Law Library

The Minnehaha County Law Library is located on the 4th Floor of the Minnehaha County Courthouse at 425 N. Dakota Avenue, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The library is open to the public during regular court business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays.

You can find a catalog of library holdings and resources on the link at the bottom of this page called "Law Library Inventory." Please note, the law library is a reference library only - books and other materials may not leave the building. A public copy machine is available in the law library.

The library is also equipped with 4 public computers, Westlaw access, and one of the computers is equipped for use as a deaf video relay terminal. Two circuit court law clerks do have offices in the library, but they are not law librarians. Because they are court employees working for the judges, they cannot give legal advice. If you need to contact someone about the law library, please call 2nd Circuit Court Administration at 605-367-5920, or e-mail ujs2nd.web@ujs.state.sd.us.

The Law Library in the Lincoln County Courthouse is smaller and more limited, but does include a full set of state statutes, a full-access Westlaw computer terminal, and some other materials. The library is now located on the 2nd Floor adjacent to Lincoln Courtroom 2B. The most recent volumes of the Northwest Reporter are located in the judge's chambers on the 3rd Floor. All these materials are accessible to the public, but you may need to ask the Clerk's office staff for access.

Many legal and court-related reference materials are available at the public libraries in both Canton and Sioux Falls just a short walk from the courthouses in both cities. Many resources are also available on-line. You might find these links helpful:

Law Library Inventory
 

Siouxland Libraries - This link will take you to the City library network for the Sioux Falls area. The libraries offer a wide array of legal reference materials. Their hours and locations are much more extensive than the law libraries in the two courthouses.

University of South Dakota Law Library - the most extensive law library in the state is the McKusick Law Library associated with the University of South Dakota School of Law in Vermillion.

Canton Public Library - The Canton Public Library is located one block to the north of the Lincoln County Courthouse in downtown Canton.

South Dakota Statutes (Codified Laws) - This site is maintained by the Legislative Research Council, a department of the South Dakota State Legislature.

www.findlaw.com - Findlaw collects a huge array of statutes, opinions, court directories, and other materials for all 50 states and the federal courts.

LawForum.net - Provides general information and links to legal and government related resources for South Dakota (and other states).