South Dakota Codified Laws 16-2-21. Presiding judges–Appointment–Administrative powers and duties–Court held in each county
The presiding judge in each judicial circuit, to be appointed by the Chief Justice, subject to the rules of the Supreme Court, has administrative supervision and authority over the operation of the circuit courts, the courts of limited jurisdiction, and clerks and other court personnel in the circuit. These powers and duties include the following:
(1) Arranging schedules and assigning circuit judges for sessions of circuit courts;
Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 16-2-21
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes natural persons, partnerships, associations, cooperative corporations, limited liability companies, and corporations. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- written: include typewriting and typewritten, printing and printed, except in the case of signatures, and where the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
(2) Arranging or supervising the calendaring of matters for trial or hearing;
(3) Appointing clerks, deputies and other personnel within the circuit to make available their services in every county in the circuit and supervising the personnel in the discharge of their functions;
(4) Assigning matters and duties to clerks, and prescribing times and places at which clerks shall be available for the performance of their duties;
(5) Making arrangements with proper authorities for the drawing of jury panels and determining which sessions must be jury sessions;
(6) Arranging for the reporting of cases by court reporters or other authorized means;
(7) Arranging for the orderly disposition of specialized matters, including traffic, domestic relations, and proceedings under chapters 26-7A, 26-8A, 26-8B, and 26-8C;
(8) Promulgating a schedule of offenses for which magistrates or other designated persons may accept written appearances, waivers of trial, and pleas of guilty, and establishing a schedule of fines and bails therefor;
(9) Assigning to other circuit judges in the circuit various powers and duties in this chapter provided;
(10) Periodically reviewing the performance and application by magistrates, clerks and deputy clerks of schedules they are to follow, and correcting, with or without the request of the person affected, erroneous application thereof.
The presiding judge shall arrange that a circuit judge is available to hold court in the county seat of each county in the circuit as necessary to distribute the work of the courts, alleviate congestion, and secure the prompt disposition of cases for each county.
Source: SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 33.1205; SDCL § 16-6-19; SL 1973, ch 130, § 5; SL 1975, ch 162, § 2; SL 1998, ch 113, § 1; SL 2011, ch 107, § 1; SL 2021, ch 86, § 2.