At the State of the Judiciary address this week indigent legal defense was among the top priorities from the bench. With the legislative session here, it’s a topic to watch moving forward.
In the last year, South Dakota judges held over 2,600 jury trials, collected over 25 million dollars in fines, and traveled 166,000 miles across the state. But not every South Dakotan has the same experience with the legal system.
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Jensen said he hopes to provide more public access to the state’s court system. That includes indigent defendants - those without the ability to pay for legal representation.
“Judges in South Dakota continue to have difficulty finding attorneys to provide indigent representation, particularly in rural areas," Jensen said. "There are six counties in South Dakota that have no attorneys, and 23 counties that have three or fewer employers. The lack of structure, oversight, and inefficiencies in out indigent defense system has created legal deserts across the state.”
In the last session, a task force was created to assess the matter after the passage of HB 1064, which calls for a statewide public defender’s office and indigent defense commission.
Jensen said the projected cost of that office would be $1.4 million, an investment he said will make a difference for resource-strapped county governments.
“Counties are currently funding nearly 100% of the cost of indigent defense in the state of South Dakota," Jensen said. "Significantly, this initial expenditure by the state is estimated to reduce the financial burden on counties by $2.1 million. But the next step of the process will bring about the most broad-based improvements to a system that lacks much-needed oversight.”
The judicial system will also angle for additional funding to hire additional judges and deputy clerk positions for the second circuit. That circuit includes fast-growing Lincoln and Minnehaha counties, which have seen caseloads rise sharply in the last decade.
“The number of felony case filings nearly doubled from 2,267 to 4,441," Jensen said. "The number of felony filings are expected to increase by an additional 25% by fiscal year 2026. Despite the doubling of caseloads in the second circuit, the number of circuit judges has only increased from 10 to 12 judges.”
Jensen said he’s excited to work with the joint committee on appropriations for both these matters through the budget-writing process this session.
