Victoria Wicks

A Senate bill that would put restrictions on paid petition carriers is under scrutiny by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments on Thursday, March 17.In 2021 the South Dakota legislature passed Senate Bill 80, requiring paid carriers’ personal contact information to be made public.Opponents say the requirement exposes carriers to harassment and disenfranchises voters who sign the petitions. But the state says it has an interest in protecting the election process from error or fraud.

A federal judge in Aberdeen has refused to accept a plea agreement, and as part of that ruling, he would not allow the prosecutor to dismiss four of the five charges against the defendant. That has led to the strange situation of a prosecutor and a defendant coming together to appeal a judge’s decision.Judge Charles Kornmann said in his ruling late last year that the plea agreement limited his sentencing option to 15 years for a ruthless attack. The federal prosecutor said there are no valid reasons in this case that allow the judge to refuse to dismiss charges.The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on Wednesday, March 16, in Saint Paul.

Both chambers of the South Dakota Legislature have approved a bill creating immunity for campground owners whose guests encounter the inherent risks of camping, such as bugs and birds and tree stumps. The owners say the pandemic and the state’s open invitation to out-of-staters has resulted in an influx of novice campers who don’t understand the unpredictability of nature.

A man convicted of raping and kidnapping his estranged spouse has fought unsuccessfully to assert that the divorce agreement took care of any civil damages. Richard Seidel claimed the property settlement released him from civil liability for his criminal actions. A Fourth Circuit judge agreed and granted Seidel summary judgment, but the South Dakota Supreme Court has reversed that decision.

A South Dakota legislator who is also a grieving grandson has failed in his attempt to impose mandatory sentences on repeat DUI offenders. Rep. Chris Karr proposed mandatory minimum sentences after his 91-year-old grandmother was killed last year, struck by a drunk driver as she was crossing a street in her hometown of Redfield.

The South Dakota legislature passed a Stand Your Ground law last year that replaced previous legal definitions of self-defense. In part, the law says if a person is justified in using force, he or she is immune from criminal prosecution. Opponents at the time said the law would nullify self-defense case law developed over decades and lead to confusion in the courts. A year later, witnesses say that is the situation. Criminal cases are lining up for clarification before the South Dakota Supreme Court. Senate Bill 195 is designed to settle those questions before the high court does.

Certain inmates serving a mandatory life sentence might get a shot at parole. The Senate Judiciary Committee has passed a bill allowing parole consideration for lifers who committed murder or manslaughter before the age of 25. But the bill requires the inmate to serve 25 years before being eligible and exempts lifers convicted of Class A felonies, which carry the death penalty.

Severely mentally ill defendants will not face the death penalty in South Dakota if a bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee continues to move through the legislature. Senate Bill 159 defines severe mental illness and lays out criteria to meet before a defendant can use the law’s protections.

The House Judiciary has passed along a bill that disallows state cooperation with federal enforcement of gun laws stricter than those on South Dakota’s books. The committee heard from gun advocates who say the federal government shouldn’t dictate Second Amendment rights to the states. Opponents include law enforcement agencies and domestic violence networks who might lose federal cooperation and grant dollars if this bill becomes law.

Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to face their accusers. When the victim is a child, certain protections exist in South Dakota law to minimize the trauma of appearing in court, including testifying by closed-circuit TV. A group of child protection workers drafted two bills in an attempt to put up greater shields between the child and defendant, but the House Judiciary Committee, citing constitutional concerns, has disallowed most of them.