North Dakota attorneys and judicial officials say a lack of funding for a key federal program could harm federal defendants’ ability to get quality representation.
The U.S. Constitution protects criminal defendants’ right to an attorney. When federal defendants can’t afford a lawyer, they are typically assigned a federal public defender. About 40% of the time, however, federal defenders must pass the case to a private lawyer due to a conflict of interest, according to the judicial branch.
President Donald Trump signed a sprawling budget bill — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — into law last week. The legislation, a vehicle for most of his domestic policy agenda, rewrites significant portions of the country’s immigration and criminal justice systems in ways big and small.
The most visible shift is the law’s commitment of about $170 billion to immigration enforcement over the next decade. That includes a 265% annual increase to the national immigration detention budget, according to the American Immigration Council, an immigration advocacy group. The administration plans to rapidly double immigration detention space to hold about 100,000 people, largely by paying private prison companies to reopen currently shuttered facilities.
Continue reading “How the “Big Beautiful Bill” Will Change Criminal Justice and Immigration”
Criminal justice advocates are frustrated that a law that allows incarcerated people to shorten their sentences in Minnesota is still in its pilot stages two years after it was passed.
The Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA) was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2023, and went into effect Aug. 1 of that year. The act allows incarcerated people to shorten their sentence by up to 17% for good behavior and if they work to rehabilitate themselves by participating in programming and treatment.
Continue reading “Advocates say Minnesota is moving too slow on early release prison program”
Iowa drivers will be more likely to get pulled over after July 1 if they are behind the wheel with their cellphones in their hands. This new law is one of many passed by the Iowa Legislature during the 2025 session set to go into effect at the beginning of July.
Senate File 22 bans the use of cellphones and electronic devices when not in voice activated or hands-free mode while operating a vehicle. Police officers will begin pulling over distracted drivers and charging them with a warning starting July 1. Come January 2026, offenders will be charged with a simple misdemeanor, punishable by a fine between $100 and $850.
Continue reading “Here are 11 new Iowa laws that include criminal penalties”
The South Dakota Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court’s decision regarding the admissibility of body camera footage as evidence, a ruling praised by South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley. The High Court’s unanimous decision upheld a Pennington County Circuit Court ruling in the case of State of South Dakota v. Michael David Geist.
The case involved Michael David Geist, who was convicted of assaulting a Rapid City Police Officer. During the trial, the prosecution presented body camera footage from a second officer. Geist’s defense argued that the footage should have been inadmissible because the officer who recorded it was unavailable to testify due to a military assignment. Continue reading “South Dakota Supreme Court Upholds Use of Body Camera Footage in Assault Case”
Back in February, South Dakota lawmakers recognized emergency medical services as an “essential service.”
Sort of.
“Essential service” typically means the government has to guarantee access to said service by providing or funding it.
The majority of states don’t affix that designation to ambulance services. Continue reading “Lawmakers look for ways to deliver on support for ‘essential’ ambulance service”
A Friday decision by the U.S. Supreme Court set the stage for a law restricting access to online pornography to take effect Tuesday in South Dakota, but the ruling doesn’t shield the state from lawsuits.
In Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the nation’s high court ruled that a Texas law requiring adults to prove their age to access adult-oriented websites is constitutional.
Attorney General Marty Jackley announced on Thursday that the Division of Criminal Investigation has received a $100,000 grant from the Attorney General Alliance to help combat internet crimes against children.
“These resources will be used to detect, interrupt, and prosecute child predators and human traffickers,” said Attorney General Jackley.
Continue reading “AG Jackley announces $100,000 grant for ICAC Task Force”
On July 1, 197 new laws will take effect in South Dakota, following Gov. Larry Rhoden’s signing of 210 bills, with 13 enacted immediately under emergency clauses. He vetoed two bills—one establishing child care assistance and another introducing geographic petition requirements.
The man suspected of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another crawled to officers in surrender Sunday after they located him in the woods near his home, bringing an end to a massive, nearly two-day search that put the entire state on edge.
Vance Boelter was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder. He is accused of posing as a police officer and fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs.