David Gilbertson is chief justice

Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 of the South Dakota Supreme Court

South Dakota Supreme Court

The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. It is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by governor and selected from five different appointment districts. Justices face a nonpolitical retention election three years after appointment...

.

Gilbertson attended South Dakota State University

South Dakota State University

South Dakota State University is the largest university in the U.S. state of South Dakota, located in Brookings. A public land-grant university and sun grant college, founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act, SDSU offers programs of study required by, or harmonious to, this Act...

, graduating in 1972. He then graduated from the University of South Dakota's

University of South Dakota

The University of South Dakota ', the state’s oldest university, was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, USD is home to South Dakota's only medical school and law school. USD is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and its current...

 School of Law in 1975. Gilbertson established a private practice in Sisseton, South Dakota

Sisseton, South Dakota

Sisseton is a city on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation in Roberts County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,470 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Roberts County. Sisseton is home to a number of attractions including the Nicollett Tower and is near the "Song to the...

 and simultaneously served as Roberts County

Roberts County, South Dakota

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,016 people, 3,683 households, and 2,618 families residing in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile . There were 4,734 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...

 Deputy State's Attorney

State's Attorney

In the United States, the State's Attorney is, most commonly, an elected official who represents the State in criminal prosecutions and is often the chief law enforcement officer of their respective county, circuit...

 and City Attorney for Sisseton. In 1986 Governor Bill Janklow

Bill Janklow

William John "Bill" Janklow served as the 25th Attorney General of South Dakota, before being elected as South Dakota's 27th and 30th Governor, as well as to the United States House of Representatives where he served for a little more than a year. A Republican, Janklow's career has continued as a...

 appointed him circuit judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 of the Fifth Judicial Circuit. Janklow appointed Gilbertson an Associate Justice

Associate Justice

Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...

 of the South Dakota Supreme Court April 3, 1995. When Chief Justice Robert A. Miller

Robert A. Miller

Robert Arthur Miller is a former chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court.-Biography:He was born in 1939. Miller attended the University of South Dakota, earning both his Bachelor of Science and his Juris Doctor there. He served as Haakon County State's Attorney, Presiding Judge of the 6th...

retired in 2001, Gilbertson was elected chief justice of the court. In 2009 Gilbertson was reelected to his third 4-year term as chief justice.