The SD Supreme Court handed down one decision this morning, holding inter alia:
1)
Denny Sanford’s appeal rejected
MATTER OF IMPLICATED INDIVIDUAL, 2023 S.D. 16: In an amazingly
quick turnaround, the SD Supreme Court has rejected Denny Sanford’s appeal in connection
with his request to review search warrant affidavits and to participate in
redaction measures prior to being released to the public. This ruling comes only 14 days after the case
was orally argued in Brookings. In
affirming the trial court, the Supreme Court stated:
[¶22.] The circuit court properly applied the
provisions of SDCL 15-15A-13 and SDCL 23A-35-4.1 in considering, and ultimately
denying, Sanford’s request to inspect and redact the affidavits before they are
unsealed. Before ruling on the request, the court thoroughly considered the
various statutory and constitutional grounds asserted by Sanford with respect
to information that could conceivably be contained in the affidavits. The
court’s approach to redaction fell soundly within its discretion, and the court
appropriately exercised its discretion to “decide whether there [were]
sufficient grounds to prohibit access . . . .” to contents of the affidavits
under SDCL 15-15A-13.
This decision is unanimous (5-0), with opinion authored by Chief
Justice Jensen. Retired Chief Justice
Gilbertson sat on in this case, in lieu of Justice Salter.
This decision may be accessed at
http://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opinions.aspx .
