top of page

First Women Of The Court

In the 125 years of the Court, only the last twelve have included a female Supreme Court Justice. In his interview, Court Administrator Dan Schenk (whose grandfather St. Clair Smith served as a Supreme Court Judge in 1937) described the early Court as almost exclusively Republican, Protestant, and male. It remained this way for quite some time, but recently there has been more diversity amongst those appointed to the Bench. 

 

Judge Mildred Ramynke was South Dakota’s first female circuit judge to sit with the South Dakota Supreme Court. She sat with the Supreme Court numerous times until her retirement in 1985. 

 

Justice Judith Meierhenry was the first female Supreme Court Justice in South Dakota history, appointed by Governor Bill Janklow in 2002 and serving until her retirement in 2011. South Dakota’s second female Supreme Court Justice Lori Wilbur has said of Justice Meierhenry, “There is no way I can replace Justice Meirehenry's experience or wisdom - she has blazed a trail in South Dakota.” 

 

Current Justice Lori Wilbur was appointed on 17 August 2011 by Governor Dennis Daugaard. Wilbur has held a position at every level of the judiciary in the state, serving as a circuit court judge, magistrate judge, attorney for state boards, and assistant attorney general. After interviewing four candidates for the position, Governor Daugaard said that he was impressed by Wilbur's experience and work ethic. He noted he was “particularly struck by something Lori said in her interview. When I asked her why she would be a good justice, she told me that she lives by the same three rules that she asks her DUI defendants to follow: ‘Show up, try hard, and be honest.’ That is a simple and eloquent statement of the values that make South Dakota great.”  

Judge Mildred Ramynke was South Dakota’s first female circuit judge to sit with the South Dakota Supreme Court. 

bottom of page