Local Rule LR 83.1: RECORDING AND CELLULAR DEVICES

LR 83.1 RECORDING AND CELLULAR DEVICES Except by permission of the presiding judge, no person will photograph, videotape, televise, broadcast, or record, or cause to be photographed, videotaped, televised, broadcast, or recorded any courtroom proceeding, including proceedings of the grand jury. No person will take any photographic, videotape, television, or sound recording equipment into (1) any courtroom except upon the express permission of the presiding judge, or (2) any jury room, or (3) any corridor on the floor on which a courtroom or jury room is located. This paragraph does not apply to (1) the official court reporter who may use a voice-recording device in connection with his or her official duties, or (2) the use of electronic means for the presentation of evidence or the perpetuation of the record as authorized by the court.

Cellular phones and electronic devices may be brought into courthouses in the United States District Court for South Dakota unless the presiding judge places restrictions on these devices. All cellular and electronic devices must be turned off in the courtroom and any corridor on the floor on which a courtroom or jury room is located unless specifically authorized by order of the court. Cellular and electronic devices are devices capable of communicating, transmitting, receiving, or recording messages, images, sounds, data, or other information by any means, including but not limited to, a computer tablet, cell phone, or Bluetooth device. Individuals who bring such devices into courtrooms may be asked by court security personnel to demonstrate that the device is turned off. Members of the Bar and employees of members of the Bar are exempt from this provision.

Use of any camera or sound recording devices in a courtroom or any corridor on the floor on which a courtroom or jury room is located is prohibited unless specifically authorized by order of the court.

However, an electronic device that is essential to a person's health or welfare (such as an insulin pump) may remain on in the courtroom.

News media personnel who possess recording devices will be allowed entry into a court facility, provided the news media personnel are escorted through the building by a representative of the tenant agency being visited. If no tenant representative is available, entry with the recording devices will be denied. In courthouses where jury and grand jury facilities are located contiguous to public access corridors, news media personnel will not be allowed to possess recording devices on the floors housing the jury and grand jury facilities during jury deliberations or grand jury sessions.

Photographic, videotape, television, and sound recording devices are permitted in courtrooms and in adjacent corridors for naturalization ceremonies, investitures, attorney admissions, and other ceremonial functions unless specifically prohibited by the court.