Methods of Judicial Selection: South Dakota
Limited Jurisdiction Courts
| Jurisdiction: | receive depositions; issue warrants; conduct preliminary hearings; set bail; appoint counsel; trials of criminal misdemeanors; trials of small claims actions < $8,000; trials of civil actions < $10,000* |
| Selection of Judges: | appointment by presiding circuit judge with supreme court approval** |
| Retention of Judges: | reappointment** |
| Qualifications: | U.S. citizen; state resident; voting resident within circuit; magistrate judges must be licensed attorneys; lay magistrates must be high school graduates |
*The jurisdiction of courts presided over by lay magistrates is more limited than that of courts presided over by magistrate judges.
**Lay magistrates are appointed by the presiding circuit judge and serve at the pleasure of the presiding circuit judge, while magistrate judges serve four-year terms.