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.

Continue reading “High court rules in favor of victim, but says Marsy’s Law is not absolute” →

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.

Continue reading “Courts Continue To Hand Bureau Of Prisons Losses On First Step Act” →

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.

Continue reading “2024 South Dakota Election Results” →

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” →

A South Dakota summer legislative study committee has endorsed a bill that would require users to prove their age with identification documents to access online pornography.

The Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Regulation of Internet Access by Minors made the decision at its final meeting on Wednesday in Pierre.

It also scrapped plans for bills that would aim to protect children from the harms of social media and other addictive apps.

Continue reading “Legislative committee punts on app store regulation, endorses age verification for adult websites” →

Prosecutors play a vital role in the criminal justice system, determining not just which cases to pursue but also what charges to file and penalties to seek. Over the past decade, some prosecutors have developed approaches that aim to reduce racial and economic disparities and unjust outcomes in the legal system — such as excessive sentences or the criminalization of poverty through cash bail — while preserving public safety.

Far from a unified group, these prosecutors bring many different approaches to their work. They span the political spectrum and are found in urban and rural jurisdictions alike. They are often grouped under the label “progressive prosecutors” or “reform-minded prosecutors.” For the purposes of this analysis, we use the term “pro-reform prosecutors” to indicate chief district attorneys, county attorneys, commonwealth attorneys, and state attorneys who campaigned on or promised to reimagine the role of their office to broadly reduce unjust disparities in the justice system and decrease unnecessary incarceration.

Continue reading “Myths and Realities: Prosecutors and Criminal Justice Reform” →

The University of Iowa College of Law this semester started a Technology Law Clinic after adding Megan Graham, an associate clinical professor, to the faculty in January. Graham, a nationally recognized expert in technology and surveillance issues, is the director of the clinic, which focuses on the role of police technology in criminal cases.

Graham did her undergraduate work at Georgetown University and earned a bachelor of science in Foreign Service in culture and politics. Then she received a master’s degree in comparative ethnic conflict from Queens University in Belfast before going to New York University School of Law. She previously taught in the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at University of California Berkeley School of Law.

Continue reading “University of Iowa law students learning how police use technology in criminal cases” →