NEWS FROM U.S. DISTRICT COURT
March 8, 2019
Clerk’s Office Hours: The Clerk’s Office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays. Fed. R. Civ. P. 77(c). Because our district operates in different time zones, the Clerk’s Office has recently expanded its customer service by pooling the divisional phone lines. This means that an attorney in the Mountain Time Zone can now reach someone in the Clerk’s Office at 7 a.m. and attorneys in the Central Time Zone can reach someone in the Clerk’s Office until 6 p.m.
Courthouse Closings: From time to time one of the four federal courthouses located within the district closes due to inclement weather. Unless all the courthouses close, the work of the court continues, albeit in a different location. For example, if the Pierre courthouse closes, deputy clerks in Sioux Falls and Rapid City will pick up docketing and be available by phone to assist Pierre area attorneys with their e-filing questions, etc. Now that the divisional phone lines are pooled, just call the Clerk’s Office and your call will be answered. Never assume that because one courthouse is closed, all courthouses are closed. Whenever a courthouse is closed, information regarding the closure will be posted on the District Court’s public website.
Maintaining Your Email in CM/ECF: The Clerk’s Office frequently receives inquiries about how to update email addresses in CM/ECF. Registered attorneys are required to keep the primary and secondary e-mail addresses on their CM/ECF user accounts up-to-date. To update your account, select the Utilities tab on the blue menu bar in CM/ECF. Under the “Your Account” heading, select Maintain Your E-mail. The Email Information screen is divided into two panes. The left-hand pane includes hyperlinks for the primary and secondary email addresses on the attorney’s account. Registered attorneys must have a primary email address. Secondary email addresses are optional, but highly recommended. Unlike registered attorneys, attorneys admitted pro hac vice are not issued a login and password and cannot change their email addresses. Instead, they must contact the Clerk’s Office or submit a completed CM/ECF Information Update Form to update this information. For more information about maintaining your email and adding secondary email addresses in CM/ECF, see the CM/ECF User Manual.
Fees: Did you know you can find the court’s current fee schedule on the District Court’s website located at www.sdd.uscourts.gov? It’s easy. Just select the For Attorneys tab on the blue menu bar on the District Court’s homepage and click on Fee Schedule.