Governor Noem To Appoint Judge Myren To South Dakota Supreme Court
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem announced that she will appoint Scott P. Myren to the South Dakota Supreme Court. Myren, who has been a Fifth Circuit Judge since 2004 and the circuit’s presiding judge since 2013, will represent the Third Supreme Court District. He will be the 53rd justice in the Court’s history.
“Judge Myren is a highly-qualified, senior jurist who respects the separation of powers and the role of a judge to interpret the law as written,” said Governor Noem. “He will be an excellent addition to the South Dakota Supreme Court.”
Myren is a native of Mound City. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota in 1985 and graduated from Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, New Jersey in 1988. Following law school, Myren entered the private practice of law in Denver, Colorado. Myren returned to South Dakota to serve as the South Dakota Supreme Court’s permanent staff attorney in 1990.
In 1994, Myren was appointed by Governor Walter Dale Miller as an administrative law judge, then served as a Fifth Circuit Magistrate Judge from 1999-2003. Governor Mike Rounds appointed Myren as a circuit judge in 2004, and he was reelected without opposition in 2006 and 2014. Myren served in 2011 as president of the South Dakota Judges Association.
Myren will succeed Chief Justice David Gilbertson as a justice of the Supreme Court when Justice Gilbertson retires in early January 2021. The Court announced earlier this year that Justice Steven R. Jensen will succeed Gilbertson as chief justice at that time.
“I am humbled and honored by the confidence Governor Noem has placed in me with this appointment,” said Judge Myren. “No one will ever replace Chief Justice David Gilbertson. I will try my hardest every day to live up to his legacy.”
The state’s Third Supreme Court District encompasses Brown, Butte, Campbell, Clark, Codington, Corson, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Hamlin, Harding, Marshall, McPherson, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Walworth, and Ziebach counties.
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I know nothing about Judge Myren; is he conservative, a textualist?
I’ve been in front of him as an attorney for a while now and I couldn’t tell you what his political affiliation is. And that’s exactly how it should be. What I can tell you is that he follows exactly what the law says to a T, he gives sounds explanations and reasoning for his decisions, and he doesn’t put up with BS. All great qualities. He can be quite forward at times and doesn’t sugar coat. But at the same time, I would not view him as rude. He just says it like it is. Which I enjoy. Regardless of what his personal politics look like, he will be a great addition to the SDSC.