The 4th Judicial Circuit: Fewer Lawyers, Bigger Questions
by Roger Baron
On August 26, 2026, the UJS held public meetings in Rapid City, Sturgis, and Lemmon to discuss the proposed merger of the 4th and 7th Judicial Circuits. Issues related to the efficient allocation and distribution of judicial resources, as well as the practical ramifications of a merger, were the focal points of discussion. These discussions bring to the forefront an issue that has long plagued our State: the delivery of legal services in rural South Dakota.
Diminishing Active Bar Members
For this column, I manually counted the active South Dakota Bar members listed by city in the State Bar directories for 2017, 2018, 2021, 2024 and 2026. I counted the lawyers listed in the cities that are encompassed within the 4th Circuit. The tally does not necessarily reflect of the number lawyers actually practicing law in each city – but it reflects the number of lawyers who have paid “Active Status” dues to the South Dakota State Bar and have listed a business address in the designated city. The lists include judges and some other judicial personnel such as law clerks. Moreover, lawyers who reside outside of the circuit are known to travel for cases venued in other counties and circuits. The same counting methodology, however, was applied consistently to each city and each directory.
According to the 2026 State Bar Directory, there are 2,068 active members of the South Dakota Bar – and only 68 of them reside within the 4th Circuit. And, this is a substantial decrease from 2017, where there were 94 active State Bar members in the 4th Circuit – a decline of 26 members, or nearly 28%. Furthermore, the eight counties comprising the 4th Circuit encompass approximately 19,063 square miles— about 25% of South Dakota’s total 77,116 square miles.
South Dakota Bar Admissions
Since 2015, there has been a parallel development related to the admission of new attorneys in South Dakota, as dictated by the South Dakota Board of Bar Examiners and the South Dakota Supreme Court. In 2015, substantial (and controversial) rule changes amended the bar examination requirements for applicants seeking admission to practice law in South Dakota. These changes were unsuccessfully challenged in a 2018 hearing before the Supreme Court. The changes were challenged again via legislative efforts in 2022 (Diploma Privilege bill) and 2026 (Apprenticeship bill). Both efforts were defeated after the UJS actively opposed each proposal.
The following data, compiled by the Legislative Research Council, show the percentage of first-time USD Law School graduates who successfully passed the bar examination:
- 2015 (50%)
- 2016 (63%)
- 2017 (39%)
- 2018 (41%)
- 2019 (data not available)
- 2020 (52%)
- 2021 (71%)
- 2022 (53%)
South Dakota has long faced difficulties in providing legal services in rural areas. In support of her Apprenticeship Bill in 2026, Representative Mary Fitzgerald argued that the post-2015 bar examination system made the problem worse rather than better. Opponents disputed that proposition. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court itself previously recognized attorney recruitment and retention and service to rural and urban communities as concerns. The shortage of lawyers and legal services in rural areas is a real problem for our citizens. Whether diploma privilege, an apprenticeship pathway, the traditional bar examination, or some combination of approaches would solve it remains a matter of debate.
The 4th Circuit encompasses approximately one-quarter of the state’s area but contains only about 3% of its active South Dakota Bar members. The discussion over judicial resources and the proposed merger should also include discussion about the availability of lawyers to serve the people who use those courts.
Note: In regard to the preparation of this week’s column, the author would like to thank Attorney Sarah Baron Houy and Claudia Baron for their assistance and input.
Anyone desiring to communicate with the Author, may do so by sending an e-mail to the author at rogermbaron@gmail.com .
Maps and Table (shown here on three separate pages, with introductory language for each):
The 4th Judicial Circuit comprises approximately 25% of the total area of South Dakota.
Cities and Counties in the 4th and 7th Judicial Circuits
In five directory years, the number of active Bar members listed in the 4th Circuit fell from 94 to 68.
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About the author: Retired Law Professor Baron provides prompt summaries of new appellate court decisions to more than 330 lawyers and judges in South Dakota. This Column is designed to provide readers with similar summaries, in non-legalese language, of relevant legal issues — as well as occasional opinion or two.
(This column also appears in the Rapid City Post: The 4th Judicial Circuit: Fewer Lawyers, Bigger Questions – The Rapid City Post)