David Gilbertson
David E. Gilbertson is the former chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court. He served on the court from 1995 to 2021. Republican Governor Bill Janklow appointed him to the court on April 3, 1995. He represented the state's 5th Supreme Court district and was retained in 2014.[1]
Gilbertson was first elected by his peers on the court to a four-year term as chief justice in 2001. He was re-elected in 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017.[2] On May 28, 2013, Gilbertson became the first chief justice in the history of the state to be elected to a fourth term as chief.[3]
Gilbertson retired on January 5, 2021, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 years old.[4] Click here for more information about his retirement and the process for selecting his replacement.
Elections
2014
Gilbertson was retained to the South Dakota Supreme Court with 83.4% of the vote on November 4, 2014. [1][5]
Past elections
Gilbertson was retained by the state's voters in 1998 and 2006. [6][7]
Education
Gilbertson received his undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University in 1972 and his J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1975.[8]
Career
Gilbertson established a private practice in Sisseton, South Dakota, and simultaneously served as a Roberts County deputy state's attorney and city attorney for Sisseton. In 1986, former Governor Bill Janklow, a Republican, appointed Gilbertson circuit judge of the South Dakota Fifth Judicial Circuit. Gilbertson joined the South Dakota Supreme Court in 1995. When then-Chief Justice Robert A. Miller retired in 2001, Gilbertson was elected to take his place.[2][8][9]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2006: Distinguished Service Award, National Center for State Courts
Associations
- 2005-2007: Member, Board of Directors of the National Conference of Chief Justices
- Past president, South Dakota Judges Association
- Former Member, Conference of Chief Justices
- Member, Judicial-Bar Liaison Committee, State Bar Association
- Court counselor, South Dakota Boys State[2][8]
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.
Gilbertson received a campaign finance score of 1.13, 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.[10]
See also
- Courts in South Dakota
- South Dakota Supreme Court
- News: South Dakota Chief Justice praises drug courts in state of judiciary speech, January 16, 2012
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Offices to be filled in the 2014 Elections," accessed October 2, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 CPCM, "Chief Justice David Gilbertson," accessed January 6, 2021
- ↑ Black Hills Pioneer, "Gilbertson gets new term as SD Supreme Court chief," June 5, 2013
- ↑ Capital Journal, "Chief Justice Gilbertson to retire, by law, Jan. 5 2021," January 8, 2020
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Supreme court justice retention letters," January 7, 2014
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "1998 Supreme Court retention election results"
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "2006 Supreme Court retention election results"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Project Vote Smart, "Chief Justice David E. Gilbertson (SD)," accessed June 28, 2013
- ↑ University of South Dakota, "Chief Justice Gilbertson: More than a Legacy," accessed January 6, 2021
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
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
