United States District Court for the District of South Dakota

United States District Court for the District of South Dakota (D.S.D.)
Seal of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota
Map
Appeals to	Eighth Circuit
Established	February 22, 1889
Judges assigned	3
Chief judge	Jeffrey L. Viken
Official site

The United States District Court for the District of South Dakota (in case citations, D.S.D.) is the United States District Court or the Federal district court, whose jurisdiction for issues pertaining to federal law or diversity for the state of South Dakota. The court is based in Sioux Falls with other courthouses in Rapid City, Pierre, and Aberdeen. The district was created in 1889, when the Dakota Territory was divided into North and South Dakota.

Appeals from the District of South Dakota are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota, represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney is Randy Seiler.

Current judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
15	Chief Judge	Jeffrey L. Viken	Rapid City	1952	2009–present	2013–present	—	Obama
14	District Judge	Karen Schreier	Sioux Falls	1956	1999–present	2006–2013	—	Clinton
16	District Judge	Roberto Lange	Pierre	1963	2009–present	—	—	Obama
10	Senior Judge	John Bailey Jones	Sioux Falls	1927	1981–1995	1991–1994	1995–present	Reagan
11	Senior Judge	Richard Howard Battey	Rapid City	1929	1985–1999	1994–1998	1999–present	Reagan
12	Senior Judge	Lawrence L. Piersol	Sioux Falls	1940	1993–2009	1999–2005	2009–present	Clinton
13	Senior Judge	Charles B. Kornmann	Aberdeen	1937	1995–2008	—	2008–present	Clinton

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born/Died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Alonzo J. Edgerton	SD	1827–1896	1889–1896	—	—	B. Harrison	death
2	John Emmett Carland	SD	1853–1922	1896–1911	—	—	Cleveland	reappointment
3	James Douglas Elliott	SD	1859–1933	1911–1933	—	—	Taft	death
4	Alfred Lee Wyman	SD	1874–1953	1929–1953	—	—	Hoover	death
5	George Theodore Mickelson	SD	1903–1965	1953–1965	1954–1965	—	Eisenhower	death
6	Axel John Beck	SD	1894–1981	1958–1969	1965–1966	1969–1981	Eisenhower	death
7	Fred Joseph Nichol	SD	1912–1996	1965–1980	1966–1980	1980–1996	L. Johnson	death
8	Andrew Wendell Bogue	SD	1919–2009	1970–1985	1980–1985	1985–2009	Nixon	death
9	Donald James Porter	SD	1921–2003	1979–1992	1985–1991	1992–2003	Carter	death

Succession of seats

Seat 1
Seat established on November 2, 1889 by 25 Stat. 676
Edgerton	1890–1896
Carland	1896–1911
Elliott	1911–1933
Seat abolished on January 30, 1933 (temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 2
Seat established on February 26, 1929 by 45 Stat. 1317 (temporary)
Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 1 on January 30, 1933
Wyman	1929–1953
Seat abolished on December 15, 1953 (temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 3
Seat established in 1953 pursuant to 65 Stat. 724 (temporary)
Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 2 on December 15, 1953
Mickelson	1954–1965
Nichol	1965–1980
Jones	1981–1995
Kornmann	1995–2008
Lange	2009–present

Seat 4
Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 (temporary)
Seat expired never having been filled
Seat reestablished and made permanent on September 7, 1957 by 71 Stat. 631
Beck	1958–1969
Bogue	1970–1985
Battey	1985–1999
Schreier	1999–present

Seat 5
Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629
Porter	1979–1992
Piersol	1993–2009
Viken	2009–present

See also

• Courts of South Dakota
• List of United States federal courthouses in South Dakota

External links

• United States District Court for the District of South Dakota Official Website
• United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota Official Website