South Dakota

South Dakota bills defendants for PD representation; state bill collector would tack on 20% fee

South Dakota bills criminal defendants $92 an hour for representation by a public defender, even if they have no ability to pay. Failure to pay for the legal representation is a criminal offense, and former defendants risk arrest until the debt is paid, the Argus Leader reports. The state is…

Mar 9, 2016 6:15 AM CST

Transgender bathroom bill vetoed by South Dakota governor

South Dakota’s governor has vetoed a controversial transgender bathroom bill. On Tuesday, the state’s Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard rejected the proposed bill, which would force transgender public school students to use the school restroom that corresponds to their gender at birth. According to CNN, Daugaard stated that the bill “does…

Mar 2, 2016 4:10 PM CST

Ex-prosecutor takes plea in child-porn case involving client’s children

Already sentenced in September to 50 years in a state-court child-rape case, a former South Dakota county prosecutor pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a federal child-pornography case that involved abuse of a client’s children. Christopher Jansen, 35, even used the one boy’s photo as an avatar on a website that…

Nov 18, 2015 3:00 PM CST

Fatal attack on black Bible-study group resonates on 150th anniversary of ‘Juneteenth’

The slayings of nine people attending a Bible-study group at a historic African-American church this week cast a heavy shadow over the annual Juneteenth celebration of black empowerment and freedom from slavery. However, the shooting attack, described by law enforcement officials as a hate crime committed by a white man,…

Jun 19, 2015 12:55 PM CDT

Which region had the best employment rate for 2014 law grads?

Law schools in the country’s West North Central region have bragging rights for the best employment statistics in the nation. The Institute for the Advancement of the Legal System used its interactive online tool to crunch the numbers and revealed the results at IAALS Online. States in the region are…

Jun 4, 2015 11:55 AM CDT

Robins Kaplan to close Atlanta office; firm is ‘working on a transition plan’ for 12 lawyers

Robins Kaplan will soon be closing its Atlanta office, which at last report listed a dozen lawyers on the attorney roster, in order to focus the firm’s efforts elsewhere. “As a firm, Robins Kaplan has performed exceptionally well, especially over the past several years. As our clients’ needs have changed,…

Apr 17, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

Desperately seeking med-mal attorneys; $500K damages cap deters South Dakota lawyers, some say

A South Dakota law enacted in 1976 that was supposed to limit excessive damages in medical malpractice trials may have solved the perceived problem by entirely eliminating many such cases. Due to a statutory cap on damages that hasn’t been adjusted for inflation in decades, it is economically unfeasible for…

Feb 5, 2015 11:30 AM CST

Acclaimed film on ‘Dinosaur 13’ legal battle airs on CNN

An acclaimed documentary about a legal battle related to the ownership of a 67 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton known as Sue aired on CNN on Thursday. Eventually purchased by the Field Museum, the famous set of fossilized T. rex bones was named in honor of Sue Hendrickson, a paleontologist who…

Dec 11, 2014 3:55 PM CST

In court after missing anger management courses, man attacks his public defender, authorities say

In court Tuesday because he failed to attend court-ordered anger-management classes after an assault conviction, a South Dakota man wound up facing new charges after he attacked an assistant public defender in a conference room, according to the local sheriff’s office. Kelly John Lange, 34, “tipped over the conference room…

Sep 3, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Top state court OKs $1.2B defamation suit over ABC ‘pink slime’ news coverage

A producer of chemically treated cartilage and scrap meat can pursue a $1.2 billion defamation case against ABC and several correspondents for the network, including Diane Sawyer, over a series of 2012 broadcasts, the Supreme Court of South Dakota ruled on Thursday. It declined to hear an interlocutory appeal of…

May 23, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Documentary on legal battle over T. rex bones kicks off Sundance Film Festival

The stunning discovery in 1990 of a largely complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton near an Indian reservation in South Dakota led to an epic legal battle as multiple parties argued over ownership of the 65-million-year-old bones. The skeleton of the enormous, long-dead dinosaur, known as Sue, was confiscated by the feds…

Jan 21, 2014 9:48 PM CST

Lawyer who ‘flunked retirement’ returns to former firm, will try not to work as hard

At first, when he retired in 2011 after decades in practice, James E. “Jim” McMahon told friends he didn’t miss his work at all. But within a year the truth was apparent. “I flunked. I just flunked retirement,” the 62-year-old South Dakota lawyer told the Argus Leader. Fortunately, he was…

Oct 11, 2013 8:15 PM CDT

Rapper’s Instagram posts lead to ‘largest seizure of illegal guns’ in NYC history

This week the New York Police Department and Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced what they’re calling the “largest seizure of illegal guns in city history.” So what tipped them off to the 254 firearms seized and led to 19 arrests? There were undercover buys and gumshoe investigative work. But police were…

Aug 22, 2013 3:45 PM CDT

South Dakota lures lawyers to rural areas with annual subsidies

Rural law practice will become more lucrative for some South Dakota lawyers under a new law passed last month. Lawyers participating in the pilot program will be paid $12,000 a year to work in rural areas, the New York Times reports. The lawyer will have to make a five-year commitment,…

Apr 9, 2013 12:43 PM CDT

Financial incentives proposed for lawyers who relocate to state’s rural areas

Rural lawyers are so scarce in South Dakota that many counties located in the center of the state have fewer than four lawyers. And at least six counties do not have a single lawyer working in them. In response, South Dakota Supreme Court Justice David E. Gilbertson is pushing a…

Feb 12, 2013 11:22 PM CST