--- title: "Roberto Antonio Lange | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roberto-a-lange" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Roberto Antonio Lange U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota · Chief U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - State: South Dakota - Role: Chief U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-10-02 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - The Chief United States District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, a position he has held since January 1, 2020 - U.S. District Judge, District of South Dakota, 2009-present - On July 8, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Lange to a vacant seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, created when Judge Charles B. Kornmann assumed senior status - He then joined the Sioux Falls law firm Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith in 1989, becoming a partner in 1993 and later head of its litigation section - Law clerk, Hon. Donald J. Porter, U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota, 1988-1989 ### Education - He later obtained his J.D. in 1988 from Northwestern University School of Law (now Pritzker School of Law) cum laude, serving on the law review, the Jessup International Moot Court team, and earning the Order of the Coif distinction - University of South Dakota, graduating magna cum laude and receiving the McGovern–Abourezk Human Rights Award — B.A. (1985) ### Additional information - Chief Judge, 2020-present - He became Chief Judge in 2020 - The Senate confirmed him 100–0 on October 21, 2009, and he was commissioned the same day. - Private practice, Sioux Falls, SD, 1989-2009 - Notably, in 2005 he argued Rhines v. - Born April 22, 1963, in Pamplona, Spain. - Date of birth: 1963-01-01 - After law school, Lange clerked for Hon. - His practice focused on complex commercial litigation, products liability, personal injury, class actions, and ERISA cases. - Weber before the U.S. Supreme Court as court-appointed counsel for a death-row inmate, a case in which the Court ruled 9–0 in his client’s favor - Lange was raised on a family farm near Madison, South Dakota. - Birth place: Pamplona, Spain ## 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/1392946) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392946) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392946) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1853/roberto-antonio-lange/) - [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/1392946) - [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) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1853/roberto-antonio-lange/) - [Wikidata: Roberto Lange](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7351766) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392946) - [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/1392946) - [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) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roberto-a-lange", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roberto-a-lange", "name": "Roberto Antonio Lange | KnowJudges", "description": "Roberto Antonio Lange, U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. 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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.