Justice
Landowners sue to put prison site in front of county zoning board
The state should ask for Lincoln County’s permission before building a new prison there, according to a lawsuit from a group of landowners. The lawsuit was filed in Lincoln County late last week by a recently formed group called “Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion” — or the acronym NOPE for short — as well as […]
ACLU sues state over ‘REZWEED’ vanity license plate
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota wants a judge to stop the state from saying no to vanity license plates over “poor taste.” The nonprofit filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in South Dakota on behalf of a client named Lynn Hart, who’d asked for and been denied a vanity plate that […]
South Dakota inspired ICWA but still has high rate of Native children in foster care
Cheryl Spider DeCoteau was nervous. It was the Sisseton Wahpeton tribal citizen’s first time in Washington, D.C., and she sat in front of two senators, multiple congressional aides, lawyers and clerks in a large, wood-paneled committee room, bright lights shining down. Two of the 23-year-old’s sons, ages 5 and 3, sat in the audience while […]
The Lost Children: Overrepresentation of Native American children in the SD foster care system
South Dakota officials have known Native American children are overrepresented in the foster care system for nearly 50 years. The Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 federal law, was meant to tackle the problem not just in the state but across the country at a time when Native children were regularly removed from their families. […]
Noem issues 40 more pardons since April
Gov. Kristi Noem has issued 40 pardons since April, according to records on file with the Secretary of State’s Office. The pardons bring the total number issued by Gov. Noem since the start of her first term to 268. The Board of Pardons and Paroles offers recommendations on pardons to the governor, but South Dakota’s […]
Task force: Young adults up to 25 need special attention from courts, corrections
People between 18 and 25 years old are more likely to commit crimes, get arrested and lose momentum in their emerging adult lives as a result. Early intervention and structured support can help keep them out of the justice system altogether. At least that’s what criminal justice research suggests. Juvenile justice report: More delinquent kids […]
Juvenile justice report: More delinquent kids taken to court
South Dakota prosecutors filed more juvenile delinquency petitions in fiscal year 2023 than at any time in nearly a decade, according to an annual report presented Wednesday to a state committee. The report came during the fall meeting of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Oversight Council, which is a group of representatives from law enforcement, schools, […]
Governors risk NCAA ramifications with opposition to transgender policy, scholar says
Governors criticizing an NCAA policy on transgender student athletes may put their universities at risk of “penalties or ramifications” if those institutions disobey the policy, according to a sports law scholar. Joshua Lens is an assistant professor of recreation and sport management at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, who wrote an article on NCAA transgender […]
Law school dean to lawmakers: More students admitted, bar exam scores best neighboring states
The University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law saw its largest incoming class in over a decade this fall, according to a report prepared for lawmakers by Dean Neil Fulton. The 88 students in the class of 2026 is a reflection of the school’s “investment in admissions personnel and resources,” Fulton wrote in his […]
Tough to evaluate other penitentiary location options without transparency
South Dakota is finally moving forward on the long overdue replacement of its men’s penitentiary near downtown Sioux Falls. It announced a new site and a timeline for the move. However, the process for selecting a replacement site has raised questions and concerns from the public. In recent decades, downtown Sioux Falls has grown into […]
State panel suspends Brookings police officer for slamming man against wall
SIOUX FALLS — A Brookings police officer will be suspended for a year after throwing an intoxicated man against a wall without warning when the man insulted him. Damian Weets, a 12-year police veteran in Brookings, will be eligible for recertification as a South Dakota law enforcement officer in a year, provided he undergoes a […]
State joins lawsuit accusing Meta of fueling children’s social media addiction
South Dakota has joined 32 other states in a federal lawsuit that accuses Meta of designing Facebook and Instagram to intentionally addict children and teens, in violation of state and federal laws that protect consumers and children’s online privacy. The states say that Meta knew its platforms psychologically harmed youth but hid those harms and […]