I am often asked by clients and even other lawyers to opine on the length of their case.  We ordinarily tell our clients to expect one year from the date of filing a notice of appeal.

On average, it appears that it takes the Court approximately three months from oral argument or conference to issue a decision.  To be more specific, it takes the Court, on average, 86.03 days from oral argument or conference to issue a written decision. 

The fastest time to decision this year was just sixteen days from the date of argument or conference. State v. Hale, 2018 S.D. 9, was a criminal case authored by Justice Severson.  However, this statistic excludes State v. Wayfair, 2018 S.D. 62, which was issued fifteen days after conference following a remand from the United States Supreme Court. Twelve decisions were decided in thirty days or less from the time of argument or conference.

Two decisions took nearly one year.  One criminal case, State v. Lar, 2018 S.D. 18, and an employment case, Riggs v. Bennet County Hospital, 2018 S.D. 51. Both were argued on briefs, and decisions were issued 303 days after conference.

To speak to an attorney, contact our Sioux Falls, Sioux City, or Omaha office today.

CONTACT US

Subscribe Our Blog

DISCLAIMER: The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. By visiting this website, blog, or post you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Goosmann Law Firm attorneys and website publisher. No information contained in this post should be construed as legal advice from Goosmann Law Firm, PLC, or the individual author, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this Post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.