--- title: "Eric Kelderman | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-kelderman-sd-trial" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Eric Kelderman South Dakota Circuit Court · Circuit Judge ## Profile - Court: South Dakota Circuit Court - State: South Dakota - Role: Circuit Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-10-02 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Law clerk to three federal judges - Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota - At appointment he was an assistant United States attorney in Rapid City, working in the Appellate Division on Eighth Circuit appeals ### Education - Undergraduate degree at the University of Sioux Falls, a master’s degree at the University of South Dakota, and a law degree at Creighton University. ### Additional information - A collected July 2024 local-news result reports he was sworn in July 12, 2024; the governor’s biography does not supply degree years. - Eric Kelderman was announced as Governor Kristi Noem’s appointee to South Dakota’s Seventh Judicial Circuit on April 17, 2024. - Criminal Division and Appellate Division; ethics officer - Before federal prosecution work, he clerked for three federal judges in South Dakota and Nebraska. - He earlier served in the Criminal Division, participated in a trial team receiving the Department of Justice Attorney General’s Award, and served more than sixteen years as the office’s Ethics and Responsibility Officer. - U; n; i; v; e; r; s; i; t; y;; o; f; - S; i; o; u; x; - F; a; l; l; s;,;; u; n; d; e; r; g; r; a; d; u; a; t; e;; d; e; g; r; e; e - S; o; u; t; h; - D; a; k; o; t; a;,;; m; a; s; t; e; r; '; s;; d; e; g; r; e; e - C; r; e; i; g; h; t; o; n; - S; c; h; o; o; l;; o; f; - L; a; w;,; - J;. ## 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 ### electronic devices and media Scope: statewide South Dakota's published statewide guidance permits expanded media coverage in circuit and magistrate proceedings only when the parties and court agree, and the court may modify the coverage at any time. Evidence excerpt: Expanded media coverage (audio, video and still photos) is allowed when the parties of the case and the court all agree that such coverage should be permitted. [South Dakota Unified Judicial System: Circuit Court Media Coverage](https://ujs.sd.gov/for-the-media/) Source checked: 2026-07-27 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/) - [Official roster](https://ujs.sd.gov/court-finder/seventh-judicial-circuit/circuit-contacts-seventh-judicial-circuit/) - [South Dakota Unified Judicial System Directory](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/) - [South Dakota Unified Judicial System: Circuit Court Media Coverage](https://ujs.sd.gov/for-the-media/) - [Gov. Noem Appoints Roetzel & Kelderman to 7th Judicial Circuit Court](https://ujs.sd.gov/ujs-news/governor-noem-appoints-roetzel-and-kelderman-to-seventh-judicial-circuit-court/) - [Gov. Noem Appoints Roetzel & Kelderman to 7th Judicial Circuit Court](https://ujs.sd.gov/ujs-news/governor-noem-appoints-roetzel-and-kelderman-to-seventh-judicial-circuit-court/) - [South Dakota Unified Judicial System official judicial roster](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/) - [South Dakota Unified Judicial System: Circuit Court Media Coverage](https://ujs.sd.gov/for-the-media/) - [Gov. Noem Appoints Roetzel & Kelderman to 7th Judicial Circuit Court](https://ujs.sd.gov/ujs-news/governor-noem-appoints-roetzel-and-kelderman-to-seventh-judicial-circuit-court/) - [news.sd.gov](https://news.sd.gov/news?id=news_kb_article_view&sys_id=a51647be47ed4610854b61d2e16d43f4) - [ujs.sd.gov](https://ujs.sd.gov/ujs-news/two-new-seventh-circuit-court-judges-to-be-sworn-into-office/) - [www.keloland.com](https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/new-pennington-co-7th-circuit-court-judges-sworn-in/) - [South Dakota Unified Judicial System official judicial roster](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/) - [South Dakota Unified Judicial System: Circuit Court Media Coverage](https://ujs.sd.gov/for-the-media/) - [Gov. Noem Appoints Roetzel & Kelderman to 7th Judicial Circuit Court](https://ujs.sd.gov/ujs-news/governor-noem-appoints-roetzel-and-kelderman-to-seventh-judicial-circuit-court/) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-kelderman-sd-trial", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-kelderman-sd-trial", "name": "Eric Kelderman | KnowJudges", "description": "Eric Kelderman, South Dakota Circuit Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-kelderman-sd-trial#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-kelderman-sd-trial#judge", "name": "Eric Kelderman", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-kelderman-sd-trial", "jobTitle": "Circuit Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "South Dakota Circuit Court" }, "sameAs": [ "https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/" ], "alumniOf": [] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "South Dakota", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/south-dakota" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eric Kelderman", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/eric-kelderman-sd-trial" } ] } ] } ``` ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [South Dakota Unified Judicial System: Circuit Court Media Coverage](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-044935a56b62369d8361ec08) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://ujs.sd.gov/for-the-media/). Collected 2026-07-27.