The Unified Judicial System is pleased to announce that the South Dakota Supreme Court has appointed Alison D. Nelson as a magistrate judge for the Second Judicial Circuit, which includes Lincoln and Minnehaha counties. Nelson will fill a magistrate judge vacancy created with Judge Eric C. Johnson’s recent appointment as a circuit court judge for the Second Judicial Circuit. Nelson was born and raised in Montgomery County, Md. She graduated from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a minor in biology. She attended law school at American University, Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., and graduated magna cum laude. Nelson began her legal career as an officer in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Nelson met her husband during her military service, and in 2017 they moved their family to his home state of South Dakota. Since residing in South Dakota, Nelson has served as a prosecutor first in Minnehaha County and most recently in Lincoln County. Nelson will take the bench on Sept. 23, 2024, with a formal swearing-in ceremony to follow sometime thereafter at the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls.