Every trial court in South Dakota belongs to a single state network, the Unified Judicial System. Its two trial levels share the Main Street courthouse here.

• Magistrate court holds misdemeanor trials and city ordinance cases (SDCL 16-12B-11). Magistrates also issue warrants, fix bond and handle first appearances (SDCL 16-12B-5, 16-12B-7, 16-12B-10). On charges capped at one year or $2,000, they may also accept guilty pleas and hand down the penalty (SDCL 16-12B-8).
• Circuit court takes felonies and youth cases. Clay is one of 14 counties in the First Judicial Circuit.

Felony cases begin before a magistrate, who sets the first bond. The case climbs to circuit court once a preliminary hearing finds enough evidence or a grand jury indicts.

Circuit and magistrate court both meet at 211 West Main Street, Vermillion, SD 57069. Offices tied to criminal cases:

• Clerk of Courts, Suite 300, 605-677-6756. Weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mailing address: PO Box 377, Vermillion, SD 57069.
• State's Attorney, Suite 204, 605-677-7107.
• Court Services (probation), Suite 101, 605-677-6485. The same office supervises Union County probation.

First Circuit court administration runs from 410 Walnut Street, Suite 201, Yankton, SD 57078, 605-668-3095. Federal charges are heard in Sioux Falls.

No. A ticket under any of those three towns' ordinances goes before the county's magistrate court at 211 West Main Street, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-6756.

City police give one example. Someone contesting a city parking ticket is given a magistrate court date and prepays about $40 in court fees to the Clerk of Courts. That money comes back if the ruling goes their way.

After an arrest, the law requires a prompt trip before the closest available magistrate, in person or over the jail's video hookup (SDCL 23A-4-1). Nobody pleads yet. Instead, the judge goes over these points (SDCL 23A-4-3):

• the accusation in the complaint
• that they can hire their own lawyer, or request an appointed one
• the conditions for staying out before trial
• that they have the right to stay silent
• whether a preliminary hearing applies, which is only for felonies

Bond gets set or reviewed at this hearing too. State law names no hour limit for it. The jail desk at 605-677-7117 knows when the next one is scheduled.

The State's Attorney brings misdemeanor charges before a magistrate. At arraignment the accused pleads. Denying the charge leads to a trial date. A guilty plea can lead to sentencing on the spot.

Two misdemeanor classes exist (SDCL 22-6-2):

• Class 1: jail of up to 12 months, a fine of up to $2,000, or both. First and second DUIs fall in this class.
• Class 2: a maximum of 30 days in jail, a $500 fine, or both.

The state's ticket chart sets totals for some charges, including fine and costs. Disorderly conduct comes to $132.50, and driving while suspended to $282.50. Judges often require DUI defendants to join the 24/7 Sobriety Program while out on bond. A 180-day speedy trial deadline applies, counted from that first appearance; defense-requested delays don't count (SDCL 23A-44-5.1).

1. Opening hearing in magistrate court, where bond is fixed (SDCL 23A-43-2).
2. Preliminary hearing. A judge tests the evidence. Deadline: 15 days after the first appearance if jailed, 45 if released, unless waived (SDCL 23A-4-3).
3. Formal charge. An information from the State's Attorney is the norm. Grand juries are rarer; one sits only when a circuit judge asks for one, with six to ten jurors (SDCL 23A-5-1).
4. Arraignment, where a circuit judge reads the charge aloud and asks for a plea.
5. Trial or plea bargain, followed by sentencing.

Felonies come in nine classes. Class A is the most serious and Class 6 the least (SDCL 22-6-1). Maximums: two years plus $4,000 for Class 6, and five years for Class 5. Probation is the presumed sentence for both of those classes unless the judge finds a significant danger to the public (SDCL 22-6-11).

Yes. More serious accusations bring tighter handling from the first day:

• Judge-only bond. The clerk's chart can't be used for murder, first-degree manslaughter or kidnapping.
• Family violence. No one held for domestic assault or a broken protection order goes free until a judge is told (SDCL 25-10-40). The judge may order the person to stay away, move out, skip alcohol and drugs, or get counseling (SDCL 25-10-41).
• Silence toward the victim. Until the first appearance, the accused may send no word, by any route, to the alleged victim's household (SDCL 25-10-43).
• Long terms. Class 2 can bring 25 years, and Classes A, B and C reach life in prison.
• Victim input. Bail, plea bargain and sentencing hearings must include a chance for victims to speak.

Charges here are brought by the State's Attorney's Office, Suite 204, 211 West Main Street, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-7107.

Tell the judge at the first hearing if hiring a lawyer isn't affordable (SDCL 23A-40-6). Each county must provide defense for those without means, whether through a public defender office, contract attorneys or court appointments, and the county pays (SDCL 23A-40-7, 23A-40-8). Repayment may be ordered later (SDCL 23A-40-10).

Questions about an appointment go to the Clerk of Courts at 605-677-6756.

• Free: upcoming hearings come up on Find a Court Date. Type a name or case number. It also shows a full day's county calendar.
• $20 a search: the PARS record search charges even when it finds nothing.
• At the courthouse: public terminals display open records.
• Phone: the Clerk of Courts, 605-677-6756.

Have the spelling of the legal name and the birth date ready before calling. Juvenile files and sealed cases are kept private.

Deputies and Vermillion police serve warrants here. Check the Sheriff's active warrants list and warrants page, then verify by calling 605-677-7100, because the list changes often. State-level sources: the Sex Offender Registry, plus the DOC's Most Wanted list of escapees. Warrant status by case also appears on UJS ePayments. A lawyer should guide any surrender, made at the jail, 1250 Stanford Street, Vermillion, SD 57069. Case questions go to the Clerk of Courts, 211 West Main Street, Suite 300, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-6756.

The Southern Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota handles them. Its clerk works in Room 128, 400 South Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, 605-330-6600.

• Jail or release is settled at the detention hearing, which happens the moment the defendant first appears (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal defendants are kept and transported by the U.S. Marshals, 400 South Phillips Avenue, Room 216, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, 605-330-4351.
• Federal prosecutors: U.S. Attorney's Office, PO Box 2638, Sioux Falls, SD 57101, 605-330-4400.
• Post-sentence, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

The state case moves ahead as normal. ICE's interest shows up at the moment of release. In order:

1. Form I-247A, the detainer, is filed with the jail by immigration officers.
2. It asks for a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so agents can arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Custody then shifts to ICE. ICE's St. Paul Field Office, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600, takes over South Dakota cases.
4. Track the person on the ICE Online Detainee Locator.
5. SB 7 (SL 2025, ch 100) keeps local governments from punishing workers who tell federal officers about a person's immigration status.

Felony prison time is the job of the South Dakota Department of Corrections. Misdemeanor sentences, plus as much as a year for a low-level (Class 5 or 6) felony, may be spent in the county jail (SDCL 22-6-1.1).

• Our South Dakota prisons page profiles each facility.
• For state prisoners, run a name or DOC ID through the DOC offender locator.
• Parole belongs to the DOC, while probation belongs to Court Services, 605-677-6485.

Circuit court is where accused children, age 10 and up, have their cases heard (SDCL 26-8C-2). Most go home to family after an arrest. Detention is the intake officer's decision, limited to reasons listed in the statute (SDCL 26-8C-3).

• Minnehaha County Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 4200 South West Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD 57105, 605-367-4313, holds detained youths from here.
• Adult prosecution of a youth needs a judge's order after a transfer hearing (SDCL 26-11-4).
• Youth probation is run by Court Services at 605-677-6485.

Marsy's Law sits in the state Constitution (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 29). Victims who ask get timely notice of each court date and may attend. Judges must let them speak before deciding on bail, a plea bargain or a sentence. Restitution in full is guaranteed, and so is a warning if the defendant gets out or runs off.

• Sign up for no-cost release notices on SAVIN or at 844-299-4608 during weekday hours.
• The State's Attorney, 605-677-7107, can answer case questions.