While the number of serious crimes committed in the state has fallen to the lowest number since 2014, the number of cases where the state decided not to prosecute someone who was arrested with probable cause doubled from 595 to 1189 between 2019 and 2021, according to the South Dakota State Crime Reports for those years.

For some number of arrestees to go uncharged is not abnormal. After someone is arrested by police for being suspected of committing a crime, a prosecutor working for the state must decide whether or not to bring criminal charges against them. If the prosecutor decides that there isn’t enough evidence to secure a conviction, they may decide not to bring charges at all.

Continue reading “Crime in South Dakota is dropping, but more and more cases are slipping through the cracks” →

Members of Congress, state legislators, regulators, and legal advocates are calling on prisons to explain their poor hepatitis C treatment rates, after a STAT investigation revealing that more than 1,000 people had died from complications of the curable disease.

In South Dakota and Oklahoma, lawmakers have written to their respective departments of corrections about STAT’s reporting. In Nebraska, the state’s inspector general of corrections requested that the prison explain a policy, obtained by STAT, requiring that incarcerated people sign a consent form that misrepresents the benefits of available hepatitis C treatments. Lawmakers in other states are pledging broader probes into the issue, too.

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A new law that makes it easier for people to sell homemade foods directly to consumers in South Dakota could expand business opportunities for small producers and increase product offerings at homes, farmers markets, fairs and roadside stands.

House Bill 1322 was passed unanimously by the state Legislature in 2022, an d was signed into law by Gov. Kristi Noem. It took effect July 1, 2022.

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As President Joe Biden scored several legislative wins last year, voters across the country headed to the polls in November to decide on local measures.

The passage of several of those measures will lead to new state laws this year. And Americans in 2023 will also feel the impact of several provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that was enacted over the summer.

Continue reading “From increases in minimum wage to recreational marijuana, these new laws take effect in 2023” →

The Office of the Attorney General today released the Crime in South Dakota 2021 report. This report is compiled annually by the Attorney General’s Criminal Statistical Analysis Center (SAC). Despite technical and staffing issues that affected the 2021 reporting, this publication is designed to reflect the actual arrest and reporting information by South Dakota law enforcement.

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Of the 20 states that have failed to raise the minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour standard, 16 have more than 12% of their children living in poverty, according to a States Newsroom analysis of wage and poverty data. Anti-poverty advocates say that’s a sign that there’s an urgent need for lawmakers to increase the federal minimum wage and do more to help struggling families.

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We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and we look forward to working with you in the new year.

Continue reading “Happy Holidays from Angel Law!” →

ALTOONA, Iowa — Whitney Smith McIntosh adjusts her Blue Lives Matter hat and Blue Lives Matter shirt, places her Blue Lives Matter flag in the holder next to her door, and shoos her dog away from her “Kim Reynolds for Governor” yard sign.

The community activist and mother of three speaks of her family’s history. Her mother immigrated from Sicily at age 4. Her father’s side can be traced to people who were enslaved on a South Carolina plantation.

Continue reading “Back the Blue laws gain popularity, expand qualified immunity and other rights for police” →

This year, three women in South Dakota were elected or promoted to leadership positions within law enforcement agencies — a somewhat rare occurrence for the mostly male-driven career.

According to data collected by the FBI, of the reporting agencies in 2019, 87.2% percent of all law enforcement officers nationwide were male. Only 12.8% were female.

Continue reading “Female officers leading the way” →

There have been physical attacks on power substations in multiple states in recent months, according to a new report.

About 35,000 people in North Carolina’s Moore County remain without power on Wednesday after the substations were damaged in what authorities described as a “targeted” attack at the weekend.

Continue reading “Physical Attacks on Power Substations in Multiple States” →