Criminal Convictions Upheld

The SD Supreme Court handed down 1 new decision this morning. Summary is set forth below. 1) Criminal convictions upheld; Summary follows: STATE v. LONG, 2025 S.D. 69: This is a criminal appeal, aptly described in the opening paragraph as follows: [¶1.] Lance Long was convicted in Corson County of three counts of rape, three counts of aggravated assault, and five counts of abuse of or cruelty to a minor. The victims were Long’s stepchildren. Other act evidence of similar conduct by Long involving these same children was admitted at trial over Long’s objection. The circuit court denied Long’s motion for judgment of acquittal regarding one of the rape counts. Long appeals his convictions, and we affirm. This is a unanimous decision (5-0), with opinion authored by Justice Myren. NOTE: In this opinion, Justice Kern is shown as participating as a “Retired Justice.” Justice Gusinski is shown as “not participating. This is the first time I have seen Justice Gusinski’s name on an opinion as a Supreme Court Justice. 😊 This decision may be accessed at http://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opinions.aspx .