August 20, 2026:
The South Dakota Unified Judicial System (UJS) will hold a series of public forums Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, to share information and gather public input on a potential merger of the Fourth and Seventh judicial circuits before any formal rule proposal is submitted to the South Dakota Supreme Court.
The public forum locations are:
- Rapid City: Pennington County Courthouse (Courtroom C2), 315 St. Joseph St., 8:30-9:30 a.m. MDT
- Sturgis: Meade County Courthouse (Courtroom 3), 1425 Sherman St., 11 a.m.-noon MDT
- Lemmon: Lonesome Dove Conference Center, 312 Main Ave., 3:30-4:30 p.m. MDT
The UJS State Court Administrator’s Office has proposed to the South Dakota Supreme Court consideration of a merger of the administrative structures of the Fourth Judicial Circuit and Seventh Judicial Circuit. During the forums, the State Court Administrator’s Office will give a short presentation, followed by an opportunity for public comments and questions.
The Fourth Judicial Circuit consists of Butte, Corson, Dewey, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Perkins and Ziebach counties. The Seventh Judicial Circuit consists of Custer, Fall River, Oglala Lakota and Pennington counties. The proposed merger is intended to increase operational efficiencies for UJS.
The deadline to submit written input or comments is Oct. 1, 2026. Written input or comments may be submitted to the State Court Administrator’s Office:
- by email to comment@ujs.state.sd.us, or
- by mail to State Court Administrator’s Office, Attention: Judicial Circuit Merger Proposal, 500 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501.
South Dakota courts are organized into a unified judicial system and currently consist of seven judicial circuits. The State Court Administrator’s Office provides centralized administrative assistance and support services to South Dakota’s courts to ensure efficient and responsive operation. Learn more about UJS.
July 11, 2026:
To increase operational efficiencies, the South Dakota State Court Administrator’s Office is proposing to combine the administrative structures of the Fourth and Seventh Judicial Circuits.
The Unified Judicial System’s Fourth Circuit consists of Butte, Corson, Dewey, Harding, Lawrence, Meade, Perkins and Ziebach counties. The Seventh Circuit consists of Custer, Fall River, Oglala Lakota and Pennington counties.
South Dakota currently has seven judicial circuits. The State Court Administrator’s Office provides centralized administrative assistance and support services to each of them to ensure efficient and responsive operation.
A series of public forums will be held on Aug. 26, 2026, to present information related to the proposal and gather comments and feedback in advance of any formal rule proposal to the South Dakota Supreme Court. Following a short presentation by the State Court Administrator’s Office, there will be an opportunity for public comments and questions. The public forum locations are:
- Rapid City: Pennington County Courthouse (Courtroom C2), 315 St. Joseph St., 8:30-9:30 a.m. MDT
- Sturgis: Meade County Courthouse (Courtroom 3), 1425 Sherman St., 11 a.m.-noon MDT
- Lemmon: Lonesome Dove Conference Center, 312 Main Ave., 3:30-4:30 p.m. MDT
Written input or comments may be submitted to the State Court Administrator’s Office:
- by email to comment@ujs.state.sd.us or
- by mail to State Court Administrator’s Office, Attention: Judicial Circuit Merger Proposal, 500 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD 57501.
The deadline to submit written input or comments is Oct. 1, 2026.
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