A bill to reduce opportunities for early release and work programs for North Dakota inmates is advancing through the state legislature, but the steep price tag has pitted the prison system against the bill’s biggest supporter—the state attorney general.

Senate Bill 2128 would require violent offenders in North Dakota to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences in prison—a so-called “truth-in-sentencing” provision—before they could be eligible for release to a halfway house or other transitional program. It would also create mandatory sentences of 14 to 30 days for those convicted of resisting arrest, assaulting law enforcement officers, and felony fleeing.

Continue reading “North Dakota’s ‘Truth-in-Sentencing’ Bill Could Cost More Than $250 Million” →

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has signed bills into law to let county sheriffs charge a fee for serving legal papers, open the records of former governors five years faster, and require lab-grown meat to be labeled as such.

Also among the 14 bills Rhoden signed Monday: A repeal of the right of parties in some court cases to demand a court reporter if a judge feels a transcribable audio recording will do.

Continue reading “Lab-grown meat labeling, fees for serving legal papers, stenography rule change signed into law” →

A central Minnesota dairy farmer is facing felony wage theft and racketeering charges over allegations that he underpaid and mistreated his migrant workers.

In a criminal complaint filed Monday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alleges that Keith Lawrence Schaefer of Richmond, Minn., routinely withheld pay, including overtime, from at least 18 workers in violation of the state’s 2019 wage theft law.

Continue reading “Alleged mistreatment of migrant workers nets felony charges for Minnesota farmer” →

The South Dakota Senate Judiciary Committee discussed Senate Bill 83 Thursday, which would reform the state’s drug ingestion law.

South Dakota remains the only state where illegal drug ingestion is classified as a felony under SDCL 22-42-5.1.

Continue reading “South Dakota Senate Considers Major Reforms to Drug Ingestion Law” →

A shortage of stenographers in South Dakota helped spur unanimous support in a legislative committee for a bill that would allow judges to decide if a stenographer is necessary in lower-level court hearings.

Stenographers, also called court reporters, are people who transcribe everything said in a court proceeding, using stenographic machines with specialized keyboards.

Continue reading “With stenographers in short supply, SD lawmakers advance bill letting judges opt for recordings” →

Iowa may not enforce a 2024 state law that makes it a crime for a person who was previously deported to enter the state, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

A three-judge panel of the St. Louis-based Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Iowa’s statute is likely preempted by federal immigration law, because enforcement of Iowa’s law would invade the U.S. government’s interest in enforcing federal immigration law.

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Legislation concerning open records and open meetings was a recurring topic this week in the South Dakota Legislature as lawmakers advanced bills that would open governors’ records sooner and require state and local boards to annually review open meetings laws.

A bill to open the calendars and appointment logs of officials was defeated in committee but is still technically alive due to a procedural maneuver, while another bill advanced by a committee would clarify the role of electronic communications in the open meetings laws.

Continue reading “South Dakota Legislation advance several transparency bills” →

Proposed legislation aimed at protecting South Dakota farms from potential “agro-terrorism” activities could have a secondary effect of limiting access to information about the state’s largest animal feeding operations.

Senate Bill 14 seeks to strengthen a set of existing laws that make it a crime for anyone to steal farm animals, release animals, trespass on farms or interfere with farm operations.

Continue reading “Bill to protect South Dakota farms from spying could limit access to CAFO data” →

Iowa’s chief justice is calling on state lawmakers to make reforms to the judicial system this legislative session. In particular, she’s asking for changes when it comes to judicial pay and public defenders.

Before a joint session of the legislature Wednesday, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen laid out her vision to make the judicial system better in her Condition of the Judiciary address.

Continue reading “Iowa’s Chief Justice calls for increasing pay for judges, court appointed attorneys” →

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley joins 17 other Attorneys General in supporting Louisiana’s law requiring all K-12 schools and state-funded universities to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

“The Ten Commandments already are displayed in the U.S. Supreme Court and other public buildings,” said Attorney General Jackley. “The Ten Commandments have influenced the creation of our nation and our rule of law.”

Continue reading “SD Attorney General Marty Jackley Supports Louisiana’s Law on Displaying Ten Commandments in Schools” →