South Dakota Supreme Court Declares Judicial Emergency Over Statewide Network Outage

South Dakota's Supreme Court declared a judicial emergency due to a large-scale technical issue beginning August 19, 2025, which has rendered state websites, telephone systems, and several court platforms like ePayments, eCourts, and File and Serve inoperable. This outage has suspended all legal deadlines, filing requirements, and court-related schedules until further notice, although in-person filings and payments remain possible at clerk offices. The problem has also affected other state services including vehicle registration, driver’s license exams, and law enforcement operations, such as license plate and warrant checks. State officials, including the Bureau of Information and Telecommunications, are investigating the cause, which currently shows no signs of criminal activity or external factors like weather. The state’s data center issue involves hardware spread across multiple locations, complicating the resolution timeline. Network teams continue efforts to restore full functionality as the judicial emergency remains in effect to mitigate impacts on the justice system and public services.