Justice Mark E. Salter

Justice Mark E. Salter was appointed to the South Dakota Supreme Court by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and sworn in on July 9, 2018. Justice Salter represents the Supreme Court Second District, which consists of Minnehaha County. 

Justice Salter received a bachelor of science degree from South Dakota State University in 1990 and his juris doctor from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1993. After clerking for a Minnesota state district court, he served on active duty in the United States Navy until 1997 and later served in the United States Naval Reserve. Justice Salter practiced law with the Sioux Falls firm of Cutler & Donahoe, where he became a partner before leaving in 2004 to return to public service with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota. As an assistant United States attorney, Justice Salter focused on appellate practice and became the chief of the office’s appellate division in 2009. He was appointed as a circuit court judge by Gov. Dennis Daugaard and served in the Second Judicial Circuit from 2013 until his appointment to the Supreme Court. He served as the presiding judge of the Minnehaha County Veterans Court from its inception in 2016 until 2018. 

Justice Salter serves as an adjunct professor at the University of South Dakota School of Law, where he has taught Advanced Criminal Procedure and continues to teach Advanced Appellate Advocacy.