South Dakota Supreme Court Justice

Mark Salter ’90, left, joined Chief Justice David Gilbertson ’72 on the South Dakota Supreme Court when it opened session in August.
Photo by Loren Townsley, Argus Leader.

South Dakota’s newest Supreme Court justice began discerning a path to public service and the law while he was attending SDSU and pursuing majors in political science and journalism. Mark Salter ’90 was recently sworn in as the 51st Supreme Court justice since statehood, and he says the idea of public service began with his father, Darrell Salter ’65 M.Ed.

“My dad was a Navy veteran and later an English teacher and longtime school administrator whose example illustrated to me the importance of public service,” Salter said.

Add to that the strong influence of an undergraduate course in constitutional law taught by Professor Emeritus Bob Burns, and Salter was thinking about a career in law as he finished his junior year at SDSU. “Dr. Burns had a such a keen understanding of essential Constitutional principles, and I was hooked. The idea of playing a part, however small, in the resolution of disputes involving the Constitution was really exciting.”

After receiving his law degree, Salter, like his father, joined the U.S. Navy and served on active duty as a lawyer in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He and his wife, Sue ’89, returned to South Dakota after the birth of their first of four children in order to be closer to their families.

Salter practiced law with a Sioux Falls law firm for several years before returning to public service in 2004 when he joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“I enjoyed working at the firm and with the other lawyers there, but my inclination to return to public service was very strong,” Salter said. “My work at the U.S. Attorney’s Office focused almost exclusively on litigating appeals in federal appellate courts, and I saw firsthand the judicial virtues of patience, fairness and scholarship and how they enhance the resolution of disputes.”

Salter said he worked hard to put these virtues into practice when Gov. Dennis Daugaard appointed him to be a circuit court judge in 2013. “Regardless of whether I ever had a chance to be a judge or not, I have always considered judicial service to be a very special calling for lawyers,” Salter said.

Salter served on the circuit court bench for five years, hearing all types of civil and criminal cases. He also presided over the Minnehaha County Veteran’s Treatment Court and says in the midst of his instructions to the veteran participants, he found himself learning valuable lessons about service from them.

When Gov. Daugaard tapped Salter to fill a vacancy on the South Dakota Supreme Court in May, Salter says he was filled with a deep sense of gratitude and solemnity. “I’m very fortunate to have the chance to continue my judicial service as a member of the Supreme Court and to do the work that parties to disputes and the public entrust us to do.”

Salter officially took the bench in July when he was sworn in by Chief Justice David Gilberston ’72. Wearing his trademark bow tie, Salter was joined by his family along with the four other members of the Supreme Court, the governor, lt. governor, attorney general, judges, lawyers and friends. In his remarks, Salter described the importance of the rule of law and the role that judges play in its continued vitality, noting that judges must act as “stewards of a sound judicial system that yields just results.”

All part of serving the public.

Matt Schmidt