Five months after Operation: Prairie Thunder officially began, the South Dakota Highway Patrol’s collaborative anti-crime and immigration enforcement effort will continue into the new year, the governor’s office has confirmed.
The program was originally announced by Gov. Larry Rhoden to take place from July 28 through December.
Continue reading “ICE’s year in SD, from small towns to Operation: Prairie Thunder”
A South Dakota law that prevents drug companies from restricting federal drug discounts for hospitals and other providers will remain in effect for now, a judge has decided.
Chicago-based AbbVie Inc., whose products include the wrinkle-remover Botox and the arthritis drug Humira, sued the state earlier this year in the U.S. District Court of South Dakota. The lawsuit challenges the legality of Senate Bill 154, which lawmakers and Gov. Larry Rhoden approved in March. It blocks drugmakers from deciding which pharmacies hospitals can use to access discounted medication.
In 2020, a bill was filed in South Dakota that would have spelled out extensive rules for how police body camera footage can be obtained, maintained, used and shared.
Then-Sen. Reynold Nesiba, a Sioux Falls Democrat and primary sponsor of the bill, said that without a state law, police agencies across the state are on their own to decide how and when to use cameras, what happens to the footage and who should have access to the videos.
Continue reading “Improving open records law in SD an uphill battle for advocates”
Below, we’ve curated virtually all of the research about the various economic factors of incarceration.
How much does the criminal justice system cost, and who pays for it? How well-funded are prisons and jails? What are the economic impacts and origins of mass incarceration? Do certain programs in prison affect people’s economic well-being after release? See the reports below to explore these questions and more.
South Dakota’s success rate for keeping truancy cases out of court is the lowest it’s been in a decade, according to an annual report presented to a state committee.
The Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Oversight Council is a group of representatives from law enforcement, schools, the Legislature, social services and the court system. It is responsible for tracking South Dakota’s efforts to reduce the number of children in custody.
Continue reading “South Dakota having less success keeping truancy cases out of court”
Violence driven by control and fear leaves deep and lasting harm in homes and communities across the country. This kind of abuse falls disproportionately on women, and too often the consequences are deadly. Predators prey on the most vulnerable among us, committing some of the most horrific crimes imaginable against children. These are among the most traumatic and disturbing cases in our justice system today, and Canada’s new government is moving swiftly to better protect victims and survivors, and ensure abusers and predators face the full force of the law.
A family in Killeen just had nearly a thousand dollars worth of presents stolen off their porch.
“He kind of already knows that he saw them being dropped off. And he just walks up the driveway, walks up the sidewalk to the house and he picks up our stuff and walks away,” says Killeen resident, Rick Gibbons.
Gibbons is furious after more than $600 worth of gifts were swiped in broad daylight.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has created a commission aimed at helping state and local law enforcement agencies develop uniform standards for complying with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Giglio v. United States, according to an announcement from the Attorney General’s Office. The ruling requires prosecutors to disclose evidence that could undermine the credibility of government witnesses, including law enforcement officers. The full Supreme Court decision is available here: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/405/150/.
A viral photo of Pope Francis walking outside the Vatican in a white puffer jacket was circulating on the internet in March 2023. It was a youthful and stylish look for the pontiff that immediately changed my impression of him.
Within hours, news sources reported that the photo was fake and created using generative artificial intelligence. My initial reaction was disappointment and amusement. With the passage of time, I now view that photo as an inflection point.
Continue reading “Deepfakes Are Hard to Punish—A Federal Criminal Law Can Fix That”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that he has sent letters to 14 operators of illegal gambling websites, directing them to stop offering online gambling in Minnesota because they may violate Minnesota consumer-protection laws that prohibit deceptive, fraudulent, unfair or unconscionable practices. These websites include social sweepstakes casinos that use virtual coins to play casino games for cash and prizes, as well as websites offering sports betting, poker, and other types of gambling, all of which are prohibited under Minnesota’s laws (Minn. St. 609.755-609.76). An example of the letters that Attorney General Ellison sent are available here: social sweepstakes casino letter – undisguised gambling website letter.