Meade County
Created in 1889, Meade County was named after General George Meade, a commander in the American Civil War. Its population of 29,852 makes it the sixth most populous county in South Dakota. The county's land area covers 3,471 square miles (over 2 million acres), making it the state's largest county by land area. Sturgis is its county seat and largest city. The county hosts the world's largest motorcycle rally in Sturgis.
Meade County has a circuit court and a magistrate court. The court with the most power within the county is the Meade County Circuit Court under the Fourth Judicial Circuit. It maintains jurisdiction covering all criminal and civil cases. It's important to note that the court typically hears the cases that sit outside the magistrate court's purview. It handles all felonies, some misdemeanors, some municipal ordinance violations, and civil cases with claims above $12,000. It also listens to juvenile matters, domestic relations cases, and probate cases, such as wills, estates, divorces, annulments, paternity, juvenile delinquencies, alimony, emancipation, and child support.
The Meade County Magistrate Court handles misdemeanors, most municipal ordinance violations, and preliminary felony hearings. It also hears forfeiture of bonds, civil cases with claims under $12,000, acceptance of pleas, and commitment of persons to mental institutions.
Public court records in Meade County are records of cases heard in the county courts that can be accessed by members of the public. These records include court filings, warrants, court schedules, writs, court proceedings, orders, motions, and judgments and may be in text, video, or audio formats. The Meade County Clerk of Courts is responsible for collating, presenting, indexing, preserving, storing, updating, and archiving public court records for the county.
In Meade County, having access to public court records fosters trust in the legal system. The following types of court records are publicly accessible in Meade County unless sealed by court orders:
- Criminal Court Records
- Traffic Records
- Family Court Records
- Civil Court Records
- Probate Court Records
Anyone can visit the Meade County Clerk of Court's office to view or request nonconfidential court records from the county's courts. They can also search for Meade County public court records on the South Dakota Unified Judicial System Public Access Record Search portal. Alternatively, they can request the county's public court records by filling out the Record Inquiry and Search Request Form.
