City, southdakotasearchlight.com reported.

Monday’s hearing addressed a plan by the Unified Judicial System to reduce the state’s judicial circuits from seven to six. The current 4th Judicial Circuit covers the northwestern part of the state across eight counties, including Butte, Corson, Dewey, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Perkins and Ziebach. The 7th Judicial Circuit spans the southwestern corner through Custer, Fall River, Oglala Lakota and Pennington counties.

State Court Administrator Greg Sattizahn told justices that more than 90% of court business in the affected counties happens in Pennington, Meade, Butte and Lawrence counties. He argued the merger would help courts share personnel more effectively and eliminate duplicate positions.

It’s an important process, even if it’s a hard process, Sattizahn said during the hearing. We need to position and ensure that our courts are stable and responsive and can move forward to the needs that we foresee.

According to estimates from the Unified Judicial System, administrative efficiencies would allow the state to repurpose three positions. That move avoids a $300,000 state funding request to add new staff.

Speakers at the hearing warned that the consolidation would harm rural access to justice. Attorney Lora Waeckerle of Black Hawk told the court that the merged circuit would feature the second-largest population, the largest geographic footprint, and the second-largest caseload in the state.

No matter how dedicated our clerks and court reporters are, regularly traveling three and a half hours from Rapid City to McIntosh is simply likely not to occur, Waeckerle said, adding that residents fear a permanent loss of in-person judicial services.

4th Circuit Judge Eric Strawn told the justices that specific inefficiencies justifying the consolidation have not been identified. It’s kind of fighting smoke, Strawn said. I have asked. We have tried to seek out what the actual harm is.

Shane Penfield, the state’s attorney for multiple 4th Circuit counties, pointed out that combining rural counties with Pennington County could dilute rural voting influence in judicial elections. He also noted potential consequences for communities within the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux reservations.

Not only does it affect the ability of tribal members to choose who their state court judge should be, Penfield said, but it also, ultimately, could change how justice is delivered.

South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Jensen stated that the court must balance maintaining local access in every county with operating efficiently and spending taxpayer funds responsibly. The justices did not issue a decision following Monday’s proceedings.

Jensen announced that the court will release a written order addressing the consolidation proposal, though no specific release date was provided. If the court grants approval, the circuit merger could take effect at the beginning of 2027.