Display - The South Dakota Constitution

On October 1, 1889, the South Dakota Constitution was adopted by the people of South Dakota with a vote of 70,131 yeas and 3,267 nays. The most recent display at the McKusick Law Library, compiled by Doris Hodgen, contains a brief history of the three constitutional conventions in South Dakota and a display of items from the library's general collection. These books include Dakota Constitutional Convention, published by the Huronite Printing Company in 1907 and containing the South Dakota Constitutional Debates of 1885, History and Civil Government of South Dakota, authored by G.M. Smith and C.M. Young and published in 1898, and the Annotated Constitution of the State of South Dakota. (When referring to constitutions or statutes, the term "annotated" means that each provision may be followed by "squibs," or brief paragraphs, describing cases that interpret the provision.) Interestingly, this Annotated Constitution, presented to the Library in 1935 by the Honorable Ellison G. Smith, Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court and Professor of Law, has lined, blank pages between each page of the printed text. One can speculate that this feature allowed practicing attorneys to make important notes on particular provisions of the South Dakota Constitution.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Marsha Stacey)