NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT

January 10, 2025

Jury Trials. 2024 was another steady year for jury trials, with a total of 42 in the District of South Dakota. Of that number, 4 were civil trials and 38 were criminal. The Western Division led with 19 jury trials, followed by the Northern Division with 10, the Central Division with 7, and the Southern Division with 6. This is the second year in a row that the Western Division has led the district in jury trials.

New Criminal Justice Act Rates. Inflationary adjustments have been made to hourly rates for attorneys appointed under the Criminal Justice Act (CJA). Effective January 1, 2025, hourly rates increased from $172 to $175 for non-capital work and from $220 to $223 for capital work. The new rates apply to services performed on or after January 1, 2025. The case compensation maximum in non-capital cases also increased to $13,600, up from $13,400. Payments above this amount must include a justification letter from the attorney. The new case compensation maximum applies to any voucher submitted by appointed counsel if that person furnished any CJA-compensable work on or after January 1, 2025. The case compensation maximums for investigative, expert, or other services remain unchanged.

Access to Sealed Cases. Counsel now have access to the case docket sheet in sealed criminal cases. In addition to reviewing the documents, you can now electronically file documents in sealed cases. Because CM/ECF does not email Notices of Electronic Filing in sealed cases, you are still required to serve opposing counsel and file the Certificate of Service. The Clerk’s Office will continue to mail copies of sealed orders. Please take note that Counsel must be admitted to the District of South Dakota in order to access sealed documents/cases.

Closure Reminder. The Court will be closed on Monday, January 20th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.