NSNT endorses Sarah Collins for federal judgeship
The Native Sun News Today endorses Sarah Collins, for the federal judge position in South Dakota that is about to be vacated by Judge Jeffrey Viken. NSNT endorses Mrs. Collins because she is the most qualified applicant for that job. The staff and management at Native Sun News Today encourages all federally recognized tribes and tribal leaders to get behind this endorsement.
Collins, age 45, is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a native Western South Dakotan. Her family has ranched on the Pine Ridge Reservation for five generations. After high school she went on to Colorado State University and earned a law degree.
Since then she has dedicated her career to civil service, starting with the District Attorney’s office in Adams County, Colorado, and continuing with ten years of service as an Assistant United States Attorney in Rapid City. She is currently the Senior Litigation Counsel for the District of South Dakota and has tried over 160 cases, giving her profound knowledge of the rules of criminal procedure, evidence and jury processes.
Collins has diverse case experience, including white collar and civil rights cases, but she has focused on obtaining justice for crime victims, particularly children. She has been recognized for her work investigating and prosecuting purveyors and distributors of child pornography, including personally pursuing the investigation of a United States citizen for brutally beating and sexually abusing multiple boys from Guatemala. She was selected for the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on Internet Crimes and served two terms. She annually leads an undercover operation to catch internet predators during the Sturgis Bike Rally, resulting in the successful prosecution of 69 defendants.
Her dedication to serving crime victims has resulted in justice for hundreds of American Indian victims. Recently she obtained the landmark conviction of former Indian Health Services doctor Stanley Patrick Weber for his decades-long horrific sexual abuse of Native children across numerous reservations, earning her the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service in Indian Country in January 2021.
She has been unafraid to prosecute police officers for acting outside their sworn duties and is a firm believer in effective criminal justice and sentencing reform. For many years she has trained law enforcement officers on the constitutional limits of their powers and authored the nationwide curriculum training officers on search and seizure and federal crime elements.
Collins is a registered lifelong Democrat and contributor to Democratic and social justice causes. She interned for Sen. Tom Daschle both in Rapid City and Washington D.C. in the Morris K. Udall Internship Program for Native students. Given her position with the Department of Justice, she must carefully comply with the Hatch Act, and thus has decided it prudent to not otherwise participate in public political activities.
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April 15, 2021