The
SD Supreme Court handed down two decisions this morning. Both cases involve
appeals from the Circuit Court of Hughes County, Honorable Bobbi J. Rank. Judge Rank is affirmed in both decisions:
- Criminal Conviction and Life Sentence Upheld
- Tax litigation resolved against U.S. Bank
Summaries
follows:
STATE
v. LARSON, 2022 S.D. 58: Jury convicted
Defendant of 2nd Degree Murder and aggravated battery of an infant,
with the events having taken place in Pierre.
Trial court sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment and 55 years to run
concurrently. Defendant’s unsuccessful
appeal was predicated upon alleged error relating to a Motion to Suppress
Statements and Denial of his Motion for Judgment of Acquittal. The SD Supreme Court affirmed (5-0), with the
Court’s opinion authored by Justice Myren.
Justice Salter filed a brief concurring opinion.
U.S.
BANK NATIONAL ASSOC. v. S.D. DEPT OF REVENUE, 2022 S.D. 59: This is a tax case
which is nicely summarized in the opening ¶ of the Court’s opinion :
[¶1.] The South Dakota
Department of Revenue (the Department) rejected U.S. Bank’s1 method of
calculating its federal income tax deduction from net income subject to South
Dakota’s bank franchise tax for tax years 2010, 2011, and 2012. As a result,
the Department denied U.S. Bank’s request for a refund for 2010 and 2011 and
disallowed the entire deduction for 2012. The Department issued a certificate
of assessment for additional tax and interest for 2012. U.S. Bank appealed the
administrative decision to the circuit court, which affirmed the Department’s
decision. U.S. Bank now appeals to this Court. We affirm.
The
Court’s affirmance is a unanimous (5-0) decision with opinion authored by
Justice Salter. Retired Judge Severson
sat on this case, in lieu of Justice DeVaney.
This case was orally argued over 1 ½ years ago on February 16, 2021.
These
decisions may be accessed at
