Chief Justice
David E. Gilbertson
Chief Justice David E. Gilbertson
Chief Justice Gilbertson, was elected to a 4-year
term as Chief Justice by the members of the Supreme Court in September 2001 and
was re-elected to a second 4-year term as Chief Justice by the members of the
Supreme Court in June 2005. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in April
1995 to represent the Fifth Supreme Court District and was retained by the
voters in the 1998 general election and the 2006 general election. Chief
Justice Gilbertson received his undergraduate degree from South Dakota State
University in 1972 and his Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota
School of Law in 1975. He engaged in private practice from 1975 until his
appointment to the circuit court bench in 1986. During this time he also
served as a deputy state’s attorney
and as an attorney for several municipalities and school districts.
He is Past President of the South Dakota Judges Association; and is a member of
the Glacial Lakes Bar Association, the Brown County Bar Association and the
South Dakota Bar Association. He is a member of the Conference of Chief
Justices and chairs its Committee on Tribal/State Relations. He was a member of
the Board of Directors of the National Conference of Chief Justices from
2005-2007. In 2006, he was the recipient of the distinguished Service
Award from the National Center for State Courts for his defense of judicial
independence. He serves on the Judicial-Bar Liaison Committee of the State
Bar Association and has served as a Court Counselor at South Dakota Boys State
since 1995. Born October 29, 1949, he and his wife Deborah, have four
children.
Justice John K. Konenkamp
Justice Konenkamp, born October 20, 1944, represents the First Supreme Court
District, which includes Custer, Fall River, Lawrence, Meade and Pennington
counties. After serving in the United States Navy, he attended the
University of South Dakota School of Law, graduating in 1974. He practiced
law in Rapid City until 1984 when he was appointed a Circuit Judge. In May
1988, he became Presiding Judge of the Seventh Circuit. He was appointed
to the Supreme Court in 1994 after ten years on the trial bench and was retained
by the voters in the 1998 and 2006 general elections. He is a member of
the National Advisory Council of the American Judicature Society, a Co-Chair of
the South Dakota Equal Justice Commission, and a member of the State Bar of
South Dakota. Justice Konenkamp and his wife, Geri, are former foster
parents for the Department of Social Services. Justice Konenkamp has served on a
number of boards advancing the improvement of the legal system and the
protection of children. Justice Konenkamp and his wife have two adult children,
Kathryn and Matthew.
Justice Steven L. Zinter
Justice Zinter, of Pierre, was appointed to the Supreme Court on April 2, 2002.
Justice Zinter received his B.S. degree from the University of South Dakota in
1972. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Dakota
School of Law in 1975. Upon graduation, Justice Zinter practiced law as an
Assistant Attorney General for the State of South Dakota. From 1978 to 1986 he
was engaged in the private practice of law in Pierre. Justice Zinter also served
as the Hughes County State’s Attorney. He was appointed as a Circuit Judge in
1986 and served in that capacity until 1997. In 1997, he was appointed Presiding
Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit and served in that capacity until his
appointment to the Supreme Court. He was retained by the voters in the 2006
general election. Justice Zinter is a member of the American Bar
Association, the State Bar Association, and the South Dakota Judges Association.
He is a past President of the South Dakota Judges Association, a former trustee
of the Harry S. Truman Foundation, and a member of a number of other boards and
commissions. Justice Zinter and his wife Sandra have two children.
Justice Judith K. Meierhenry
Justice Meierhenry was born January 20, 1944. She received her B.S. degree
in 1966, her M.A. in 1968, and her J.D. in 1977 - all from the University of
South Dakota. She was an English Instructor at the University of South
Dakota from 1968 to 1970 and taught at Todd County High School, Mission, SD from
1970 to 1974. She practiced law in Vermillion from 1977 to 1978 and was
appointed by Governor Janklow in 1979 to the State Economic Opportunity Office.
She was then appointed as Secretary of Labor in 1980 and Secretary of Education
and Cultural Affairs in 1983. She was a Senior Manager and Assistant
General Counsel for Citibank South Dakota in Sioux Falls from 1985 to 1988.
In 1988 she was appointed by the late Governor George S. Mickelson as a Second
Circuit Court Judge and in 1997 was named as Presiding Judge of the Second
Judicial Circuit. Justice Meierhenry was appointed to the Supreme Court by
Governor Janklow in November 2002 and was retained by the voters in the 2006
general election. She is the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court in
South Dakota. Justice Meierhenry is a member of the South Dakota Bar
Association, the Second Circuit Bar Association, the Clay-Union Bar Association
and the National Association of Women Judges. She served as President of
the South Dakota Judge’s Association and was a member of the South Dakota Civil
Pattern Jury Instruction Committee. Justice Meierhenry and her husband
Mark live in Sioux Falls. They have two children and seven grandchildren.
Justice Severson, born March 9, 1949, represents the Second
Supreme Court District, which includes Minnehaha County and the Northwest
portion of Lincoln County. He served in the South Dakota Air National Guard from
1967-1973. He attended the University of South Dakota receiving a B.S. in 1972
and the University of South Dakota, School of Law receiving a Juris Doctor
degree in 1975. He was a member of the Fingerson and Severson Law Firm from 1983
to 1992 and served as the Huron City Attorney from 1977-1992 and a Beadle County
Deputy States Attorney in 1975. He was appointed a Circuit Judge in the Second
Circuit in 1993 and served as Presiding Judge from 2002 until his appointment to
the Supreme Court. Justice Severson was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009
after sixteen years on the trial bench. He is a member of the American Bar
Association, South Dakota Bar Association and Second Circuit Bar Association. He
was a member South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources (1986-1992) and
has served on a number of other boards and commissions. Justice Severson and his
wife Mary have two adult children, Thomas and Kathryn.