Title 16, COURTS AND JUDICIARY

Any person eighty years of age or older may request to be excused from jury duty. The judge shall give substantial weight to the person's request to be relieved from jury duty, balancing the request with the need to impanel a jury. Source: SL 2009, ch 104 , § 1.

The parent of a child expected to be born during, or immediately prior to, the scheduled jury duty or a mother breastfeeding a baby younger than one year may submit a written request for an exemption from jury duty to the clerk of court within ten days of receiving the summons fo…

Promptly upon completion of the master juror list, and in any event before October first in each year, the clerk of courts shall sign and file the list. The list shall be kept on file for four years. The clerk of courts shall then prepare separate tickets for each person named in…

The clerk of courts shall ascertain whether each of the persons on the master juror list has the qualifications of a juror as provided by § 16-13-10 from the information available from records of the county or other readily available sources, or has served as a juror within two y…

For the purposes of this chapter, the jury selection process determined by § 16-13-9.2 shall be known as the "random selection process." Source: SL 1973, ch 135 , § 8.

The Supreme Court may by rule make provisions to see that this chapter is enforced properly in every county within the state. Source: SL 1973, ch 135 , § 9; SL 1978, ch 178 , § 574.

The presiding judge of each circuit shall administer and enforce the jury selection provisions of this chapter. Such judge may vary the terms of the random selection process to meet local conditions in any county or jury district in the circuit if such changes are consistent with…

If any county within a circuit has a population of less than five thousand, the presiding circuit court judge may create a jury district by joining that county with one or more other counties within the circuit until the total population of the counties exceeds ten thousand. Each…

If the master list proves to be inadequate to provide such panels as may be ordered, the court may order that additional names be placed on the master list. The additional selections shall substantially conform to the apportionment and manner of selection of the original list, as…

The minimum number of names to be placed on the master jury list for each county shall be designated by order of the presiding judge of the circuit court, or a judge of the circuit designated by him, to be made each year before September first. Source: SL 1935, ch 85 , § 2; SDC 1…

The grand jury shall be summoned in the same manner as provided for summoning petit juries. Source: SL 1867-8, ch 19 , § 5; PolC 1877, ch 19, § 6; SL 1885, ch 62 , § 1; CL 1887, § 445; SL 1891, ch 73 , § 1; RPolC 1903, § 710; RC 1919, § 5285; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 32.1009; SL 1…

A grand jury shall not be drawn, summoned, or required to attend at the sitting of any circuit court unless the judge thereof shall so direct by written order under his hand filed with the clerk of courts. Source: SL 1895, ch 64 , § 7; SL 1899, ch 74 ; RPolC 1903, § 710; RCCrimP …

The presiding judge of each circuit, or a judge of the circuit court designated by the presiding judge, shall issue an order prior to October first of each year to the clerk of courts that a petit jury for the county or jury district be selected. The order shall specify the total…

Within fifteen days from the receipt of the order provided in § 16-13-22 , but no later than the first day of November, the clerk of courts shall select the jury panels. Any such officer who is not disqualified may act by deputy. Source: SL 1935, ch 85 , § 10; SL 1937, ch 91 ; SD…

The clerk of courts shall use an electronic selection system to fill the jury panels with names from the master jury list. The clerk of courts shall sign the list to indicate that the selection was fairly performed to the best of the clerk's knowledge. Source: SL 1935, ch 85 , § …

If any person whose name has been drawn has served as a juror in any state court of record in the county since the verification and drawing of the master jury list, such name shall be disregarded and another drawn in its place. A person has served as a juror if he has been summon…

If the calling of a grand jury has been directed the first names drawn to the required number, shall constitute the grand jury. Source: SL 1935, ch 85 , § 11; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 32.1011.

No irregularity or omission upon the part of the state court administrator's office or of any officer, in the performance of any duty imposed by this chapter, serves to invalidate the panel of grand or petit jurors selected unless it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of…

All records, lists, papers, tickets, and other materials used in all stages of the jury selection process shall be preserved in the custody of the clerk of courts for four years or for such longer period as may be required by the court and shall, upon court order, be available fo…

Neglect of any officer to perform any duty imposed by this chapter, or the corrupt malfeasance of any such duty shall be deemed a contempt of the circuit court, and may be punished as such in the discretion of the court. Source: SL 1935, ch 85 , § 13; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 32.1…

Every person authorized by law to assist at the drawing of any jurors to attend any court, who intentionally puts or consents to putting upon any list of jurors, as having been drawn, any name which shall not have been drawn for that purpose in the manner prescribed by law; or wh…

Unless processed electronically, after the panel or panels of jurors have been drawn, the clerk of courts shall mail to each juror, at least sixty days prior to the time the juror is to serve, a notice that such person has been drawn as a juror. The notice shall state the time an…

If any juror residing in the county shall fail, neglect, or refuse to sign the acceptance of service provided in § 16-13-34 and to mail such acceptance to the clerk of courts within fifteen days after service of the notice on said juror, the notice shall be served on such juror b…

The presiding judge of each circuit, or a judge of the circuit designated by him, shall prescribe the manner in which the jury panels are to be utilized for the trial of cases in the counties of the circuit and how they shall be summoned. Source: SL 1890, ch 78 , § 21; RProbC 190…

The petit jury panels selected pursuant to § 16-13-27 shall be utilized by the magistrate court as prescribed by the presiding judge of the circuit. Source: SL 1972, ch 124 ; SL 1982, ch 172 , § 25.

The magistrate court shall have the same power to compel the attendance of jurors and witnesses as has the circuit court and shall be governed by the same rules in impaneling a jury. Source: SL 1890, ch 78 , § 21; RProbC 1903, § 14; RC 1919, § 5303; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 32.101…

For the purposes of this chapter, the jury selection list shall be prepared using electronic means by the state court administrator's office and shall consist of the current voter registration list obtained from the secretary of state, supplemented by the list of persons eighteen…

Each grand and petit juror summoned shall appear before the court on the day and at the hour specified in the summons and shall not depart without leave of court. Source: SL 1867-8, ch 19 , § 10; PolC 1877, ch 19, § 11; CL 1887, § 445; RPolC 1903, § 720; RC 1919, § 5296; SDC 1939…

No person shall discharge any employee or suspend any employee from his employment for serving as a juror in any court in the State of South Dakota. Any person violating this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 1974, ch 324 , § 1; SL 1979, ch 150 , § 2.

Any employee serving as provided in § 16-13-41.1 shall retain and be entitled to the same job status, pay, and seniority as he had prior to performing jury duty. Such temporary leave of absence while performing jury duty may be with or without pay within the discretion of the emp…

If any person summoned as grand and petit juror does not appear before the court, or if for any cause the panel of grand or petit jurors is not complete, or if no jury is drawn as provided by § 16-13-27 , the court shall order the clerk of courts to summon without delay persons h…

Whenever the panel of petit jurors shall be exhausted by the challenges of either party in any action, the judge of the court shall order the sheriff, deputy sheriff, or coroner to summon, without delay, a sufficient number of persons possessing the qualifications of jurors to co…

No person shall make application to any sheriff or deputy sheriff in this state to summon either himself or any other designated person to serve as a juror in any court. Any sheriff or deputy sheriff to whom an application is made to summon a designated person to serve as a juror…

If any person summoned to appear as a grand juror or petit juror fails, refuses, or neglects to appear, or willfully fails to complete and return the jury questionnaire, or if having appeared, fails, without good case, to attend as required by the court, such person is guilty of …

Each juror for each day's attendance upon the circuit court or the magistrate court shall receive fifty dollars, and mileage at such rate as may be established pursuant to § 3-9-1 for each mile actually and necessarily traveled, to be paid by the county. However, any juror called…

Jurors' expenses and fees for cases involving violations of municipal charter, ordinance, or bylaw shall be paid by the city treasurer at the close of the trial upon warrants issued by the city auditor. Source: SL 1907, ch 191 , § 24; SL 1909, ch 176 , § 8; SL 1911, ch 196 , § 7;…

Any juror having compensation or mileage or both due and owing him may receive payment for it at the end of every week. Source: SL 1974, ch 157 , § 5.

Every officer to whose charge any jury is committed by any court or magistrate, who negligently or intentionally permits them or any one of them: (1) To receive any communication from any person; (2) To make any communication to any person; (3) To obtain or receive any book or pa…

For the purposes of this chapter, the master juror list shall be that list of names randomly selected by the state court administrator's office from the jury selection list, from which the various grand and petit jury panels shall be drawn. Source: SL 1972, ch 125 , § 5 (3); SL 1…

The state court administrator's office shall choose, at random, a number not less than one nor more than the total number of jurors to be placed on the master jury list. Using that random number, the state court administrator's office shall select from the jury selection list for…