The South Dakota Supreme Court has overturned Annette Bosworth's perjury convictions but upheld other charges.
Bosworth ran for U.S. Senate in South Dakota in 2014, and lost in the primary election.
To get on the ballot, she submitted nominating petitions to the Secretary of State with a sworn verification that she had personally circulated them. But a subsequent investigation showed she was in the Philippines at the time the signatures were gathered.
The supreme court found that the state misinterpreted the statute it applied when charging Bosworth with perjury.
Her attorney, Dana Hanna, made that point at oral arguments in November.
"My first argument, of course, is that the perjury convictions also have to be overturned because this statement, false though it was, was not made in a state or federal proceeding or action under the statute," Hanna told justices.
The supreme court overturned the perjury convictions but upheld Bosworth's convictions for filing false or forged instruments.
After her May 2015 trial, Bosworth received a suspended sentence and was ordered to serve 500 hours of community service.
