Between Eric Holder’s soft-on-crime memo, James Comey’s election meddling, and Jack Smith’s incessant lawfare, the United States Department of Justice has spent much of the last two decades in the proverbial wilderness. The incoming Trump administration has the opportunity and incentive to reshape DOJ. Here are five steps it can take to restore a department in desperate need of change.

Row the boat or get thrown overboard. It’s time for line federal prosecutors—Assistant United States Attorneys—to get back to work. In 2010, federal prosecutors brought 68,591 new federal criminal cases. By 2023, the same number of U.S. attorneys were handling just 49,913 new cases, a huge drop. You would have to go back to 1998 to find a year with fewer federal prosecutions.

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May your Thanksgiving be filled to the brim with gratitude, love, and happiness.

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Bellevue, Nebraska, man has been arraigned on charges of Kidnapping, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity, and Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet.

Continue reading “Nebraska Man Indicted and Detained for Kidnapping South Dakota Minor” →

Donald Trump’s second presidential term will begin on Jan. 20, bringing with it promises to dramatically reshape many aspects of the criminal justice system. The U.S. Senate — with its authority over confirming judicial nominees — will also shift from Democratic to Republican control.

In the 65 days between now and then, the outgoing — or “lame duck” — Biden administration will likely take steps to maximize its influence and legacy or preempt some Trump administration priorities. Here are three key areas where that may happen.

Continue reading “Biden Has 65 Days Left in Office. Here’s What He Can Do on Criminal Justice” →

A state constitutional amendment on victims’ rights approved by voters in 2016 is not absolute, the South Dakota Supreme Court concluded this week.

The justices decided that South Dakota’s Marsy’s Law amendment does not trump a defendant’s right to a fair trial. Their decision came Thursday in the case of South Dakota vs. Waldner.

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South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley celebrates the graduation of 48 new law enforcement recruits on Friday, November 15. The graduates who completed the Basic Law Enforcement training program in Pierre are now ready to serve their respective departments and communities.

“These recruits are now ready to serve their departments and communities,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Thank you to them and their course instructors for their efforts.”

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The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is still having issues interpreting the First Step Act (FSA), which was enacted in December 2018 under Donald Trump. As Trump returns to the White House next January, he’ll see a BOP that is still struggling in implementing FSA, which was meant to save money on incarceration. However, the BOP has continued to interpret the FSA in a way that favors longer incarceration in institutions rather than sending men and women into lesser restrictive community options, such as halfway houses and home confinement. A judge in the Middle District of Alabama made a ruling that could affect the sentences of thousands of federal prisoners, if the BOP would make a broader change to its policies rather than addressing issues one at a time in court.

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South Dakotans voted Tuesday for seven ballot measures, 105 state legislators, a couple of statewide offices and a U.S. president.

Here are real-time results on those statewide issues and offices from The Associated Press and the Institute for Nonprofit News. Look for investigative reporter Stu Whitney’s top takeaways from the election on Wednesday.

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The South Dakota Highway Patrol has announced that sobriety checkpoints will be conducted in 17 counties throughout November. The counties include Bennett, Brule, Codington, Davison, Hanson, Jones, Lake, Lawrence, Lincoln, Meade, Moody, Pennington, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Walworth, and Yankton.

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It often starts with suspicion: Why didn’t she call for an ambulance when the bleeding started? What if she didn’t want the baby? Maybe she took something — or inquired about abortion pills?

How a person handles a pregnancy loss — and where it occurs — can mean the difference between a private medical issue and a criminal charge for abuse of a corpse, child neglect or even murder.

Continue reading “Some states are turning miscarriages and stillbirths into criminal cases against women” →