United States District Court for the District of South Dakota

United States District Court for the District of South Dakota (D.S.D.)
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	Age at appointment	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Edgerton, Alonzo J.Alonzo J. Edgerton	SD	1827–1896	1889–1896	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Harrison, B.B. Harrison	death
2	Carland, John EmmettJohn Emmett Carland	SD	1853–1922	1896–1911	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Cleveland, Cleveland	reappointment
3	Elliott, James DouglasJames Douglas Elliott	SD	1859–1933	1911–1933	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Taft, Taft	death
4	Wyman, Alfred LeeAlfred Lee Wyman	SD	1874–1953	1929–1953	—	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Hoover Hoover	death
5	Mickelson, George TheodoreGeorge Theodore Mickelson	SD	1903–1965	1953–1965	1954–1965	{{{age at appointment}}}	—	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
6	Beck, Axel JohnAxel John Beck	SD	1894–1981	1958–1969	1965–1966	{{{age at appointment}}}	1969–1981	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
7	Nichol, Fred JosephFred Joseph Nichol	SD	1912–1996	1965–1980	1966–1980	{{{age at appointment}}}	1980–1996	Johnson, L.L. Johnson	death
8	Bogue, Andrew WendellAndrew Wendell Bogue	SD	1919–2009	1970–1985	1980–1985	{{{age at appointment}}}	1985–2009	Nixon, Nixon	death
9	Porter, Donald JamesDonald James Porter	SD	1921–2003	1979–1992	1985–1991	{{{age at appointment}}}	1992–2003	Carter, 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

Notes

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