NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT
September 8, 2023

Western Division Cases. If you practice in the Western Division, you may have noticed that new cases are no longer being assigned to Judge Viken, who retires the end of the month. Currently new criminal cases are being direct assigned to Judge Schreier, who will manage them until they are ready for trial or other disposition, at which time they may be reassigned to another judge in our district or within the Eighth Circuit. Existing criminal cases are being reassigned to Judge Schreier and handled in the same manner as new criminal cases. If you receive a call or email from Shelly Margulies, please respond as she is scheduling these cases on behalf of Judge Schreier. New Western Division civil cases are being randomly assigned to Judges Schreier, Lange, Piersol and Kornmann. Western Division cases will be tried in the Western Division regardless of where the judge resides.

2023 Virtual POWER Act Event. Chief judges from 23 districts including South Dakota will host a virtual event on Friday, September 22nd. The event is designed to promote pro bono services to empower survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. More information is available at https://www.nynd.uscourts.gov/power-act.

Reminder. The Court will be closed on Monday, October 9th.