(1) “Court record” includes any document, information, or other thing that is collected, received or maintained by a clerk of court in connection with a judicial proceeding. “Court record” does not include other records maintained by the public official who also serves as clerk of court or information gathered, maintained or stored by a governmental agency or other entity to which the court has access but which is not part of the court record as defined in this section.

(2) Information in a court record “in electronic form” includes information that exists as: (a) electronic representations of text or graphic documents; (b) an electronic image, including a video image, of a document, exhibit or other thing; or (c) data in the fields or files of an electronic database.

Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 15-15A-3

  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

(3) “Public access” means that the public may inspect and obtain a copy of the information in a court record unless otherwise prohibited by statute, court rule or a decision by a court of competent jurisdiction. The public may have access to inspect information in a court file upon payment of applicable fees.

(4) “Remote access” means the ability to electronically search, inspect, or copy information in a court record without the need to physically visit the court facility where the court record is maintained.

Source: SL 2004, ch 333 (Supreme Court Rule 04-06), eff. July 1, 2004; SL 2005, ch 291 (Supreme Court Rule 05-05), eff. Feb. 25, 2005.