Oath Ceremony for First Supreme Court
The 1889 South Dakota Constitution provided for three branches of
government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The judicial
branch consisted of a Supreme Court, circuit courts, county
courts, and justices of the peace. The Supreme Court consisted of
three judges, each selected from a district.
On October 1, 1889, a statewide election was
held in South Dakota to approve the constitution, select a
temporary capital, and elect a governor, legislature, and Supreme
and circuit court judges. The first Supreme Court judges elected
were Dighton Corson, Alphonso G. Kellam, and John E. Bennett.
On October 15, 1889, all of the newly elected
officers met in Pierre to take their oath of office. However,
there was no capitol building for the new officers because Pierre
had just won the temporary capital site.
The oath-taking ceremony for the new officers,
including the judges of the Supreme Court and the circuit courts,
was described in the October 16, 1889 newspaper, The Daily
Capital:
Never was there a more auspicious day for the launching of the
ship of state of South Dakota. It was a perfect day. The officers all assembled
on the front veranda of the courthouse in a semi-circle. The oath of office was
administered by Territorial Presiding Judge Bartlett Tripp and was very short.
Most of the people supposed Governor Mellette would make an inauguration speech,
but in this they were disappointed as no speeches were made.
The citizens of Pierre raised $30,000 to erect and donate to the
state a wooden capitol on the southwest corner of the present capitol
grounds. |