List of prominent alumni and faculty of the University of South Dakota School of Law.
James W. Abbott | J.D. 1974 | President of the University of South Dakota 1997–present. |
Harvey Jewett | J.D. 1973 | President of South Dakota Board of Regents |
Royal Johnson | L.L.B. 1906 | 8th Attorney General of South Dakota |
Clarence C. Caldwell | L.L.B. 1906 | 9th Attorney General of South Dakota. |
Buell F. Jones | L.L.B. | 11th Attorney General of South Dakota. |
Merrel Sharpe | L.L.B. 1914 | 12th Attorney General of South Dakota. |
D. Walter Conway | L.L.B. | 13th Attorney General of South Dakota. |
George Mickelson | L.L.B. 1927 | 16th Attorney General of South Dakota. |
Sigurd Anderson | L.L.B. 1937 | 17th Attorney General of South Dakota. |
Parnell J. Donahue | L.L.B. | 20th Attorney General of South Dakota. |
Albert C. Miller | L.L.B. | 21st Attorney General of South Dakota. |
Frank Farrar | L.L.B. 1953 | 22nd Attorney General of South Dakota. |
Gordon Mydland | L.L.B. 1948 | 23rd Attorney General of South Dakota. |
Kermit Sande | J.D. 1968 | 24th Attorney General of South Dakota. |
William Janklow | J.D. 1966 | 25th Attorney General of South Dakota and petitioner in South Dakota v. Opperman and Reeves, Inc. v. Stake. |
Mark V. Meierhenry | J.D. 1970 | 26th Attorney General of South Dakota and petitioner in Solem v. Helm and Solem v. Bartlett. |
Roger Tellinghuisen | J.D. 1978 | 27th Attorney General of South Dakota and petitioner in South Dakota v. Dole. |
Mark Barnett | J.D. 1978 | 28th Attorney General of South Dakota and petitioner in South Dakota v. Bourland. |
Larry Long | J.D. 1972 | 29th Attorney General of South Dakota, Judge of 2nd Circuit Court of South Dakota. |
Marty Jackley | J.D. 1995 | current 30th Attorney General of South Dakota and petitioner in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. |
Roswell Bottum | L.L.B. 1924 | chief counsel to Reconstruction Finance Corporation |
Joe Robbie | L.L.B. 1946 | founder-owner of the Miami Dolphins, 1966-1990. |
Frank Farrar | L.L.B. 1953 | founder, owner, and chairman of First Savings Bank. |
Mike Myers | J.D. 1967 | CEO of Mayo Clinic and board director of Minnesota Blue Cross Blue Shield |
Harvey C. Jewett IV | J.D. 1973 | CEO of Super 8 Motels and heir Jewett fortune. |
John Porter | J.D. 1974 | CEO of Avera Health. |
Steve T. Kirby | J.D. 1975 | co-founder of Bluestem Capital. |
Ross Dupper | J.D. 1982 | President & CEO of Porsche North America, Inc. |
John T. Grigsby | L.L.B 1903 | Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota and member of the prominent Kingsbury family. |
Leslie Jensen | L.L.B. 1921 | 15th Governor of South Dakota |
Merrell Q. Sharpe | L.L.B. 1914 | 17th Governor of South Dakota. |
George T. Mickelson | L.L.B. 1927 | 18th Governor of South Dakota and 1952 U.S. Presidential Candidate |
Joseph H. Bottum | L.L.B. 1927 | 27th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, and presiding Judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of South Dakota. |
Lem Overpeck | L.L.B. 1936 | Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota. |
Sigurd Anderson | L.L.B. 1937 | 19th Governor of South Dakota. |
Frank L. Farrar | L.L.B. 1953 | 24th Governor of South Dakota. |
George S. Mickelson | J.D. 1965 | 28th Governor of South Dakota. |
William J. Janklow | J.D. 1966 | 27th and 30th Governor of South Dakota. |
Steve Kirby | J.D. 1975 | Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota. |
Matt Michels | J.D. 1985 | current Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, 2011–present. |
Charles R. Hayes | L.L.B. | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Charles R. Hanson | L.L.B. | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
James M. Doyle | L.L.B. | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Fred R. Winans | L.L.B. | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Jon Fosheim | L.L.B. 1943 | Chief Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Frank Biegelmeier | L.L.B. 1927 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Alex Rentto | L.L.B. 1933 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Francis G. Dunn | L.L.B. 1937 | Chief Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Fred J. Homeyer | L.L.B. 1942 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Donald J. Porter | L.L.B. 1943 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
George W. Wuest | L.L.B. 1949 | Chief Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Robert E. Morgan | L.L.B. 1950 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Oren P. Coler | L.L.B. 1952 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Frank Henderson | L.L.B. 1952 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Boyd Leedom | L.L.B. 1955 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Roger L. Wollman | J.D. 1962 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Richard W. Sabers | J.D. 1963 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Robert A. Miller | J.D. 1963 | Chief Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Laurence J. Zastrow | J.D. 1970 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
John K. Konenkamp | J.D. 1974 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Steven L. Zinter | J.D. 1975 | current Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
David Gilbertson | J.D. 1975 | current Chief Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Glen A. Severson | J.D. 1975 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Lori S. Wilbur | J.D. 1977 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Judith Meierhenry | J.D. 1977 | Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Daryl Hecht | J.D. 1977 | current Justice, Iowa Supreme Court. |
Steven R. Jensen | J.D. 1988 | current Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Mark Salter | J.D. 1993 | current Justice, South Dakota Supreme Court. |
Leo P. Flynn | L.L.B. 1934 | 27th U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota. |
Clinton G. Richards | L.L.B. 1928 | 28th U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota. |
Harold C. Doyle | L.L.B. 1951 | 29th U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota. |
William F. Clayton | L.L.B. 1951 | 30th U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota. |
David V. Vrooman | L.L.B. 1956 | 31st U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota. |
Robert D. Hiaring | J.D. 1968 | 32nd U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota |
Jeff Viken | J.D. 1977 | 33rd U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota. |
Philip N. Hogen | J.D. 1970 | 34th U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota, Commissioner of National Indian Gaming Commission. |
Ted McBride | J.D. 1978 | 37th U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota |
James E. McMahon | J.D. 1977 | 38th U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota. |
Marty Jackley | J.D. 1995 | 39th U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota. |
Randy Seiler | J.D. 1980 | 41st U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota. |
Ron A. Parsons Jr. | J.D. 1997 | current 42nd U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota 2018–present. |
George Theodore Mickelson | L.L.B. 1927 | Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. |
Fred Joseph Nichol | L.L.B. 1936 | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court of for the District of South Dakota |
Donald J. Porter | L.L.B. 1943 | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. |
Andrew Wendell Bogue | L.L.B. 1947 | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota |
John Bailey Jones | L.L.B. 1953 | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. |
Richard Battey | L.L.B. 1953 | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, presiding judge of 'Sue' Dinosaur Case. |
Lawrence Leroy Piersol | J.D. 1965 | Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. |
Jeffrey Lynn Viken | J.D. 1977 | current Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. 2013–present. |
Daneta Wollmann | J.D. 2003 | current Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. 2018–present. |
Roger Leland Wollman | J.D. 1962 | Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit |
William Williamson | L.L.B. 1905 | 22nd U.S. Representative from South Dakota. |
Royal Cleaves Johnson | L.L.B. 1906 | 19th U.S. Representative from South Dakota, and highly decorated WWI veteran while he was a member of Congress. |
Ellis Yarnal Berry | L.L.B. 1927 | 28th U.S. Representative from South Dakota. |
Harold Lovre | L.L.B. 1927 | 27th U.S. Representative from South Dakota. |
Frank E. Denholm | L.L.B. 1959 | 31st U.S. Representative from South Dakota. |
Bill Janklow | J.D. 1966 | 39th U.S. Representative from South Dakota. |
James Abourezk | J.D. 1966 | 32nd U.S. Representative, author of the Indian Child Welfare Act, and first Lebanese-American member of Congress. |
Tim Johnson | J.D. 1975 | U.S. Representative from South Dakota. |
Diane Kroupa | J.D. 1981 | Judge, United States Tax Court and Chief Judge, Minnesota Tax Court |
Joseph H. Bottum | L.L.B. 1927 | 19th U.S. Senator from South Dakota |
James Abourezk | J.D. 1966 | 21st U.S. Senator from South Dakota and first Arab-American member of Congress. |
Tim Johnson | J.D. 1975 | 25th U.S. Senator from South Dakota. |
Royal C. Johnson | L.L.B. 1906 | U.S. Lieutenant, Distinguished Service Cross recipient and Croix de Guerre with gold star from the Republic of France. |
Leslie Jensen | L.L.B. 1921 | U.S. Colonel in Pacific Theater of WWII |
George E. "Bud" Day | L.L.B. 1949 | U.S. Colonel, Medal of Honor recipient, most highly decorated military officer since Douglas MacArthur, and POW cell-mate with John McCain |
Gregory J. Stoltenburg | J.D. 1995 | U.S. Lt. Colonel and current Presiding Judge of the Third Circuit Court of South Dakota, 2015–present. |
South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the second oldest continually operating university in the state, trailing the University of South Dakota which was founded in 1862. The university is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, which governs the state's six public universities and two special schools.
William John Janklow was an American lawyer and politician and member of the Republican Party who holds the record for the longest tenure as Governor of South Dakota: sixteen years in office. Janklow had the third-longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,851 days.
The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name Sicangu Oyate translates as the "Burnt Thigh Nation", also known by the French term, the Brulé Sioux.
Mercer University School of Law is the law school of Mercer University. Founded in 1873, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States; the first law school accredited by the bar in Georgia, and the second oldest of Mercer's 12 colleges and schools. The School of Law has approximately 440 students and is located in Macon, Georgia on its own campus one mile (1.6 km) from Mercer's main campus. The law school building, one of Macon's most recognizable sites, is a three-story partial replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia and is located on Coleman Hill overlooking downtown Macon. According to Mercer's official 2020 ABA-required disclosures, 72% of the Class of 2020 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school in the state of South Dakota. Established in 1901, by U.S. Ambassador Bartlett Tripp and U.S. Senator Thomas Sterling. The law school is home to approximately 168 students and has more than 3,000 alumni. With 168 J.D. candidates, it is currently the second-smallest law school and smallest public law school student population among the American Bar Association accredited law schools.
Roger Leland Wollman is a senior United States Circuit Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is the older brother of Harvey Wollman, former Governor of South Dakota.
Karen Elizabeth Schreier is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota and was the 36th United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota.
Roberto Antonio Lange is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Dakota since June 26, 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. Attorney General Marty Jackley issued a statement critical of the ruling but said that the state would comply and recognize same-sex marriages. Previously, South Dakota had restricted marriage to the "union of a man and a woman" both by statute and in its State Constitution.
Frank Pommersheim is an American professor, author, and poet specializing in the field of American Indian law. Pommersheim is serving on several tribal appellate courts and serves as the Chief Justice for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court of Appeals and the Rosebud Sioux Supreme Court and is also notable for his involvement in The Camden 28.
Randolph John Seiler was an American attorney and veteran serving as the chair of the Democratic Party of South Dakota from 2019-2023. He served as the 41st United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota from 2015 until his retirement in 2017. Seiler was previously the Deputy United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota.
Ronald A. Parsons Jr. is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota from 2018 to 2021.