Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Brookings County, South Dakota, has about 36,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Circuit Court for Brookings County, and the file of each case, kept by the Clerk of Courts, is the public record of it. This guide says which court hears what, where to look a case up and who keeps the files.
This guide covers the courts, the records page, criminal cases, kinds of files, directory links, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Brookings County public records, Brookings County arrest records, Brookings County warrants, Brookings County inmate search, Brookings County criminal records, South Dakota arrest records and South Dakota inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Brookings County
Court cases from Brookings County are filed in the Circuit Court for Brookings County, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case, with magistrate judges taking misdemeanors, traffic and small claims.
Divorces go to the Circuit Court, and the file stays with the Clerk of Courts.
The Clerk of Courts keeps the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the South Dakota Open Records Law.
Looking Up a Case from Brookings County
For Brookings County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at ujs.sd.gov/court-finder/third-judicial-circuit/brookings-county (page title: Brookings County | South Dakota Unified Judicial System | SD UJS), phone 605-688-4200, 314 Sixth Avenue Suite 6 Brookings, SD 57006-2085, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 28, 2026.
Statewide, UJS Public Access Record Search is the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name.
The South Dakota court page SearchSystems verified is at ujs.sd.gov/cases-and-records.
What Reaches the Court from Brookings County
Together, the two agencies in Brookings County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 658 arrests to the FBI that year; the State's Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Circuit Court for Brookings County.
The State's Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at brookingscountysd.gov/m/directory/department?did=4 (page title: Staff Directory, State's Attorney's Office), phone 605-692-8606, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
The Kinds of Court Files
The court file is one record with several readers: a criminal case from the arrest to the sentence, a divorce from the petition to the judgment, a traffic ticket from the citation to the conviction the court reports to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety Driver Licensing, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Brookings County guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Brookings County criminal records, Brookings County divorce records, Brookings County traffic tickets, Brookings County DUI and Brookings County property records.
More Official Court Pages for Brookings County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Brookings County and South Dakota. These court pages from its Brookings County listing were opened again on October 2, 2026 and each one still answers:
- South Dakota eCourts (ecourts.sd.gov)
Cities in Brookings County
Wherever in the county a case arises, it is filed in the Circuit Court for Brookings County.
The cities and towns in the county are Brookings, Volga, Aurora, Elkton, White, Bruce, Sinai and Bushnell.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Brookings County?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at ujs.sd.gov, phone 605-688-4200. Statewide, UJS Public Access Record Search is the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name.
Which court hears felonies in Brookings County?
The Circuit Court for Brookings County, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case, with magistrate judges taking misdemeanors, traffic and small claims.
Who keeps the court records in Brookings County?
The Clerk of Courts. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in South Dakota?
Yes: UJS Public Access Record Search, the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name.
Is this the official Brookings County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.