Author: Angel Law

A legal desert - Attorneys are scarce in Nebraska's rural areas

A legal desert – Attorneys are scarce in Nebraska’s rural areas

Posted by Angel Law on

Here’s a little known fact: A dozen counties in Nebraska currently have no practicing attorneys.

Zip from the towns of Bartlett, Hyannis or Stapleton. Zero from Arthur, Springview or Spencer. Zilch from Harrisburg or Hayes Center.

And by 2027, four more counties are projected to join them, according to the Nebraska State Bar Association.

In fact, by then half of the state’s counties are expected to have three or fewer attorneys unless something changes.

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Crime in South Dakota is dropping, but more and more cases are slipping through the cracks

Crime in South Dakota is dropping, but more and more cases are slipping through the cracks

Posted by Angel Law on

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.

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Officials in Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma begin to probe prisons’ hepatitis C treatment efforts

Officials in Nebraska, South Dakota, Oklahoma begin to probe prisons’ hepatitis C treatment efforts

Posted by Angel Law on

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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New law makes selling homemade foods directly to consumers easier in South Dakota

New law makes selling homemade foods directly to consumers easier in South Dakota

Posted by Angel Law on

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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From increases in minimum wage to recreational marijuana, these new laws take effect in 2023

From increases in minimum wage to recreational marijuana, these new laws take effect in 2023

Posted by Angel Law on

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.

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Attorney General releases Crime in South Dakota 2021 report

Attorney General releases Crime in South Dakota 2021 report

Posted by Angel Law on

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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Child poverty rates highest in states that haven’t raised minimum wage

Child poverty rates highest in states that haven’t raised minimum wage

Posted by Angel Law on

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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Back the Blue laws gain popularity, expand qualified immunity and other rights for police

Back the Blue laws gain popularity, expand qualified immunity and other rights for police

Posted by Angel Law on

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.

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