South Dakota Legal News
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South Dakota jails more people per capita than any other state, report shows
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: "South Dakota jails more people per capita than any other state in the country, according to a national nonprofit that researches incarceration. Half of those arrests are drug or alcohol-related." -
Many crime victims in S.D. not being paid restitution they are owed
KELO News: "In South Dakota, people convicted of crimes owe their victims millions of dollars in court-ordered restitution, but most of that debt is going unpaid and there is little remedy available for those harmed to get their money." -
South Dakota anti-riot law blocked by federal judge
Courthouse News Service: "A federal judge in South Dakota Wednesday blocked provisions of a new anti-rioting law signed by Gov. Kristi Noem earlier this year that aims to quash protests against the Keystone XL pipeline." -
Chief Justice Gilbertson provides an inside look at South Dakota’s Supreme Court
KELO News: "Chief Justice David Gilbertson answered questions from KELOLAND Capitol News Bureau reporter Bob Mercer in Pierre about how the South Dakota Supreme Court decides to hear cases and the related topic of the roles that law clerks play in the court’s processes." -
Nearly 40 years after South Dakota changed sentencing law, dozens are serving 100 years or more for first-degree manslaughter
Brainerd Dispatch: "Nearly 25 years ago, Joaquin Ramos entered the South Dakota State Penitentiary to begin a life sentence for first-degree manslaughter, angry about the circumstances that led him there." -
S.D. legislators urge state Supreme Court to allow concealed handguns in chambers
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: "South Dakota Supreme Court justices are weighing a ban on concealed handguns in the Court's Capitol space for their own protection, but some legislators are arguing that's the reason they passed a law allowing it." -
U.S. Attorney says South Dakota prosecutions are up
KOTA News: "The number of cases being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Dakota is up for the second straight year. The office's annual report for 2018 is out and prosecutors say they've filed cases against 914 defendants in the South Dakota district last year, a 3.6 percent increase from 2017." -
South Dakotans soon able to access court records from any computer
Brookings Register: "The South Dakota Unified Judicial System is piloting a program that will eventually allow the public access to court records from any computer. The public can now only view court records on computers at state courthouses during work hours from Monday to Friday." -
SD justices say injured driver doesn't owe insurance company
KELO News: "State Farm can't recover $5,000 from motorist LeRoy James Jr. it paid to him for medical expenses, the South Dakota Supreme Court said in a decision released Thursday. Jones was rear-ended on July 16, 2016, on SD 16 near Rapid City by another driver, Melissa Rivers." -
South Dakota project fights financial crimes against tribes
Associated Press: "A South Dakota project has uncovered dozens of people and organizations that collectively stole millions of dollars from nine Native American reservations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota."