David Gilbertson (born October 29, 1949) is the former Chief Justice of the

South Dakota Supreme Court The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. It is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the List of Governors of South Dakota, governor. One justice is selected from each of five ...

Early life and education

Gilbertson attended

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

, graduating in 1972 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Geography. He then graduated from the

University of South Dakota School of Law The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school in ...

in 1975. He did not take the bar exam as he was admitted to the South Dakota bar under

diploma privilege In the United States, the diploma privilege is a method for lawyers to be admitted to the bar (i.e. authorized to practice law) without taking a bar examination. Wisconsin is the only jurisdiction that currently allows diploma privilege as an alt ...

Career

Gilbertson established a private practice in

Sisseton, South Dakota Sisseton is a city in Roberts County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,479 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Roberts County. Sisseton is the home to a number of tourist attractions, including the Nicollet Tower, and ...

and simultaneously served as Roberts County Deputy

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

and City Attorney for Sisseton.

State judicial service

In 1986

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bill Janklow William John Janklow (September 13, 1939January 12, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician and member of the Republican Party who holds the record for the longest tenure as Governor of South Dakota: sixteen years in office. Janklow had the t ...

appointed him circuit

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the Fifth Judicial Circuit. Janklow appointed Gilbertson an

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...

of the South Dakota Supreme Court April 3, 1995. He was retained by the voters for successive eight-year terms in 1998, 2006, and 2014. When Chief Justice Robert A. Miller retired in 2001, Gilbertson was elected chief justice of the court. In 2009 Gilbertson was reelected to his third 4-year term as chief justice. Gilberston retired upon reaching mandatory retirement age upon the completion of his current term on January 5, 2021.

References

, - 1949 births 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court Living people People from Sisseton, South Dakota South Dakota lawyers South Dakota state court judges South Dakota State University alumni Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court University of South Dakota School of Law alumni {{SouthDakota-stub