By Victoria Wicks
Even the opponents testifying against the Public Safety Improvement Act on Friday largely favor the legislation. Senate Bill 70 contains the legal mechanisms to put into action the Criminal Justice Initiative, the sweeping reform of South Dakota’s treatment of nonviolent criminals and addicts. The major point of contention is the elimination of preliminary hearings for offenders accused of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Lindsay Riter-Rapp lobbies for the South Dakota Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. She says her organization can’t support the package of legislation for just one reason: the elimination of preliminary hearings for misdemeanors.
She says these short hearings that occur early in prosecution can help to settle cases before they go to trial.
“Both on the side of the prosecutor, as well as on the side of the defense attorney, it really gives you a good perspective of the strengths and weaknesses of your case,” she says.
Someone found guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor faces up to a year in county jail, but not prison. Riter-Rapp says eliminating these hearings does nothing to meet the initiative’s stated purpose: “From our perspective they do not have a direct impact on the prison population, which was part of what the objective of the criminal justice initiative was.”
Riter-Rapp testified against the bill before the Senate State Affairs Committee, along with other attorneys who say that section of the bill was added after the initiative’s work group had stopped meeting.
Those who favor eliminating prelims say law enforcement officers spend time testifying at these hearings instead of being out on patrol.
The committee unanimously gave the bill a do-pass recommendation. Now it goes before the full Senate and then on to the House.