Margaret Samp

Margaret Samp comes to North Star Criminal Defense having already done what most law students only read about. Before enrolling at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, she worked as a private investigator and service of process supervisor at Blue Light Investigations, managing civil and criminal investigations at state and federal levels, analyzing evidence, and working directly alongside attorneys in the criminal justice system. She knows how cases are built from the ground up, not from a textbook, but from the field. She has worked in legal environments in some capacity since the age of fifteen.

Margaret is also a proven advocate. As the founder of Beyond Dyslexia, Inc., she drafted 2020 South Dakota House Bill 1201 and successfully lobbied for its enactment as S.D. Codified Law §13-38-28.1, taking a cause from a blank page to the statute books. That kind of persistence and advocacy instinct is exactly what criminal defense requires, and it is what she brings to the firm every day.

At St. Thomas, Margaret focuses her studies on criminal law and constitutional law, with a particular interest in restorative justice and the intersection of disability law and criminal defense. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Affairs, minoring in Business, and Classics from Augustana University, graduating with a 3.45 GPA and Dean's List recognition.

Outside of work, Margaret has been a certified USA Hockey official since 2014, officiated at competitive levels across the region, and has mentored new officials coming up through the sport. A classically trained opera singer from the age of nine, she remains an active patron of the performing arts.

Education

• University of St. Thomas School of Law, J.D. Candidate, 2028
• Augustana University, Bachelor of Arts — Government and International Affairs, Concentration in Pre-Law

Certifications

• LexisNexis Applied Legal Research Certificates
• Thomson Reuters Legal Research Certifications — Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and LRW
• CM/ECF District Court Filing Training, U.S. District Court of South Dakota