The Ethics Committee provided a supplement to the Bar's monthly newsletter, titled "COVID-19 Ethical Considerations." It is available here. The supplement addresses compliance with Rules 1.1 through 1.6 and Rules 5.1-5.3 in the era of COVID-19.
The Bar has provided insight regarding remotely-executed Wills under the South Dakota Supreme Court's April 14, 2020 Order Regarding Court Reports, Witnesses & Notarizations. The article, titled "Remote Execution of Wills and Living Wills Under the Supreme Court's Emergency Order," is available here. It provides suggestions on how to incorporate the provisions of the Order, along with a sample attestation that includes language specific to remote signatures and notarizations.
On March 13, 2020, the South Dakota Supreme Court declared a judicial emergency due to COVID-19. The order granted Presiding Judges of each of South Dakota's seven judicial circuits the authority to enter orders to respond to the public healthy emergency in their respective jurisdictions. The Unified Judicial System maintains a list of all orders issued by the South Dakota Supreme Court and Circuit Courts. The list includes links to each order. The list is available here.
On March 13, 2020, the District of South Dakota declared a judicial emergency. Standing Orders are available here.
Notice from the United State's Attorneys Office, March 30, 2020:
"Due to the COVID-19 virus, the United States Attorney’s Office will not accept personal service of pleadings, including those that are initiating suit, such as civil complaints, petitions for writs of habeas corpus, motions for temporary restraining orders, etc. We strongly recommend that you mail a hard copy of the pleading, certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Civil Process Clerk at our Sioux Falls office AND that you email a pdf version of the pleading to: usasd.civilpleadings@usdoj.gov. Be advised that nothing in this notice is intended to alter the service requirements contained in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This does not apply to bankruptcy petitions or other bankruptcy pleadings, which must be served according to the Bankruptcy Rules." Please call (605) 357-2340 for more information.
Standing orders are available here.
The Clerk's March 30, 2020 notice regarding deferrals of federal student loans is available here.
Standing orders are available here.
Service of paper copies on parties participating in CM/ECF is suspended until further notice. Pro se litigants must still be served by U.S. mail. Visit the Court's homepage here for updates.
Orders and other updates are available here
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