Steven R. Jensen (born March 18, 1963) is the 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 governor. One justice is selected from each of five geographic appointment districts ...

since 2021. He was appointed as an associate justice by Governor Dennis Daugaard in 2017. He became the 50th member of the court, succeeding Justice Lori S. Wilbur.

Early life and education

Jensen attended Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and graduated from there in 1985. During the summer of 1984, he worked as an intern for U.S. Senator

Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...

. His Juris Doctor degree was conferred by the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship uni ...

in 1988.

Legal career

Jensen served as a judicial law clerk for Associate Justice Richard W. Sabers of the

. In 1989, he started working at the Crary Huff Law Firm in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

. He was an attorney at Crary Huff until 2003. At that time he was appointed to the First Judicial Circuit Court of South Dakota, serving until 2014. He was Presiding Judge of that circuit from 2011 to 2014. In June 2020, it was announced that Jensen was selected to replace

David Gilbertson David Gilbertson (born October 29, 1949) is the former Chief Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court. Early life and education Gilbertson attended South Dakota State University, graduating in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science in Geography. He th ...

as the next Chief Justice of the

. He assumed office in January 2021. Professional affiliations including his service as chairman of the Unified Judicial System’s Presiding Judges Council and president of the South Dakota Judges Association.

Personal life

Jensen married Sue Nelson in 1990. They have one daughter, Rachel; two sons, Ryan and Andrew; and one son-in-law, Blake Roberts.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Steven R. 1963 births 21st-century American judges Bethel University (Minnesota) alumni Chief Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court Living people People from Viborg, South Dakota University of South Dakota School of Law alumni