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Press Release
Under federal statute, the United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota, Randolph J. Seiler, will remain in his current appointed position until the President nominates and the U.S. Senate confirms his successor. Seiler has not been asked to tender his resignation.
Seiler assumed the duties of Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota on March 12, 2015, when former U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson resigned. In October of that same year, Seiler received the official nomination by President Barack Obama to be the 41st U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota. Pursuant to an order signed by then U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on October 6, 2015, Seiler was sworn in that same day by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange, at a ceremony at the U.S. District Courthouse in Pierre, South Dakota.
Seiler’s nomination was sent to the U.S. Senate for confirmation, but it was not acted upon in the allotted timeframe. Given that, federal statute 28 USC 546 – subsection (d) provides the U.S. District Court the authority to appoint a U. S. Attorney. Subsequently, Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court, ordered Randolph J. Seiler as the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota, effective February 5, 2016. Statutorily, Seiler can remain in his position until it is filled by the new administration.
Seiler has been with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for over 20 years. From November 2009 to March 2015, Seiler served as both the First Assistant U.S. Attorney and the Tribal Liaison for the District of South Dakota. Prior to serving in those two capacities, Seiler was an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and he spent 14 years prosecuting violent crime offenses in Indian country and other areas throughout the state.
Seiler also served as counsel to the Director in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., in 2008. He has been an instructor at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, as well as a presenter at numerous conferences and trainings on various topics including violent crime, sexual assault, domestic violence, and legal issues in the prosecution of crimes in Indian country.
He has received the Attorney General's Award for Fraud Prevention, as well as the Director's Award for Superior Performance in Indian Country.