Scott P. Myren
Scott P. Myren is a judge of the South Dakota Supreme Court District 5. He assumed office on January 5, 2021. His current term ends on January 4, 2033.
Myren ran for re-election for judge of the South Dakota Supreme Court District 5. He won in the retention election on November 5, 2024.
Governor Kristi Noem (R) appointed Myren to the South Dakota Supreme Court on October 28, 2020, effective January 5, 2021, to replace Justice David Gilbertson.[1] To learn more about this appointment, click here.
Biography
Education
Myren received a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota in 1985 and a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law in 1988.[1]
Career
The following timeline summarizes Myren's career:
- 2021 - Present: Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court
- 2004-2021: Judge, South Dakota Fifth Judicial Circuit
- 2014-2021: Presiding judge, South Dakota Fifth Judicial Circuit
- 1999-2003: Magistrate judge, South Dakota Sixth Judicial Circuit
- 1994-1999: Administrative law judge, South Dakota Sixth Judicial Circuit
- 1990-1994: Permanent staff attorney, South Dakota Supreme Court
- 1988-1990: Attorney[1][2]
Elections
2024
See also: South Dakota Supreme Court elections, 2024
South Dakota Supreme Court District 5
Scott P. Myren was retained to the South Dakota Supreme Court District 5 on November 5, 2024 with 79.3% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
79.3
|
279,216 | ||
No |
20.7
|
72,908 | |||
Total Votes |
352,124 | ||||
|
|
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Myren in this election.
2014
- See also: South Dakota judicial elections, 2014
Myren ran for re-election to the Fifth Judicial Circuit.
General: He was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.[3]
2006
Myren ran for re-election to the Fifth Judicial Circuit.
General: He was unopposed in the general election.[1]
2004
Governor Mike Rounds (R) appointed Myren to South Dakota's Fifth Judicial Circuit in 2004. On September 26, 2013, he was appointed presiding judge, effective January 2014. In this function, he replaced retiring Judge Jack R. Von Wald.[4][5]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Scott P. Myren did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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Appointments
2021
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) appointed Scott P. Myren to the South Dakota Supreme Court on October 28, 2020. Myren joined the court in early January 2021 when Chief Justice David Gilbertson reached mandatory retirement at the age of 70 years old.[1][6] Myren was Noem's second nominee to the five-member supreme court.
At the time of the vacancy, state supreme court justices were appointed by the governor with help from a state judicial qualifications commission.
Noteworthy cases
Noteworthy cases may be selected due to their impact on legal precedent, substantial media attention, or overlaps with another area of editorial interest at Ballotpedia. To suggest cases we should cover here, email us.
State supreme court judicial selection in South Dakota
- See also: Judicial selection in South Dakota
The five justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court are appointed by the governor from a list of at least two names provided by the South Dakota Judicial Qualifications Commission.[7] The commission is made up of seven members: two circuit court judges, three lawyers, and two members of the public. The judges are elected by the judicial conference, the lawyers are chosen by the state bar association, and the members of the public are appointed by the governor.[8]
Newly appointed judges serve for at least three years, after which they must run in a yes-no retention election during a regularly scheduled general election. Subsequent terms last eight years.[9]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the court is chosen by peer vote and serves in that capacity for four years.[9]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- a resident of South Dakota;
- a voting resident within his or her respective district;
- licensed to practice law in the state; and
- under the age of 70.*[9][10][11]
Vacancies
If a judge retires before the end of his or her term, a judicial nominating commission recommends candidates to the governor, and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least three years before running in a yes-no retention election.[9]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 South Dakota State News, "Governor Noem To Appoint Judge Myren To South Dakota Supreme Court," October 28, 2020 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "appt" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "South Dakota Supreme Court: Justices," accessed January 6, 2021
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Current candidates for primary election - 6/3/2014," updated May 6, 2014, accessed May 8, 2014pg. 62
- ↑ South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "Fifth Circuit judges," accessed May 17, 2014
- ↑ AberdeenNews.com, "Presiding judge named," September 26, 2013
- ↑ Capital Journal, "Chief Justice Gilbertson to retire, by law, Jan. 5 2021," January 8, 2020
- ↑ South Dakota Secretary of State, "Judicial System," accessed April 15, 2025
- ↑ South Dakota Unified Judicial System, "Judicial Qualifications Commission," accessed April 15, 2025
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: South Dakota," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Under the South Dakota code, a supreme court justice who turns seventy while in office must be "automatically retired on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of January next after the general election at which members of the Legislature are elected."
- ↑ Justia US Law, "Section 16-1-4.1: Mandatory retirement of justices at age seventy—Conclusion of pending matters," accessed September 10, 2014
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - |
South Dakota Supreme Court District 5 2021-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
South Dakota 5th Judicial Circuit -2021 |
Succeeded by - |
Federal courts:
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of South Dakota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of South Dakota
State courts:
South Dakota Supreme Court • South Dakota Circuit Courts • South Dakota Magistrate Courts
State resources:
Courts in South Dakota • South Dakota judicial elections • Judicial selection in South Dakota
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