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.
Minnehaha County, South Dakota, has about 209,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Circuit Court for Minnehaha 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, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Minnehaha County public records, Minnehaha County arrest records, Minnehaha County warrants, Minnehaha County inmate search, Minnehaha County criminal records, South Dakota arrest records and South Dakota inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Minnehaha County
In Minnehaha County, the Circuit Court for Minnehaha County 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 Minnehaha County
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at minnehahacounty.gov/search/search.php?q=court+records (page title: Search Results | Minnehaha County, SD Official Website), 415 N. Dakota Ave. Sioux Falls, SD 57104, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Minnehaha County
Together, the three agencies in Minnehaha County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 9,316 arrests to the FBI that year; the State's Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Circuit Court for Minnehaha County.
The State's Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at minnehahacounty.gov/dept/sa/sa.php (page title: State's Attorney | Minnehaha County, SD Official Website), phone (605) 367-4226, 415 N. Dakota Ave. Sioux Falls, SD 57104, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 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 Minnehaha County guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Minnehaha County criminal records, Minnehaha County divorce records, Minnehaha County traffic tickets, Minnehaha County DUI and Minnehaha County property records.
Cities in Minnehaha County
Wherever in the county a case arises, it is filed in the Circuit Court for Minnehaha County.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Minnehaha County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own court records guide opens there:
- Sioux Falls (209,289)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Minnehaha County?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at minnehahacounty.gov. Statewide, UJS Public Access Record Search is the South Dakota courts' statewide search, with a fee per name.
Which court hears felonies in Minnehaha County?
The Circuit Court for Minnehaha 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 Minnehaha 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 Minnehaha 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.