The
SD Supreme Court handed down one decision this morning, holding, inter alia:
- 5 year prison sentence vacated; presumptive probation
ordered
Summary
follows:
STATE
v. KURTZ, 2024 S.D. 13: Upon entry of
guilty plea to possession of controlled substance, the Trial Court sentenced
the Defendant to 5 years in prison, the maximum possible sentence. Defendant claims entitlement to presumptive
probation in accordance with SDCL 22-6-11.
The trial court did not order presumptive probation because of “aggravating
circumstances” articulated
in ¶8 as follows:
[The Trial Court] detailed
several aggravating factors it found to exist, including prior failures to
comply, prior probation and parole violations, previous failures to appear, and
failures to pay court-ordered fines. The court emphasized [the Defendant’s] 15
prior felony convictions and noted that the current crime occurred while he was
on parole. The court also referred to [the Defendant] being arrested for simple
assault while on parole on September 27, 2022, a charge that, according to the
court, was later reduced to disorderly conduct.
But
the trial court also made the finding that the Defendant
did not pose a
significant risk to the public
The
SD Supreme Court vacated the sentence and remanded directing the trial court to
enter “a sentence of probation.” The
Court’s decision is a direct application of the language found in SDCL
22-6-11.
This
decision is unanimous, with opinion authored by Justice DeVaney.
This
decision may be accessed at
http://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opinions.aspx .
