One state court system runs everything, with a lower level and an upper level. In this county both sit under the same Redfield roof.

• Magistrate court is the lower level. Misdemeanors and city ordinance tickets belong to it (SDCL 16-12B-11). Its judge issues warrants, fixes bond and conducts first hearings (SDCL 16-12B-5, 16-12B-7, 16-12B-10). Pleas and sentences are allowed for crimes whose top penalty is a year or $2,000 (SDCL 16-12B-8).
• Clerk magistrates, a step below, may take a guilty plea when the crime caps out at 30 days or $500 (SDCL 16-12C-11).
• Circuit court is the upper level. Felony trials and youth cases are held there, after a felony opens downstairs in magistrate court.

Ten counties form the Fifth Judicial Circuit. Its neighbors in that group include Brown, Faulk, Day and Edmunds.

Every state criminal hearing for the county is held in a single building:

• Spink County Courthouse, 210 East 7th Avenue, Redfield, SD 57469. Go up to the third floor for the Clerk of Courts and the courtroom. Phone 605-472-4535. Clerk's hours run 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Email SpinkCoClerk@ujs.state.sd.us.
• State's Attorney, the county's prosecutor, 210 East 7th Avenue, Suite 9, Redfield, SD 57469, 605-472-4593. Call to set an appointment.

Two related offices are in Aberdeen. Probation is handled by Court Services, 101 First Avenue SE, Suite 101, Aberdeen, SD 57402, 605-626-2275. Federal court meets at 102 Fourth Avenue SE, Aberdeen, SD 57401.

The Sheriff's Department runs no jail for adults, so the county pays three other counties to house them:

• Faulk County Jail, 924 Lafoon Avenue, Faulkton, SD 57438, 605-598-6229
• Beadle County Correction Center, 455 4th Street SW, Suite 100, Huron, SD 57350, 605-353-8424
• Brown County Jail, 22 Court Street, Suite 1, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-626-7101

South Dakota allows a jail-less county to sign a written contract with another jail and pay the full cost (SDCL 24-11-3). Even so, every hearing stays on the county seat's docket, and the first one can run by video link from the jail (SDCL 23A-4-1). To learn which jail has a certain person, call the Sheriff's Department, 210 East 7th Avenue, Redfield, SD 57469, at 605-472-4595 any hour.

No. No town in the county has a city court. City ordinance tickets are sent to the county's magistrate court, 210 East 7th Avenue, Redfield, SD 57469 (SDCL 16-12B-11).

Redfield leaves policing to county deputies rather than hiring city officers. The Sheriff's Department patrols town and countryside alike, so the same deputies write both city and state charges. For a question about a city rule itself, City Hall is at 626 Main Street, Redfield, SD 57469, 605-472-4550. For court dates, fines or the file, phone the Clerk of Courts at 605-472-4535.

Under SDCL 23A-4-1, an arrested person must see a magistrate promptly, which the statute words as "without unnecessary delay." The hearing may be in person or on screen. Nobody pleads guilty or not guilty at this stage. What the judge goes over (SDCL 23A-4-3):

• the exact charge
• the right to counsel, and to request a court-paid one
• the release terms before trial
• that they may stay silent
• for felony charges, the right to a hearing on the evidence, called a preliminary hearing

Bond is often decided at the same time. Felony clock: a jailed person gets the preliminary hearing within 15 days, and a person who is out gets it within 45 days (SDCL 23A-4-3). Relatives may watch from the benches. Ask the clerk at 605-472-4535 what time it begins.

Misdemeanors such as a first or second DUI usually never leave magistrate court. A typical case goes like this:

1. The first hearing settles bond and the lawyer question.
2. The person answers guilty or not guilty, then or later.
3. Many cases end in a deal with the State's Attorney. Others go to trial.
4. The sentence may mean jail, a fine, probation, 24/7 sobriety testing or a mix.

The two classes carry these limits (SDCL 22-6-2):

• Class 1: a year or less in county jail, a fine of $2,000 or less, or both. First and second DUIs are in this class.
• Class 2: 30 days or less in county jail, a fine of $500 or less, or both.

Fines can go on a card through UJS ePayments. If the full sum is too much, the clerk's office can set up a signed payment plan.

Felonies climb from the lower court to the upper court:

1. First hearing before the magistrate.
2. Preliminary hearing. The judge hears witnesses and rules on whether the evidence is strong enough for trial. It is skipped if the defense gives it up or an indictment comes first (SDCL 23A-4-3).
3. Charging paper. Next the prosecutor files the formal charge in writing. That paper has an odd name: an "information." Once in a while a judge calls six to ten local people to sit as a grand jury and vote on the charge instead (SDCL 23A-5-1).
4. Circuit court. Arraignment, motions, then a plea or a jury trial. Trial should start inside a 180-day window, counted from the first appearance, with any delay the defense asked for left out of the count (SDCL 23A-44-5.1).
5. Sentencing, often after Court Services writes a background report.

Prison caps range from two years for the lowest class, Class 6, up to life for the top three classes (SDCL 22-6-1). The two lowest classes start from a presumption of probation (SDCL 22-6-11).

Serious cases follow the same path, with some key changes:

• Bond. A judge alone sets bond on murder, kidnapping and first-degree manslaughter. Holding someone with zero bail is reserved by the state constitution for capital charges with strong proof (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 8).
• Penalties. Class A means death or life, Classes B and C mean up to life, and Class 1 means up to 50 years (SDCL 22-6-1).
• Jury strikes. For the four most serious felony groups, the defense and the state each get 20 no-reason juror strikes. Lower felonies allow 10 (SDCL 23A-20-20).
• Domestic violence. Deputies first notify a judge, who sets release terms, often including a stay-away order (SDCL 25-10-40, 25-10-41).
• Victims. A victim can address the judge on release, any plea and the sentence (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 29).

The county prosecutor is the State's Attorney, 210 East 7th Avenue, Suite 9, Redfield, SD 57469, 605-472-4593.

This county handles free defense without a public defender office. A defendant who lacks money tells the judge so on day one, and the court picks a private attorney on the county's dime (SDCL 23A-40-6, 23A-40-7, 23A-40-8). Keep these points in mind:

• Later, a court order can require repaying the county for that lawyer, and an acquittal does not erase the debt (SDCL 23A-40-10).
• A lien can be recorded for that bill, but the home can't be foreclosed (SDCL 23A-40-11, 23A-40-15).
• Small charges are the exception. A free lawyer isn't owed on the lightest charges, Class 2 misdemeanors and petty offenses, when the person is out and can't get jail (SDCL 23A-40-6.1).
• Appeals are handled by the state Office of Indigent Legal Services, which began in 2024.

The clerk's office has the request forms, 605-472-4535.

Probation belongs to the court system's Court Services officers. They watch people on probation, write pre-sentence reports for judges, and track restitution owed to victims. The office that serves this county is in Aberdeen, at 101 First Avenue SE, Suite 101, Aberdeen, SD 57402, 605-626-2275.

Parole works differently. It comes after prison, and the state Department of Corrections runs it rather than the courts.

The court system also runs treatment courts aimed at addiction, drunk driving, veterans' issues and mental illness. They need a referral, so ask the defense lawyer if one could fit the case. The state Division of Treatment Courts answers at 605-773-4161.

The free Find a Court Date site is the first stop. Put in a name or case number to pull up future hearings. A calendar view also lists every public hearing in one county for the current day and the nine business days after it.

• eCourts lists the docket for cases open to the public.
• PARS, the paid record search, charges $20 a search whether or not a record turns up.
• SD Court Notifications can send hearing reminders.
• A public computer at the courthouse shows case records.

Or phone the Clerk of Courts, 210 East 7th Avenue, Redfield, SD 57469, 605-472-4535, with a name and birth date in hand.

Deputies of the Sheriff's Department carry out both arrest and bench warrants countywide. To check, phone 605-472-4595 at any hour. Statewide lists that can help:

• DOC Most Wanted, for people who left prison custody
• Sex Offender Registry
• UJS ePayments, which tells you when a case has an active warrant

Bring a lawyer into it before doing anything. Then surrender together at the Sheriff's Department, or have the lawyer ask the court to reset the date. Courthouse clerk: 210 East 7th Avenue, Redfield, SD 57469, 605-472-4535.

The Northern Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota takes federal charges from here. Its courthouse is at 102 Fourth Avenue SE, Aberdeen, SD 57401.

• At the first federal hearing, a judge chooses between release and detention. A short delay is allowed (the defense may take up to five days, the government three), and the person stays jailed during it (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal defendants held before trial are in U.S. Marshals custody. Aberdeen office: 102 Southeast 4th Avenue, Suite 409, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-226-1794.
• Pretrial and probation officers in the Aberdeen courthouse can be reached at 605-377-2625.
• Federal prisoners who have been sentenced appear in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No, not the charges. The state charges stay on track, but the detainer changes what happens on release day:

1. The paperwork starts when federal immigration staff send the jail Form I-247A.
2. The form requests that the person be held up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Agents of the ICE St. Paul Field Office, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600, can then move the person to federal custody.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by name and home country.

Someone who is not a citizen should raise immigration with their lawyer well before saying yes to any deal. SB 7 (SL 2025, ch 100) also applies. Since 2025 it has voided local rules that hold staff back from discussing immigration status with federal officers.

Prison sentences on felonies are carried out by the South Dakota Department of Corrections. Misdemeanor time stays in a county jail (SDCL 22-6-1, 22-6-2).

• To learn which prison has someone, try the DOC offender locator.
• For a profile of each prison, open our South Dakota prisons page.
• DOC central office: 3200 East Highway 34, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3478.

Class 5 and Class 6 felonies give judges another choice: up to 12 months behind county bars in place of prison (SDCL 22-6-1.1). Here, that time would likely be spent at a host jail.

Children 10 and older who are charged come before circuit court acting as juvenile court (SDCL 26-8C-2). The usual result is a ride home with mom, dad or a guardian. A youth stays held only on a reason listed in SDCL 26-8C-3, and in the least restrictive place that fits. A judge or intake officer may also okay temporary custody based on sworn facts (SDCL 26-7A-13).

Only a judge, after a separate transfer hearing, may order a youth's case into adult court (SDCL 26-11-4). Juvenile diversion for this county is run by Beadle County under contract. Aberdeen has a secure center for youth: the Brown County Juvenile Detention Center, 22 Court Street, Suite 1, Aberdeen, SD 57401, 605-626-7102. Parents can learn where a child went from the Sheriff's Department at 605-472-4595.

South Dakota voters wrote Marsy's Law into the constitution (S.D. Const. art. VI, § 29). Among the rights it gives crime victims:

• word of each court date ahead of time, plus the right to attend
• a say when the judge decides bail, a plea agreement or punishment
• restitution in full
• safety from the accused, and prompt news if that person is released or escapes

Police hand out a wallet-size Marsy's Card with the rights printed on it. SAVIN, a free state service, sends custody and release alerts at any hour. Its help line, 844-299-4608, answers weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central. The prosecutor's office handles victim questions at 605-472-4593.