71 results for 'court:"South Dakota Supreme Court"'.
J. Kern finds that a habeas court improperly granted relief for ineffective assistance of counsel stemming from a jury conviction of first-degree
manslaughter for the death of a sixteen-month-old child. While defense counsel’s opening statement included an "imprecise remark, not attributable to trial strategy," the mistake did not deprive defendant of a fair trial. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern , Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 2023SD65, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Devaney finds that the circuit court properly granted a motion in a suit brought by an insurance company seeking a declaration that it had no duty
to defend or indemnify the insured after the insured delivered wheat contaminated with fertilizer to its elevator. Under the plain language of a pollution exclusion provisions, the lower court properly determined the complaint fell within the policy exclusion. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney , Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 2023SD61, Categories: Agriculture, Insurance
J. Jensen finds that the district court properly entered judgment after defendant was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the death
of her boyfriend. Defendant was sentenced to forty years in prison with twenty years suspended but argued that insufficient evidence supported conviction. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen , Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 2023SD62, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Sentencing
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court properly determined that a couple could not recover for legal malpractice as they did not have a claim against the State in a matter involving a car collision. The couple's collision occurred with an individual who was employed by the State of South Dakota Unified Judicial System who was traveling after finishing work for the day. The employee was not acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen , Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 2023SD60, Categories: Employment, Vehicle, Legal Malpractice
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J. Salter determined that defendant could not relitigate the efficacy of a self-defense claim in habeas corpus proceeding for a matter in which defendant is serving a life sentence in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. Defendant was also unable to support claims that he was prejudiced during trial and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: November 29, 2023, Case #: 2023SD63, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance, Manslaughter
J. Kern finds that the circuit court improperly held that there was insufficient evidence to support a jury’s verdict of undue influence in a matter involving the estate of an individual who, for most of his life, farmed a sizeable estate in Britton, South Dakota. The panel's reversal reinstates the jury's verdict. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 2023SD59, Categories: Property, Wills / Probate
J. Salter finds that the circuit court properly ruled in favor of the South Dakota Department of Transportation in a matter in which the Department constructed a median in the highway abutting a company's property. The company sued over changes to its access to the property. The circuit court correctly applied substantive takings principles to conclude that the installation of the median did not constitute a taking. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 2023SD58, Categories: Property, Transportation
J. Salter vacates a portion of a ruling in favor of Rapid City Area School District 51-4 in which an organized citizens group, along with several individuals, commenced an action seeking a declaration that the district was acting contrary to South Dakota’s open meeting law by not allowing public comment at some of its board meetings. The panel vacates the portion of the court’s decision concerning public comment and affirms the decision to not review a state’s attorney’s determination concerning an alleged violation of a separate open meeting statute. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter , Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: 2023SD57, Categories: Education, Public Record
J. Myren finds that the circuit court properly denied a motion to dismiss a matter involving a contract dispute for labor and materials for improvements to a ranch property. However, the panel held that the lower court improperly dismissed certain claims by an individual and remands for determination if the individual was an independent contractor. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: 2023SD56, Categories: Property
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court improperly granted a company's motion for summary judgment in a quiet title action. The matter is remanded and quiet title is granted in favor of the individual. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 2023SD55, Categories: Property
J. Myren finds that the circuit court improperly denied a State-filed motion to dismiss a second petition for a writ of habeas corpus alleging ineffective assistance of defendant's habeas counsel for failing to seek a certificate of probable cause in his first habeas corpus proceeding. Defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in the penitentiary. The South Dakota Constitution does not include a constitutional right to effective assistance of habeas counsel. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 2023SD54, Categories: Habeas, Murder
J. Salter finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant was found guilty of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Defendant sought review of multiple issues that arose from jury selection and sentencing. The circuit court ultimately held that statements made by a prosecutor should be clarified to reflect the fact that the State requested the transfer of the juvenile case to adult court, which the prosecutor agreed to explain. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 2023SD53, Categories: Juvenile Law, Jury, Murder
J. Myren finds that the circuit court properly entered two orders in which it denied requests to hold an individual, a trust and a hotel in contempt in a matter involving a property sale. Denial of the contempt requests was valid because none of the entities in question "willfully or contumaciously" violated the court's order. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 2023SD52, Categories: Contempt, Property, Trusts
J. Myren finds that the circuit court improperly granted summary judgment in favor of a trust concerning the purchase price of land. The parties entered into a sale agreement in 2000 for the sale of land for $325 per acre. During the discussions leading up to the sale, the buyer agreed to that purchase price with the understanding that he would have an option to buy the remainder of their land at a lower per-acre price. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren , Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 2023SD49, Categories: Property, Contract
J. Myren finds that the circuit court improperly determined that the Day County Board of Adjustment could reconsider and modify a previously granted variance. The variance issue arises from a violation by property owners who altered the grading and added rocks to the property. The Board of Adjustment no longer had the authority to reconsider the variance. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 2023SD50, Categories: Property, Zoning
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court improperly dismissed an individual's administrative appeal from a final decision of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation’s (DOL) Reemployment Assistance Division (RAD), determining the court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction in a matter determining that the individual was ineligible to have received over $20,000 in federal pandemic unemployment benefits and ordered her to repay them. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen, Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: 2023SD45, Categories: Administrative Law, Covid-19
J. Salter finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after an individual was indicted on two counts of rape in the first degree. The individual later alleged he had not received notice of the State’s intent to introduce certain evidence. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter , Filed On: August 23, 2023, Case #: 2023SD46, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender
J. Salter finds that the circuit court improperly denied attorney fees for a daughter's efforts to vindicate her father’s intent concerning the creation of two trusts prior to the father's death in 2018 for litigation efforts to obtain a homestead. However, the circuit court correctly determined that
attorney fees were not authorized for other efforts to reform a land trust and retire the mortgage debt sooner. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter , Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 2023SD44, Categories: Property, Wills / Probate
J. Devaney finds that the circuit court properly denied defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal alleging insufficient evidence concerning aggravated assault and felony hit and run. The felony hit and run statute applies regardless of whether defendant's acts were intentional. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 2023ND42, Categories: Assault, Vehicle
J. Myren finds that the circuit court improperly dismissed a writ of certiorari as untimely in a matter involving an individual's proposed conditional use permit for to build a campground recreational facility. However, the lower court properly denied writ of mandamus. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 2023SD43, Categories: Property
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court properly denied an individual's motion for summary judgment on the question of anticipatory breach by actor Kevin Costner after Costner commissioned the individual to create 17 large bronze sculptures of buffalo and Lakota warriors on horseback to display at The Dunbar, a luxury resort Costner planned to build on property he owned near Deadwood, South Dakota. The individual commenced litigation against Costner in 2008, after The Dunbar had not been built, alleging that Costner was required to sell the sculptures and split the profits with the individual pursuant to the terms of a prior written agreement. However, the circuit court reversed summary judgment in favor of Costner and remands for further proceedings. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen, Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: 2023SD40, Categories: Contract
J. Myren finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant was convicted of ten counts of sexual contact with a child under age sixteen and one count of first-degree rape. Defendant was not prejudiced by testimony offered by a mental health practitioner who had served as the victim’s counselor. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: 2023SD41, Categories: Sex Offender, Witnesses
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court properly denied a writ certiorari sought by a company which purchased a quarry that had operated since 1986 under a state license to mine sand, gravel and rock. After the purchase, the Hanson County Zoning Administrator advised the company that because the quarry is located in a district that is currently zoned as agricultural, it would need a conditional use permit (CUP) under a county ordinance in order to extract sand, gravel and rock from the site. The zoning administrator properly determined that a CUP was required to continue mining operations. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 2023SD38, Categories: Licensing
J. Devaney finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. Defendant sought to introduce evidence of a polygraph examination regarding his role in the crime. The circuit court precluded the admission of the polygraph evidence and sentenced defendant to eighty years in the penitentiary with twenty years suspended. The circuit court correctly precluded polygraph evidence
because of reliability concerns. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 2023SD39, Categories: Evidence, Manslaughter
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant was convicted of first-degree robbery and sentenced to forty years. Defendant attempted to rob a casino by holding a cashier on duty at gunpoint. Defendant pulled her behind the counter and struck her on the head with a pistol, causing her to fall to the floor. Defendant fled after failing to open the cash register. Sufficient evidence supported conviction. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 2023SD37, Categories: Firearms, Robbery, Assault
J. Devaney consolidates separate petitions for discretionary appeal related to the circuit court’s summary judgment rulings in a professional negligence matter. The consolidated petitions are remanded to the circuit court for dismissal as untimely under South Dakota Codified Law.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 2023SD33, Categories: Property, Negligence
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after a jury convicted and sentenced defendant for second-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault. The event stemmed from a social media altercation which led to defendant firing a weapon, killing a bystander and wounding two others. Defendant claims he acted in self-defense and that he was prejudiced when the jury was informed that he was recently released from prison and should not have been able to possess a firearm. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 2023SD32, Categories: Firearms, Murder, Self Defense