Mark Barnett (lawyer)

Mark Barnett (born September 4, 1954) is an American attorney; the 28th attorney general of South Dakota between 1991 and 2003 and a circuit court judge between 2007 and 2019.

Mark Barnett
28th Attorney General of South Dakota
In office
1991–2003
GovernorGeorge S. Mickelson
Walter Dale Miller
William J. Janklow
Preceded byRoger Tellinghuisen
Succeeded byLarry Long
Personal details
Born (1954-09-04) September 4, 1954 Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of South Dakota (JD)
ProfessionAttorney

Barnett, a Republican, graduated from the University of South Dakota School of Law.

Electoral history

1990 attorney general election

Barnett won the general election by defeating Michael Butler. He won with 150,109 (59.49%) votes while Butler received 102,231 votes (40.51%).[1]

1994 attorney general election

Barnett was re-elected by defeating Democrat Randy Turner and Libertarian Bert Olson. Barnett received 192,147 (62.33%) votes; Randy received 106,709 (34.62%) votes and Bert received 9,410 (3.05%) votes.[2]

1998 attorney general election

Barnett was elected for a third term as attorney general. He was unopposed for the first time in the history of attorney general elections in South Dakota.

As of October, 2019, Barnett is the longest-serving attorney general in South Dakota history, with 12 years of service.

Supreme Court litigation

Barnett argued two cases before the United States Supreme Court as attorney general, winning both cases.

South Dakota v. Bourland, 508 U.S. 679 (1993)

Barnett argued on behalf of the state, winning a 7–2 decision that the federal Flood Control and Cheyenne River Acts had abrogated the tribe's right, guaranteed under the Fort Laramie Treaty, to regulate hunting and fishing on their lands by non-Indians.

South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe, 522 U.S. 329 (1998)

Barnett argued that an 1894 federal statute, ratifying an agreement pursuant to the Dawes Act, had diminished the boundaries of the Yankton Sioux Reservation, as they had been established in an 1858 treaty. The Court ruled unanimously for the state.[3]

2002 gubernatorial election

Barnett ran for governor, but finished second in a divisive three-way primary for the 2002 Republican nomination. Mike Rounds won the nomination with 49,331 (44.34%) votes; Barnett received 32,868 (29.54%) votes and former lieutenant governor Steve T. Kirby received 29,065 (26.12%).[4]

State judicial service

In 2007, Barnett was appointed as a circuit court judge by Governor Mike Rounds. In 2014, he was reelected in an uncontested election.[5] Barnett retired from the bench on March 22, 2019.[6]

References
  1. "1990 General Election Returns". sdsos.gov. November 1990. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  2. "1994 Attorney General General Election Results". uselectionatlas.org. November 1994. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  3. "South Dakota Attorneys General at the US Supreme Court". sodakgovs.wordpress.com. April 13, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  4. "2002 Primary Returns". sdsos.gov. June 2002. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  5. "Mark Barnett". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  6. "Governor names Klinger as Sixth Circuit Judge". keloland.com. February 8, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
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