PENNINGTON COUNTY, S.D. (KELO) — The new Pennington County 7th Circuit Court Judges were sworn in this week at the historic rotunda of the Pennington County Courthouse in Rapid City, according to a release from NEWS.SD.gov
Earlier this year, Governor Kristi Noem announced the appointment of Scott Roetzel and Eric Kelderman to the 7th Circuit Court.
Scott Roetzel was sworn into office at the as circuit court judge on Tuesday.
Roetzel was recognized as the 2014 2014 South Dakota Prosecutor of the Year. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1989 and the USD School of Law in 1992. He worked for the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office in Rapid City and became the Chief Deputy in 1996.
Roetzel then joined the law firm of Johnson Eiesland in 2002, where he practiced medical malpractice and insurance defense. He went on to become an Assistant United States’ Attorney focusing on Federal Tort Claims before going back to the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office as Senior Litigation Counsel. In 2017, Roetzel joined the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office as the Supervisor of the Rapid City Office.
Scott Roetzel is married to Pennington County State’s Attorney Lara Roetzel. They have five children.
Eric Kelderman was sworn into office as circuit court judge on Friday.
Kelderman is an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota in Rapid City. He is a member of the office’s Appellate Division and handles appeals of convictions and other matters before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. Kelderman was part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division, was a member of a trial team that received the Department of Justice Attorney General’s Award, and served over 16 years as the U.S. Attorney’s Office Ethics and Responsibility Officer. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Sioux Falls and a master’s degree at the University of South Dakota. He received his law degree from Creighton University. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kelderman was a judicial law clerk to three federal judges in South Dakota and Nebraska.
Kelderman and his wife Renae have two children.
Kelderman and Roetzel will serve the 7th Judicial Circuit, which includes Custer, Fall River, Oglala Lakota and Pennington Counties.
