Timothy W. Bjorkman

Tim Bjorkman served for a decade as a judge of South Dakota’s First Judicial Circuit, comprising 14 Southeastern South Dakota counties. He attended South Dakota State and graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1978 and from its law school in 1982.

He was a small business owner and engaged in the general practice of law for 24 years, and tried many cases to juries from accident cases to murder.

In 2002, South Dakota’s Chief Justice appointed him to the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles.

In 2006, Tim was elected as a judge of the First Judicial Circuit, with 73% of the vote and was re-elected without opposition in 2014. That same year, the University of Oklahoma Press published his book of American and South Dakota Depression history, “Verne Sankey: America’s First Public Enemy.”

In addition to this book, Tim has written extensively on the law, mostly in legal publications. His most recent is an article on criminal justice reform, published in the South Dakota Law in November 2017. Tim has competed in Masters and Senior Track and Field, where he is a two-time USA Masters Track and Field All-American.

He is a a past President of the South Dakota Judge’s Association, and lives in Canistota with his wife of 37 years, Carol Kay, where together they raised four sons, three of whom are Army veterans.

Bjorkman ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2018, one of a handful of candidates nationally to reject all political party and special interest money in his campaign. Now retired from the bench, he continues to write history and speak and write on the law. He also enjoys growing flowers and vegetables in his garden, working out, traveling with Kay, and spending time with their grandchildren.