South Dakota lawmakers talked of home invasions and mass shootings when they strengthened self-defense protections in recent years, but the new laws are being used in scenarios that bear little resemblance to those hypotheticals.

Some situations don’t involve firearms, as with the Rapid City man accused of simple assault for taking down a 12-year-old boy on a playground, or the Mobridge man who’d been rude to a female server and knocked out the bar owner who confronted him about it. In both instances, the defendants claimed self-defense and exercised their right to an “immunity hearing” — a new kind of proceeding, created by the updated “stand your ground” laws, that allows those making self-defense claims to ask a judge to drop the charges before a trial commences.

Continue reading “‘Stand your ground’ law alters criminal justice landscape” →

A federal judge in Florida unsealed an indictment that accuses former President Donald Trump of hiding classified national security documents after he left the White House, improperly storing them and sharing sensitive information with people who lacked security clearance.

Though he’s not the only former federal official to improperly take classified documents with him after leaving office, federal prosecutors allege Trump did so on purpose and went to great lengths to conceal his possession of them.

Continue reading “Questions and answers about Trump’s indictment on federal criminal charges” →

Six months into 2023, there hasn’t been a homicide investigation in Sioux Falls.

And according to Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, besides aggravated assaults, almost all other crimes have seen decreases per capita halfway through the year. TenHaken said a data figure he constantly watches is the number of crimes committed per capita.

Continue reading “Crime is manageable as Sioux Falls grows to 121st largest city” →

The US Supreme Court limited when prosecutors can charge criminal defendants with identity theft alongside other crimes.

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the court said a defendant “uses” another person’s means of identification “in relation to” a predicate offense when the use is at the crux of what makes the conduct criminal.

The case centered on David Dubin, who was charged with healthcare fraud for overbilling Medicaid for services his psychological examination company provided to a child at an emergency shelter in Texas.

Continue reading “US Supreme Court Narrows Scope of Identity Theft Law” →

Since the first use of DNA evidence in a criminal case in 1986, forensic scientists have considered biological material (such as hair, skin, and bodily fluids) to be relatively reliable physical evidence.

While early technology required a substantial amount of biological material to extract enough DNA to build an individual profile for analysis, researchers have since discovered that they can obtain reliable DNA from more than just bloodstains or visible fluids; they can also obtain it from “touch DNA” that is left behind on surfaces or objects such as doorknobs, window latches, or steering wheels. Although touch DNA can be essential for forensic casework, it also comes with its share of issues, including those related to:

• Low quantity of useable DNA.
• High variability in the amount of DNA left by touch; that is, high variability in the amount that one person leaves, and high variability in the amount left from person to person.
• DNA degradation,including the many factors that can cause DNA to break down over time.

Continue reading “Persistence of Touch DNA Evidence for Analysis” →

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives traces over 450,000 guns likely linked to a crime in the United States each year. Each of these traced firearms is assigned one of 59 specific categories that describe the circumstances in which it was recovered by law enforcement.

Because each of these categories is tied to a firearm that has been confiscated or otherwise obtained by law enforcement, the most commonly cited classifications are those that necessarily involve a firearm. These include “carrying a concealed weapon” and “possession of a weapon.” However, the vast majority of ATF categories for traced firearms are criminal acts that do not, by definition, need to involve a gun. (These are America’s 10 biggest gun makers)

Continue reading “Drugs, Homicide, and More: The Biggest Crimes Tied to Guns in Every State” →

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. government has a treaty obligation to support law enforcement on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, but declined for now to determine whether the Oglala Sioux Tribe is entitled to as much funding as it’s seeking.

Tribal leaders depicted the ruling as a victory, saying the important point is that the court confirmed that the federal government has a duty to fund policing on the reservation and ordered U.S. officials to meet with Oglala Sioux leaders “to work together promptly to figure out how to more fairly fund tribal law enforcement.”

Continue reading “US has treaty duty to fund policing on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, judge rules” →

People ask criminal defense lawyers about it so often that I just call it the Question. It comes in many forms: How can you sleep at night knowing your client is guilty? Why do you represent criminals? How do you represent those people?

I can see why so many people ask, even clients ask it. Nearly every night on the local news there’s a scary story about people accused of breaking the law. If it’s not a less-than-flattering mug shot, it’s in-court footage of someone in a jumpsuit and bound in chains. It’s not a good look, and it’s easy to wonder about the lawyer speaking on their behalf.

Over time, I’ve come up with different answers to the Question.

Continue reading “Ben Lowenthal: The Question Every Criminal Defense Lawyer Gets Asked” →

South Dakota’s medical marijuana oversight committee will have a lot of new faces this year when the panel returns to work, after state lawmakers decided in the 2023 session that it needed a somewhat different look.

There’s now a clear preference among a majority of the Legislature’s Executive Board that the group stay in the middle, rather than veering too far toward tougher restrictions or broader availability. There’s also greater recognition that public schools have an interest, too, because students younger than 18 can receive medical-cannabis cards if they qualify.

Continue reading “Legislators overhaul SD medical marijuana panel” →

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the “Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.” Named for two victims of hate crimes, the act bolstered and expanded the criteria upon which violent crimes could be prosecuted as hate crimes. In addition to crimes motivated by a victim’s race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion, the act further stipulated “actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.” It also provided state and local governments and law enforcement agencies with funding to aid hate crime investigations.

Continue reading “States with the most hate crimes” →