Courts

South Dakota Chief Justice Steven Jensen gestures as he participates in oral arguments with other state Supreme Court justices on March 23, 2023, in Brookings. (David Bordewyk/South Dakota Newspaper Association)

Limits, application of South Dakota ‘stand your ground’ law debated before Supreme Court

BY: - March 24, 2023

BROOKINGS — In 2019, Minnesota native Ramon Deron Smith killed a man and wounded two others in a Sioux Falls parking lot during his first visit to the city.  He kept shooting as his targets fled across a busy urban thoroughfare. After doing so, he drove back to Minneapolis, shaved his head, ditched the vehicle […]

South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Janine Kern gestures as she participates in oral arguments with other justices on March 23, 2023, in Brookings. (David Bordewyk/South Dakota Newspaper Association)

State Supreme Court considers role of lie detectors in sentencing

BY: - March 23, 2023

BROOKINGS — A man who contends he was not the shooter in a 2020 robbery-turned-homicide in Sioux Falls wants the South Dakota Supreme Court to order a judge to consider the results of his polygraph test at a new sentence hearing. Ray Banks is serving an 80-year sentence for manslaughter for his role in the […]

South Dakota Chief Justice Steven Jensen gestures as he participates in oral arguments with other state Supreme Court justices on March 23, 2023, in Brookings. (David Bordewyk/South Dakota Newspaper Association)

Sanford lawyer: Allow billionaire to review records in child porn investigation before release

BY: - March 23, 2023

BROOKINGS — Billionaire philanthropist T. Denny Sanford wants the South Dakota Supreme Court to let him review court documents expected to outline the reasons the state launched a child pornography investigation involving him, which ultimately drew no criminal charges. At the heart of the dispute is public access to the court records generated as part […]

Sculptures by Peggy Detmers stand outside Tatanka: Story of the Bison near Deadwood. The sculptures include 14 bison being chased by three Lakota hunters on horseback. (Courtesy of South Dakota Department of Tourism)

State Supreme Court hears Kevin Costner dispute, pandemic relief case

BY: - March 22, 2023

The state Supreme Court examined disputes over sculptures commissioned by the actor Kevin Costner and pandemic benefits paid to a business owner as justices heard arguments in several cases Wednesday. The court held its first of two days of oral arguments for its spring term on the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings. The […]

An equal justice statue sits outside the doors of the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Minnehaha County votes to bolster prosecutors, public defense

BY: - March 21, 2023

SIOUX FALLS – Federal grant funding from the Violence Against Women Act could soon bring a domestic violence specialist to the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office to help shepherd victims through the criminal justice system. The Minnehaha County Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar to apply for a Services, Training, […]

Abortion rights activist Rachel Bailey, center, chants during an International Women's Day abortion rights demonstration at the Texas State Capitol on March 8, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

What plaintiffs targeting abortion pill want might not even be possible

BY: - March 21, 2023

At the center of the federal anti-abortion lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is the abortion drug mifepristone and the regimen that reportedly accounts for the majority of abortions in post-Roe America. That’s why the whole country is bracing itself for a ruling from a notoriously anti-abortion judge in Amarillo, Texas.  The attention […]

Wayne Edmonds Jr. testifies before the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles on March 15, 2023, at the Jameson Annex of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Kidnapper, attempted rapist vows to walk free without parole supervision

BY: - March 18, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — An inmate who abducted and tried to rape a 12-year-old Wasta girl in 1984 told the Board of Pardons and Paroles this week that he’d rather walk free in four years than ask for mercy and supervised release again. Wayne Edmonds Jr., 62, was sentenced to 75 years for kidnapping and seven […]

The South Dakota House of Representatives chamber at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Criminal justice bills passed in 2023 described as ‘just a start’ for lawmakers

BY: - March 13, 2023

The recently concluded legislative session emphasized and funded criminal justice to an extent not seen in a decade, but according to some prosecutors and lawmakers, it’s just the start of reforms. The focus next year, they say, should be on rehabilitation.  “We’ve had legislators who have reached out and have already said, ‘Hey, what can […]

Legislators in the Senate Chamber during the 2023 legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

What will ‘truth in sentencing’ mean for South Dakota crime victims?

BY: - March 6, 2023

Anyone who listened to last week’s debate on Senate Bill 146 – often referred to as “truth in sentencing” – might think victims have no idea how long criminals will stay in prison before they’re paroled. Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, said when a sentence comes down, “you think, wow, OK, we have some measure […]

Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, speaks on the floor of the South Dakota House of Representatives during the 2023 legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Lawmakers nix bill to raise SD’s nation-leading juror pay

BY: - March 3, 2023

It’s illegal to duck jury duty, even if you’re too broke to afford time off work. A bill meant to address the difficulties that reality can cause for blue-collar jurors died in a state Senate committee this week after passing through the House of Representatives. The 5-2 vote on House Bill 1098 came after testimony […]

A building once housing the Jackson Women’s Health Organization — otherwise known as the Pink House for its iconic pink walls — was recently the only abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi and the heart of the Supreme Court case that overturned the federal right to abortion. Now its walls have been painted white and a new owner plans to turn it into a luxury consignment store. (Photo by Shalina Chatlani/States Newsroom)

Remaining abortion clinics face more challenges if abortion pill limited by Texas judge

BY: - March 2, 2023

JACKSON, MISS. — The Pink House — otherwise known as Jackson Women’s Health Organization — was the center of the U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned the federal right to abortion in June. Today, the clinic, the only abortion clinic to serve Mississippi and the greater area for years, is shuttered. On a hot day […]

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Biden student debt relief plan met with skepticism from U.S. Supreme Court conservatives

BY: - February 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — The majority conservative wing of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Tuesday that the Biden administration had the authority to implement a federal student debt relief program that was estimated to potentially aid millions of borrowers. The conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority on the court, questioned whether the Department of Education […]