Lori Wilbur
Lori Wilbur was a justice on the South Dakota Supreme Court. She was appointed by Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard in August 2011 to succeed Judith Meierhenry.[1] She was retained in 2014 for a term that would have expired in 2022.[2] Justice Wilbur announced in February 2017 that she would retire in June 2017.[3]
At the time of her appointment, Wilbur said:
| “ | There is no way I can replace Justice Meierhenry's experience or wisdom – she has blazed a trail in South Dakota. Each of us brings to our work, whatever that work is, our lifetime of experience and our values. In my experience, the people of this state expect courteous and prompt resolution of their disputes by judges and justices who apply the law fairly and impartially. I am humbled to be selected from the pool of candidates who applied, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to do this worthwhile work. I thank Gov. Daugaard for his confidence in my abilities.[1][4] | ” |
Education
Wilbur received her bachelor's degree in 1974 from the University of South Dakota and her J.D. in 1977 from the University of South Dakota School of Law.[1]
Career
Wilbur was elected to the South Dakota Sixth Judicial Circuit in 1998. Nine years later, she become presiding judge of the court. She served as presiding judge for twelve years.
Prior to that, she was a part-time, then full-time magistrate judge. Earlier, she served as assistant attorney general. She has also served as an attorney with the Board of Regents, Legislative Research Council, and Bureau of Personnel.[1]
Awards and associations
- Secretary, South Dakota Judicial Qualifications Commission
- Past president, South Dakota Judges Association
- Past member, State Bar Ethics Committee
- Past member, State Board of Nursing[1]
Elections
2014
Wilbur was retained to the Supreme Court with 82.2 percent of the vote on November 4, 2014. [2][5]
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.
Wilbur received a campaign finance score of 0.92, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was less 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.[6]
See also
External links
- Unified Judicial System of South Dakota, "South Dakota Supreme Court"
- ArgusLeader.com, "Newest justice is second woman to serve on state's high court," August 17, 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Unified Judicial System of South Dakota, "South Dakota Supreme Court," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 South Dakota Secretary of State, "Offices to be filled in the 2014 Elections," accessed October 2, 2014
- ↑ KDLT News, "Justice Lori Wilbur To Retire After 25 Years On SD Supreme Court," February 15, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 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
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