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# Steven R. Jensen

Supreme Court of South Dakota · Chief Justice

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of South Dakota
- State: South Dakota
- Role: Chief Justice
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-09-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- In 2021, his colleagues selected him as Chief Justice, and he was reselected for a second four-year term beginning January 6, 2025
- His colleagues selected him as Chief Justice in June 2020, effective January 5, 2021, and reelected him in January 2025
- He was retained by voters in 2020 and officially began serving as Chief Justice on January 5, 2021
- In 2003, he was appointed by Governor Mike Rounds to the First Judicial Circuit Court of South Dakota, serving as a judge until 2014 and as Presiding Judge from 2011 to 2014
- He interned for Senator Chuck Grassley in 1984, clerked for Justice Richard Sabers after law school, and practiced civil litigation at Crary Huff from 1989 until his 2003 First Circuit appointment by Governor Mike Rounds.
- After completing his clerkship, Jensen entered private practice in 1989 at the Crary Huff Law Firm in Sioux City, Iowa, where he handled civil litigation in both South Dakota and Iowa for 14 years.
- During law school, he clerked for Justice Richard W. Sabers of the South Dakota Supreme Court
- Chief Justice Jensen has been involved in judicial reform and improving access to justice in South Dakota

### Education

- University of South Dakota School of Law in — J.D. (1988)
- Bethel College bachelor’s degree in 1985 and University of South Dakota JD in 1988.
- Undergraduate degree from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1985

### Additional information

- Governor Dennis Daugaard appointed him to the Supreme Court in 2017; the directly read infobox lists November 3, 2017 as assumption of office.
- Jensen joined the South Dakota Supreme Court by Governor Dennis Daugaard and sworn in on November 3, 2017
- Leadership activities encompass Presiding Judges Council chair, Judges Association president, courthouse security and indigent-defense initiatives, and a 2009 science and technology judicial fellowship.
- In 2009, he was selected as a Judicial Fellow to the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource Center in Washington, D.C..
- Steven R. Jensen was born on March 18, 1963, and raised on a homestead farm near Wakonda, South Dakota, in a family with deep roots in the region.
- Steven R. Jensen, born March 18, 1963, grew up near Wakonda and graduated from Wakonda High School.
- Date of birth: 1962-11-03
- representing the Fourth District.
- He became the 50th member of the court, succeeding Justice Lori S. Wilbur.
- He also held leadership roles such as chair of the Unified Judicial System’s Presiding Judges Council and president of the South Dakota Judges Association
- He has also participated in national judicial organizations, including the Conference of Chief Justices, where he serves in leadership roles.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### electronic devices and media

Scope: courtwide

South Dakota Supreme Court courtroom protocol instructs visitors not to bring cameras or recording equipment into the courtroom.

Evidence excerpt: Do not bring food, drinks, cameras or recording equipment into the courtroom.

[South Dakota Supreme Court Courtroom Protocol](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/courtroom-protocol/)
Source checked: 2026-07-27


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/)
- [Official roster](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/)
- [South Dakota Unified Judicial System official judicial roster](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/)
- [South Dakota Supreme Court Courtroom Protocol](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/courtroom-protocol/)
- [South Dakota Unified Judicial System Directory](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/)
- [South Dakota Unified Judicial System Directory](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/)
- [Wikidata: Steven R. Jensen](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47160087)
- [South Dakota Unified Judicial System official judicial roster](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/)
- [South Dakota Supreme Court Courtroom Protocol](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/courtroom-protocol/)
- [South Dakota Unified Judicial System Directory](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/)
- [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_R._Jensen)
- [ujs.sd.gov](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/steven-r-jensen/)
- [www.sdpb.org](https://www.sdpb.org/crime-courts/2025-01-05/steven-jensen-earns-another-term-as-state-supreme-court-chief-justice)
- [South Dakota Unified Judicial System official judicial roster](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/)
- [South Dakota Supreme Court Courtroom Protocol](https://ujs.sd.gov/supreme-court/courtroom-protocol/)
- [South Dakota Unified Judicial System Directory](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/)

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