---
title: "Eric Claude Schulte | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-c-schulte"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-08"
---

# Eric Claude Schulte

U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota · Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
- State: South Dakota
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-10-02

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- U.S. District Judge, District of South Dakota, 2024-present
- American lawyer and United States district judge for the District of South Dakota, appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2024
- Adjunct professor, University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law, 2023
- Law clerk, South Dakota Circuit Court, Second Judicial Circuit, 1999-2000

### Education

- University of South Dakota School of Law (now Knudson School of Law) — J.D. (1999)
- University of South Dakota — B.A. (1994)

### Additional information

- Private practice, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 2000-2024
- Born 1972 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### courtroom technology

Scope: courtwide

Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge.

Evidence excerpt: December 14, 2018 . COURTROOM TECHNOLOGY : In an effort to keep up with evolving technology, all courtrooms in the District of South Dakota now feature high definition video evidence presentation equipment. This equipment can facilitate presentations that offer clearer and easier-to-understand information and is simple to use.

[Attorney Newsletter December 2018 | District of South Dakota | United States District Court](https://www.sdd.uscourts.gov/attynews20181214)
Source checked: 2026-07-24

### courtroom technology

Scope: courtwide

Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge.

Evidence excerpt: 1 COURTROOM TECHNOLOGY MANUAL FOR ATTORNEYS United States District Courthouse Rapid City, South Dakota EVIDENCE PRESENTATION SYSTEMS: Evidence presentation systems are available in both the second and third floor courtrooms utilized by Chief Judge Karen E. Schreier, District Judge Andrew W.

[CourtroomTechnologyManual_RC.pdf](https://www.sdd.uscourts.gov/sites/sdd/files/CourtroomTechnologyManual_RC.pdf)
Source checked: 2026-07-24

### civil remote testimony

Scope: courtwide

In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.

Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.

[Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### criminal recording and broadcasting

Scope: courtwide

Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.

Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.

[Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761661)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761661)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761661)
- [Attorney Newsletter December 2018 | District of South Dakota | United States District Court](https://www.sdd.uscourts.gov/attynews20181214)
- [CourtroomTechnologyManual_RC.pdf](https://www.sdd.uscourts.gov/sites/sdd/files/CourtroomTechnologyManual_RC.pdf)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
- [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
- [Judge Eric Claude Schulte](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761661)
- [Wikidata: Eric Schulte](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126369802)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761661)
- [Attorney Newsletter December 2018 | District of South Dakota | United States District Court](https://www.sdd.uscourts.gov/attynews20181214)
- [CourtroomTechnologyManual_RC.pdf](https://www.sdd.uscourts.gov/sites/sdd/files/CourtroomTechnologyManual_RC.pdf)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
- [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/13761661)
- [Attorney Newsletter December 2018 | District of South Dakota | United States District Court](https://www.sdd.uscourts.gov/attynews20181214)
- [CourtroomTechnologyManual_RC.pdf](https://www.sdd.uscourts.gov/sites/sdd/files/CourtroomTechnologyManual_RC.pdf)
- [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure)
- [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts)

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## Federal civil docket activity

Dataset updated through 2026-06-30.

| Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1y | 82 | 0 | Not available | 0 |
| 2y | 125 | 8 | Not available | 8 |
| 5y | 126 | 8 | Not available | 8 |
| 10y | 126 | 8 | Not available | 8 |

Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/


## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
- [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.
