David E. Gilbertson is the former chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court. He served on the court from 1995 to 2021. Republican Governor Bill Janklow appointed him to the court on April 3, 1995. He represented the state's 5th Supreme Court district and was retained in 2014. Gilbertson was first elected by his peers on the court to a four-year term as chief justice in 2001. He was re-elected in 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017. On May 28, 2013, Gilbertson became the first chief justice in the history of the state to be elected to a fourth term as chief. Gilbertson retired on January 5, 2021, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 years old.