State Court Administrator proposes formal style‑and‑form review for court rulemaking

The State Court Administrator’s Office presented a proposal to repeal SDCL 16‑3‑5.1 and adopt a new chapter that would formalize a style‑and‑form review step in the court’s rulemaking process.

Bridget Hoffman of the State Court Administrator’s Office told the court the proposal creates a single point of review — the Chief of Legal Research — who would examine drafts for style, consistency and readability within 20 days of receipt and return recommended edits to the proponent. If the proponent accepts the edits, the proposal would be returned within 10 workdays; proponents are not required to adopt the recommended changes.

Hoffman said the change is partly modeled on the legislative drafting review and that its goal is to reduce drafting errors, improve consistency in terminology, and modernize statutory language in court rules. She described a notice timeline that would invite rule proposals three to four months before a scheduled hearing so the style‑and‑form review could occur before public notice and hearing procedures begin.

A justice asked whether the list of subject areas in the existing statute could be replaced by a simple reference to the court’s constitutional rulemaking authority; Hoffman said the office would consider whether substituting a constitutional citation would be appropriate and that doing so would likely not be a substantive change. The office recommended repealing the existing single‑section approach and adopting the multi‑step procedure for review and timelines; the proposal was submitted for the court’s consideration.