Judicial Qualifications Commission

State of South Dakota

500 East Capitol Avenue

Pierre, SD  57101

Telephone 605-773-2099

Fax 605-773-8437

Mark Haigh, Chair                                                                  Lori Grode, Executive Assistant

Rebecca Porter, Vice Chair                                                     Email: Lori.Grode@ujs.state.sd.us

Hon. Robert Gusinsky, Secretary

Timothy Engel

Robert Morris

Rory King

Hon. Cheryle Gering

December 11, 2023

Notice of Judicial Vacancies

TO: All Active Members of the State Bar of South Dakota

FROM: Robert Gusinsky, Secretary, Judicial Qualifications Commission

The retirement of the Hon. Jane Pfeifle (Position E) and Hon. Craig Pfeifle (Position F) will create vacancies for two Circuit Court Judge positions in the Seventh Judicial Circuit. The duty stations for these positions shall be located in Rapid City, SD. As of July 1, 2023, the salary for a circuit court judge position in South Dakota is $174,448.36. In addition, circuit court judges and their dependents are eligible to participate in the State of South Dakota’s health insurance plan; circuit court judges participate in the State’s defined benefit retirement plan. The Judicial Qualifications Commission is now taking applications for both these positions.

All lawyers and judges interested in applying should obtain the application form at http://ujs.sd.gov/, or contact Lori Grode at the State Court Administrator’s Office. The application must be returned to the Administrator’s Office and must be postmarked no later than 5:00 PM on February 9, 2024. Applicants should make sure the application submitted is the 2018 revision. Unless otherwise indicated by the applicant, the Commission will consider all applications submitted to be applications for both Position E and Position F.

You may also obtain the application form by writing or telephoning:

Lori Grode

State Court Administrator’s Office

500 East Capitol Avenue

Pierre, SD 57501

Telephone: 605-773-3474

Email: lori.grode@ujs.state.sd.us

Or, visit http://ujs.sd.gov/ for current job openings.

The Seventh Circuit is comprised of the following counties: Pennington, Custer, Fall River and Oglala Lakota.