S.D. Court Appointed Attorney Guidelines

South Dakota Unified Judicial System

COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEY GUIDELINES

Last Updated: 3/30/2026

Contents

COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEY GUIDELINES.......................................................................................................................... 1

Contents.............................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Scope................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Duties of Appointed Counsel Referral................................................................................................................................ 3

Termination of Appointment of Counsel............................................................................................................................ 4

Compensation..................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Vouchers for Payment........................................................................................................................................................ 4

Travel................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Approval or Disapproval of Attorney’s Fees and Costs....................................................................................................... 5

Experts................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Appointment of Co-Counsel................................................................................................................................................ 6

Expenses, Paralegals, Investigators.................................................................................................................................... 6

ADDENDUM............................................................................................................................................................................ 7

Termination......................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Compensation..................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Vouchers for Payment........................................................................................................................................................ 7

Travel................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Approval or Disapproval of Attorney’s Fees and Costs....................................................................................................... 8

Experts................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

Expenses, Paralegals, Investigators.................................................................................................................................... 9

Scope

• The following govern cases where an attorney is appointed to represent an indigent individual. Please also

be aware that there is a state Catastrophic Legal Expense Relief Program, managed by the Association of

County Commissioners, that can reimburse court-appointed attorney fees to a county in certain

situations. See SDCL 7-16B.

• These guidelines apply to all cases where an attorney is appointed to represent an indigent individual,

including criminal proceedings, juvenile delinquency proceedings, children in need of supervision

proceedings, dependent and neglected children proceedings, termination of parental rights proceedings,

habeas corpus, and other special proceedings.

• Circuit specific information that varies from these general procedures is attached as an addendum to this

document as it relates to each section.

Duties of Appointed Counsel Referral

• Appointed counsel do so in fulfillment of their professional responsibility as officers of the court. The

compensation or appointment in no respect diminishes such responsibility.

• Appointed counsel shall continue to serve until their representation is terminated as provided by rule or by

court order.

• If an individual receives court-appointed counsel, they may still have the financial ability to make periodic

partial payments to the county during the attorney’s representation. Thus, appointed counsel shall instruct

their clients to report any improvement in their financial condition which would allow the client the ability

to finance all or part of the representation.

• Each court-appointed defense attorney shall receive training on mental illness, available mental health

services, eligibility criteria and referral processes, and forensic evaluations in order to be eligible for court

appointments. See SDCL 23A-40-21. This training is available on the UJS website.

• Counsel appointed to represent abused or neglected children, including as guardian ad litem, shall certify

that they have viewed and completed the A&N attorney training developed by the UJS. Upon completion

of the training, counsel information is submitted to the State Court Administrator’s Office and added to

the list of certified A&N attorneys. This training is available on the UJS website.

Termination of Appointment of Counsel

• Appointed counsel in a criminal case involving a plea of guilty, nolo contendere, or guilty but mentally ill,

shall cease to serve when a judgment of conviction has been entered and a copy of the judgment has been

provided to the defendant.

• Counsel shall advise the defendant of their right of appeal and of their right to counsel on appeal. If the

defendant indicates a desire to appeal, counsel shall immediately advise the court of that fact in writing. In

such case, counsel shall seek appointment to represent the defendant on appeal.

• Representation by appointed counsel in other proceedings shall terminate when the purpose of t h e

appointment is accomplished or when terminated by court order.

Fourth Circuit: See Addendum

Compensation

• Unless appointed counsel has a contract providing otherwise, all appointed counsel will be compensated

according to the uniform schedule of court-appointed attorney fees published each year by the State Court

Administrator’s Office.

• Current compensation rates can be found on the UJS website.

• All claims for compensation must be reasonably necessary and the amount must be reasonably valued.

See Duffy v. Circuit Court for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, 2004 SD 19, ¶ 14-17, 676 NW2d 126 (discussing

factors in determining the reasonableness of attorney fees).

Sixth Circuit: See Addendum

Vouchers for Payment

• All requests and vouchers for the payment of attorney’s fees and expenses must be itemized and

submitted to the assigned judge for approval no later than 30 days after the case is completed unless

otherwise approved by the court for good cause shown.

• Upon application by counsel and for good cause shown, the judge presiding in the case may authorize

interim payments for services provided or waive payment deadlines.

• Please utilize the Court-Appointed Counsel Voucher for Compensation & Expenses Form when submitting

your claims. This form is available on the UJS website.

• Failure to follow established rules will result in refusal to approve the bill or voucher for such expense.

First Circuit: See Addendum

Second Circuit: See Addendum

Third Circuit: See Addendum

Fourth Circuit: See Addendum

Fifth Circuit: See Addendum

Sixth Circuit: See Addendum

Seventh Circuit: See Addendum

Travel

• Travel will be paid at a rate per mile for necessary travel. No trips are to be made other than to court or

any state jail detention facility or penitentiary where the individual is being held without prior approval of

the judge. Travel will be paid at the rate for both the use of the automobile and for the attorney’s travel

time.

Second Circuit: See Addendum

Seventh Circuit: See Addendum

Approval or Disapproval of Attorney’s Fees and Costs

• If the full amount of the voucher or statement for fees by counsel is not approved by the trial judge, the

trial judge must consult with the attorney regarding the reasons for change or modification of the

statement or voucher submitted by counsel.

• If the attorney is dissatisfied with the amount of compensation allowed by the trial judge, the attorney

may request that a three-judge panel in that circuit review the claim for compensation and hold a hearing.

A decision by the majority of the judges on the panel shall become the amount of fees and costs

authorized.

Third Circuit: See Addendum

Fifth Circuit: See Addendum

Seventh Circuit: See Addendum

Experts

• A motion to hire expert witnesses must be made in writing to the judge presiding in the case. This motion

must be:

1. made in good faith;

2. reasonable in all respects;

3. timely and specifically set forth the necessity of the expert; and

4. specify that the client is financially unable to obtain the required service themselves and that such

services would otherwise be justifiably obtained were the client financially able.

o Counsel must verify with their client that the client is not financially able to retain the

desired service as of the time the motion is made.

• If the judge approves the motion, the order of appointment shall set a ceiling on the amount which can be

expended for this purpose. That ceiling includes total outlay for the expert’s services and expenses and

cannot be exceeded without prior court authorization. Counsel shall send a copy of the order of

appointment to the expert so that he or she has notice of the ceiling.

• If possible, experts from the immediate area of the proceedings should be appointed.

Fifth Circuit: See Addendum

Seventh Circuit: See Addendum

Appointment of Co-Counsel

• If counsel believes co-counsel is necessary due to the complexity of the case, counsel may request the

court to appoint co-counsel. The approval or disapproval of such application for co-counsel rests in the

sound discretion of the trial judge.

Expenses, Paralegals, Investigators

• Appointed counsel shall be allowed reimbursement for reasonably incurred expenses. Costs shall be

limited to reasonable copying costs, subpoena service fees, telephone charges, fax charges, fees for

obtaining records, and similar expenses.

• Costs ascribed to overhead, such as word processing, messengers, secretarial services, and similar

expenditures shall not be allowed.

• Charges for electronic research services such as Lexis or Westlaw will not be allowed unless by prior

written court order upon a showing of special need.

• Services of a paralegal or investigator must comply with the above section entitled “Experts.”

Second Circuit: See Addendum

Fourth Circuit: See Addendum

Fifth Circuit: See Addendum

Sixth Circuit: See Addendum

Seventh Circuit: See Addendum

ADDENDUM

Termination

• Fourth Circuit: Any additional legal work performed in sentence reduction matters or other post-

judgment matters is not compensable unless a new order of appointment is entered.

Compensation

• Sixth Circuit: Legal services should be billed at the rate in effect at the time the service was rendered. All

flat fees have been eliminated.

Vouchers for Payment

• First Circuit: When the attorney is representing a defendant on multiple cases, a combined voucher for

payment is NOT allowed. A separate voucher must be filed for each case and the fees and expenses

reasonably apportioned between each case. Where one or more of the cases has been dismissed, the

sentencing court will direct the attorney as to how to apportion the invoices. No voucher would be filed in

a dismissed case unless all cases are dismissed. Invoices attached to vouchers must show the fees and

expenses for each individual case or clearly show how the fees and expenses have been apportioned

between the cases. All vouchers must be filed through File and Serve. When court-appointed attorneys are

handling lengthy cases, interim vouchers should be filed annually at a minimum, but preferably every six

months. For MIL cases, Attorneys should use the First Circuit CAA MIL Voucher Form available on the First

Circuit website.

• Second Circuit: All invoices and vouchers for the payment of attorney’s fees and expenses must be

itemized and submitted to the assigned judge for approval no later than 90 days after the case is

completed unless otherwise approved by the court for good cause shown.

• Third Circuit: Interim billings for court-appointed attorney fees are allowed, to eliminate the submission of

large bills to a county for expenses incurred, especially from a different fiscal year, or to prevent confusion

due to the changing of rates set by the Supreme Court.

• Fourth Circuit: Absent prior authorization, court-appointed counsel in all criminal and committal cases

shall submit to the court one billing or court-appointed counsel fees at time of sentencing or disposition of

the case, which will be made a part of the sentence or order. Juvenile court appointments may be billed on

a monthly or quarterly basis. Failure to submit billings within the time provided in this policy may result in

the court denying payment of court-appointed counsel fees, in whole or in part. The court may waive the

application of this policy for good cause.

• Fifth Circuit: Upon application by the defense attorney, in a trial of greater than normal length, the judge

presiding in the case may authorize monthly payments to that attorney for services provided. Vouchers

submitted outside of the 30-day period shall be accompanied by a separate statement outlining good

cause for the delay.

• Sixth Circuit: Requests for payment of court-appointed counsel fees should be presented to the court on

the date of the completion of the case, but in no event later than 30 days after the case is complete before

the circuit court. Failure to submit the fee requests within the time provided in this policy may result in the

court denying payment of court-appointed counsel fees, in whole or in part. The court may waive the

application of this policy for good cause shown.

Seventh Circuit:

o Absent prior authorization, court-appointed counsel in all criminal and committal cases shall submit

to the court one billing or court-appointed counsel fees at time of sentencing or disposition of the

case, which will be made a part of the sentence or order. Juvenile court appointments may be

billed on a monthly or quarterly basis. For complex cases, upon application by the attorney, the

court may waive this policy and provide for interim billings. Submissions are required to comply

with the Voucher for Compensation and Expenses of Court-Appointed Counsel Form.

o Interim billings, submitted no more than once per month, are permitted for court-appointed

counsel fees to help avoid submitting large bills to the county for expenses incurred. If billing

intermittently, each itemization must reference any prior submissions for that case. If no interim

billing is submitted, the total court-appointed counsel fees will be due at sentencing or case

disposition and will be included in the sentence or order. All submissions must comply with the

Voucher for Compensation and Expenses of Court-Appointed Counsel requirements.

Travel

• Second Circuit: In the Second Judicial Circuit, attorneys outside Sioux Falls are welcome to place

themselves on the list for court appointments in Minnehaha County. However, in light of the number of

local attorneys readily available nearby and in consideration of the taxpayers of Minnehaha County, by

local policy the judges in Sioux Falls expect attorneys to waive mileage charges in Minnehaha cases unless

special circumstances exist as determined by prior judicial approval. This travel waiver does not apply to

Lincoln County cases. Travel to out-of-county correctional facilities to interview in-custody clients when

video or telephonic meetings are not practical is generally considered an exception to the local policy

against travel reimbursement.

• Seventh Circuit: Due to the availability of local attorneys, no travel costs will be paid for attorneys

representing clients whose case is venued in Pennington county, unless travel outside the county is

necessary and prior permission from the judge presiding over the case has been obtained. Such motion

may be made ex parte and under seal. Attorneys representing clients in Custer, Fall River, and Oglala

Lakota counties must allocate their travel costs equally between all clients represented in one of those

counties on any given court day.

Approval or Disapproval of Attorney’s Fees and Costs

• Third Circuit: Appeals by attorneys to the Third Circuit judges regarding cuts in court-appointed attorney

fees shall be reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard.

• Fifth Circuit:

o If it appears that the total fee in any case will exceed $1,500 for a misdemeanor case and $2,500 for

a felony case, prior approval from the judge assigned to try the case should be obtained before that

limit is limited if counsel wishes to exceed that amount.

o No fee for any of these types of cases up to appeal may exceed $25,000. Payment for attorney fees

from any source will be included in the computation. The trial judge will make a determination as

to total payment considering reasonably necessary services to affect a proper defense, and the trial

judge may, in their sound discretion, set a lower maximum limit for a particular case.

o In juvenile matters, which concern children in need of supervision, juvenile delinquencies and

abuse and neglect cases, no fee for any case for any one attorney may exceed $5,000. This,

however, excludes costs for attorney fees that may be incurred during an appeal.

• Seventh Circuit: Appeals by attorneys to the Seventh Circuit judges regarding cuts in court- appointed

attorney fees shall be reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard.

Experts

• Fifth Circuit: Permission must be obtained from the trial judge before any expenditure can be committed

to hire an expert witness. The anticipated cost for services and expenses of such a witness and the reasons

for such a need must be provided to the trial judge at the time such request is made.

• Seventh Circuit: Permission must be obtained from the trial judge before any expenditure can be

committed to hire an expert witness. The anticipated cost for services and expenses of such a witness and

the reasons for such must be provided to the trial judge at the time such request is made. The motion may

be made ex parte and under seal. Under no circumstances shall the expert exceed the allowed cost

without prior authorization from the trial judge.

Expenses, Paralegals, Investigators

• Second Circuit: Routine office overhead expenses such as consumable office supplies will not normally be

re-reimbursed. Counsel are encouraged to subcontract various services ordinarily done by themselves,

such as legal research and file organization, if these services can be provided at a reduced rate. Appointed

counsel are also encouraged to subcontract investigation services when available at a reduced rate. If

appointed counsel wishes to use a paralegal or investigator, counsel must comply with the section entitled

“Experts.” The compensation rate for paralegals is $30.00 per hour.

• Fourth Circuit: Counsel are encouraged to subcontract various services ordinarily done by themselves,

such as legal research and file organization, if these services can be provided at a reduced rate. Appointed

counsel is also encouraged to subcontract investigation services when available at a reduced rate. If

appointed counsel wishes to use a paralegal or investigator, counsel must comply with the section entitle

“Experts” and must be preapproved by the court.

• Fifth Circuit: Special Investigator Fees: A request to hire an investigator when it will involve an additional

charge over and above that allowed to the attorney must be addressed to the judge presiding in the case.

If the judge approves the request, the court will set a ceiling on the amount that can be expended for this

purpose. That ceiling includes total outlay for the investigator’s services and expenses and cannot be

exceeded without prior authorization from the judge.

• Sixth Circuit: If appointed counsel wishes to use a paralegal or investigator, counsel must comply with the

section entitled “Experts.” The compensation rate for paralegals is $30.00 per hour.

• Seventh Circuit: Counsel are encouraged to subcontract various services ordinarily done by themselves,

such as legal research and file organization, if these services can be provided at a reduced rate. Appointed

counsel are also encouraged to subcontract investigation services when available at a reduced rate. If

appointed counsel wishes to use a paralegal or investigator, counsel must comply with the section entitled

“Experts.” The compensation rate for paralegals is $30.00 per hour.

Authorization Note: These guidelines adopted by consensus of the Presiding Judges pursuant to Presiding

Judge Policies originally adopted as 3-PJ-89 and periodically reviewed through 1-PJ 26; see also SDCL 23A-40

(Rule 44).