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Legal Research Resources for USD Students (Non-Law): Court Information and Cases from South Dakota and other States

This guide is intended for academic research in legal resources by University of South Dakota graduate and undergraduate students from colleges and schools other than the School of Law. The information in this guide is not intended as legal advice.

South Dakota Court Information and Case Law

For cases after December 31, 1996, the South Dakota Supreme Court has adopted a public domain case citation format. The public domain citation comes first, followed by the West Reporter citation, if available:

Kolda v. City of Yankton, 2014 S.D. 60, 852 N.W.2d 425.

Determining Whether A Case is Still "Good Law"

When a case has been reversed or overruled, it is considered "bad law"  and should not be cited as precedent. Use "Shepard's Citations" in the LexisNexis Academic Universe database to determine whether a case remains "good law." Select Legal and click on "Shepard's Citations."  Type in the case citation. Shepard's will list other cases that have cited the case, as well as the history of the case within the court system.

For more information about updating legal resources in general and using Shepard's Citations in particular, please refer to the American Association of Law Libraries' "Public Law Toolkit - Updating."

Court Information and Case Law from Other States

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