Stand Your Ground

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)

South Dakota Supreme Court: ‘Stand your ground’ law not retroactive

BY: - July 14, 2023

Less than 24 hours into his first visit to Sioux Falls, Minnesota native Ramon Deron Smith shot and killed Larry Carr Jr. and wounded two others.  A little over two years later, a state law took effect that lets those charged with a crime of violence make a self-defense claim before a trial – and […]

The Brown County jail is located in Aberdeen and connected to the Brown County Sheriff's Office and courthouse. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

‘Stand your ground’ law alters criminal justice landscape

BY: - June 16, 2023

This story is one of two exploring the impact of South Dakota’s “stand your ground” laws. The companion article explores specific examples of how defendants are using the laws to make self-defense claims. — South Dakota lawmakers talked of home invasions and mass shootings when they strengthened self-defense protections in recent years, but the new […]

The Pennington County Courthouse and jail complex in Rapid City, in June 2023. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Bar fights, neighbor disputes, playground justice: How ‘stand your ground’ plays out in court

BY: - June 16, 2023

This story is one of two exploring the impact of South Dakota’s “stand your ground” laws. The companion article explores the ways prosecutors, politicians and defense lawyers view the laws. — James Bialota Jr. believes he was defending himself when he took down a 12-year-old boy on a Rapid City playground. Thanks to two recent […]

A collage of photos of Acey Morrison at a younger age. Morrison was killed on Aug. 21, 2022 by a man who claimed self defense. (Photos courtesy of Cheryse Hawkins, illustration by Josh Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Nine months and counting: Slain transgender woman’s family frustrated by wait for justice

BY: - May 26, 2023

Prosecutors in Rapid City know who shot and killed Acey Morrison.  They’ve known since Aug. 21, 2022. That was the day the transgender member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe was shot in the mobile home of a man she’d met for an ill-fated hookup attempt that began on a dating app. What they don’t know […]

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 […]