---
title: "Robin Jacobson Houwman | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/robin-jacobson-houwman-sd-trial"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Robin Jacobson Houwman

South Dakota Circuit Court · Presiding Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: South Dakota Circuit Court
- State: South Dakota
- Role: Presiding 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

- 2009–Present: Judge, Second Judicial Circuit, appointed by Governor M. Michael Rounds to fill a vacancy
- In January 2025, Chief Justice Steven R. Jensen reappointed Houwman as Presiding Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit
- She held the role of an Assistant US Attorney from 2008 to 2009, practiced at Meierhenry Sargent from 1997 to 2007, and clerked in the Second Circuit from 1996 to 1997
- Law clerk, Second Judicial Circuit
- Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota
- Robin J. Houwman is the Presiding Circuit Judge for South Dakota’s Second Judicial Circuit

### Education

- Smith College BA in 1993 and a University of South Dakota JD in 1996.

### Additional information

- She was reelected in 2014 and 2022 and has held the position of presiding judge since 2018.
- overseeing Lincoln and Minnehaha counties, and has served in that role since 2018
- Notably, she helped establish the circuit’s DUI court in 2014
- Appointed to the Second Judicial Circuit by Governor Mike Rounds in September 2009, succeeding Glen Severson after his Supreme Court elevation.
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## 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/second-judicial-circuit/circuit-contacts-second-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/)
- [Robin Houwman Mediation Attorney](https://www.mediation.com/memberprofile/robin-jacobson-houwman-57104-f9.aspx)
- [Robin Houwman Mediation Attorney](https://www.mediation.com/memberprofile/robin-jacobson-houwman-57104-f9.aspx)
- [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/)
- [Robin Houwman Mediation Attorney](https://www.mediation.com/memberprofile/robin-jacobson-houwman-57104-f9.aspx)
- [ujs.sd.gov](https://ujs.sd.gov/sd-unified-judicial-system-directory/robin-jacobson-houwman/)
- [ujs.sd.gov](https://ujs.sd.gov/ujs-news/judge-robin-j-houwman-reappointed-as-presiding-judge-of-second-judicial-circuit/)
- [ballotpedia.org](https://ballotpedia.org/Robin_Jacobson_Houwman)
- [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/)
- [Robin Houwman Mediation Attorney](https://www.mediation.com/memberprofile/robin-jacobson-houwman-57104-f9.aspx)

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## 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.