Steven Zinter

Justice Zinter, of Pierre, was appointed to the Supreme Court on April 2, 2002 by former Governor William J. Janklow. He received his B.S. degree from the University of South Dakota and his Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota School of Law. Upon graduation from law school, Justice Zinter practiced law as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of South Dakota. From 1978 to 1986 he was engaged in the private practice of law. Justice Zinter also served as the Hughes County State’s Attorney. He was appointed as a Circuit Judge in 1987 and served in that capacity until 1997. In 1997 he was appointed Presiding Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit and served in that capacity until his appointment to the Supreme Court to represent the Third Supreme Court District, which includes Beadle, Bennett, Brookings, Brule, Buffalo, Fall River, Haakon, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lyman, Mellette, Miner, Moody, Sanborn, Oglala Lakota, Stanley, Sully, Todd and Tripp counties. Justice Zinter was retained by the voters in 2014. Justice Zinter is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar Association, and the South Dakota Judges Association. He was a past President of the South Dakota Judges Association and a past trustee of the Harry S. Truman Foundation along with a number of other boards and commissions. Justice Zinter and his wife have two children and three grandchildren.

South Dakota

Justice

South Dakota Supreme Court

2002 - Current

Judge

South Dakota Circuit Court

1987 - 2002

Presiding Judge 1997-2002

Attorney

Private Practice

1978 - 1986

also served as the Hughes County State’s Attorney

Assistant Attorney General

State of South Dakota

1978

University of South Dakota

B.S.

University of South Dakota School of Law

J.D.

South Dakota State Bar

Member

Current

American Bar Association, and the South Dakota Judges Association

Member

Current