Eric Schulte

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Eric Schulte
	Court: United States District Court for the District of South Dakota
Progress
	Confirmed 97 days after nomination.
	Nominated: February 8, 2024
	ABA Rating: Well qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: March 6, 2024
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported:
	Confirmed: May 15, 2024
	Vote: 61-33

Eric Schulte is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. He was nominated to the court by President Joe Biden (D) on February 8, 2024, and confirmed by the United States Senate on May 15, 2024, by a vote of 61-33.^[1]^[2] Schulte was one of 235 Article III judges nominated by President Joe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed by Joe Biden, click here.

The United States District Court for the District of South Dakota is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Schulte was a partner at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, L.L.P.^[3]^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of South Dakota (2024-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On February 8, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Schulte to the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.^[3] He was confirmed by a 61-33 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 15, 2024.^[2] Schulte received commission on June 3, 2024. To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Schulte by a vote of 61-33 on May 15, 2024.^[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Schulte confirmation vote (May 15, 2024)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	44	0	2
Republican	15	33	3
Independent	2	0	1
Total	61^[5]	33	6

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Schulte's nomination on March 6, 2024. As of March 6, 2024, Schulte was awaiting a committee vote to advance his nomination to the full U.S. Senate. Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On February 8, 2024, President Joe Biden (D) nominated Eric Schulte to the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Schulte well qualified.^[6] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Schulte was nominated to replace Judge Karen Schreier, who will assume senior status upon the confirmation of her successor.^[7]^[8]

Biography

Education

Earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota in 1994 and a law degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1999.^[1]

Professional career

2024-present: Judge, United States District Court for the District of South Dakota
2000-2024: Private practice
2023: Adjunct professor, University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law
1999-2000: Law clerk

About the court

The District of South Dakota has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The jurisdiction of the District of South Dakota consists of all the counties in the state of South Dakota. The counties are split into four different divisions known as the Northern Division, the Southern Division, the Central Division, and the Western Division.

The court is based in Sioux Falls (Southern Division), with other courthouses in Rapid City (Western Division), Pierre (Central Division), and Aberdeen (Northern Division).

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.