The
SD Supreme Court handed down one decision this morning, holding inter alia:
- Hunting on private land without permission is
a strict liability offense
STATE
v. FIDELER, 2023 S.D. 25: Defendant was
convicted, in a bench trial, of “hunting on private land without
permission from the owner in violation of SDCL 41-9-1.” Punishment was the imposition of “a $300
fine with $200 suspended if [Defendant] paid the fine plus $78.50 in court
costs by June 9, 2022.” Defendant appealed,
arguing that a mens rea must be established by the State. The SD Supreme Court affirmed stating:
SDCL 41-9-1 is a regulatory
measure in nature with a minimal penalty, and the plain language of SDCL 41-9-1
does not contain a mens rea element for the less punitive violation, but SDCL
41-9-8 does require a violation to be knowing for the harsher penalty.
Therefore, it is apparent that the Legislature intended SDCL 41-9-1 to be a
strict liability offense.
The
Court’s ruling is unanimous (5-0), with opinion authored by Justice
DeVaney. NOTE: this opinion is 22 pages
long, with 41 paragraphs and 9 footnotes.
This
decision may be accessed at
http://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opinions.aspx .
