JUDICIAL VOICES PROJECT
Capturing Histories of the South Dakota Supreme Court on its 125th Anniversary
HISTORIES, ACCOUNTS AND COMMENTARIES ON THE SUPREME COURT AND LEGAL PRACTICE IN THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota Supreme Court Justices
Chief Justice David E. Gilberton
South Dakota Supreme Court
Chief Justice David E. Gilbertson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1949, the son of a Lutheran minister and a surgical nurse. When he was one-year-old, the family relocated from Milwaukee to Sisseton, South Dakota. Gilbertson noted that his childhood as a minister’s son was probably good training for becoming a justice later in life. Read more...
Justice John K. Konenkamp
South Dakota Supreme Court
John K. Konenkamp was born in 1944 in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of eight children. After spending a good deal of his childhood in New York, his family moved to Georgia. Living in the Jim Crow South had a great impact on young Konenkamp. He attended the University of Georgia from 1963-1967, majoring in History. Read more...
Steven L. Zinter
South Dakota Supreme Court
Justice Steven L. Zinter was born in Minneapolis in 1950, but has lived in South Dakota since 1968. His parents met while attending South Dakota State University, where his father studied Agriculture and his mother studied Nursing. Zinter attended the University of South Dakota, where he made some of his finest memories. As an undergraduate, he studied Business which led to a Bachelors of Science. During his junior year, he took Business Law, which piqued his interest in a possible law career. Read more...
Justice Glen A. Severson
South Dakota Supreme Court
Justice Glen A. Severson was born in 1949 to a farming family near Sioux Falls. After graduating from high school, he joined the South Dakota Air National Guard, serving from 1967-1973. At that time, he also attended the University of South Dakota, receiving a B.S. in Political Science in 1972. After receiving his degree, he briefly moved to Georgia as he waited to hear about his law school applications. Read more...
Justice Lori S. Wilbur
South Dakota Supreme Court
ustice Lori S. Wilbur was born in Madison, South Dakota, in 1952, the daughter of a farmer and a homemaker. She attended the University of South Dakota receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 and then attended the University of South Dakota, School of Law, graduating in 1977. Wilbur says that her law career has come full circle because her first job out of law school was serving as law clerk for South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Zastrow. Read more...
