8th Circuit Hands Down two D.S.D. decisions today

The Johnson appeal, the reversal, is from the Southern Division. The Cadotte appeal, a per curiam dismissal of appeal, is from the Western Division, Hon. Karen E. Schreier. U.S. v Johnson: Defendant filed a Motion to Suppress evidence on the basis that the routine traffic stop was prolonged beyond a reasonable time, with the detaining officer waiting for a drug dog. Following the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress, Defendant pled guilty to a federal drug offense. The 8th Circuit reversed and vacated the conviction. The Court's opinion, authored by Judge Kobes states: [The] Officer prolonged the stop beyond the time needed to address Johnson’s traffic violations. Cf. Peralez, 526 F.3d at 1120 (officer’s “drug interdiction questions,” interspersed with “routine processing of a traffic stop,” unreasonably prolonged the stop). In his own words, it normally takes him five or six minutes to complete and explain a traffic ticket. So if he had diligently written the window tint warning, he would have completed it by 20 minutes and 42 seconds into the stop at the latest and Johnson would have been free to go before the K9 arrived. This is a split decision (2-1), with a dissenting opinion by Judge Stras. U.S. v Cadotte: Defendant pled guilty to child porn and was sentenced 240 months, followed by 5 years of supervised release. The plea agreement contained an "appeal waiver." Nonetheless, Defendant appealed. The 8th Circuit dismissed the appeal, upholding the appeal waiver. This is a per curiam decision and there is no discussion of an examination of the record for other grounds for relief and no indication of an Anders brief. These decisions may be accessed by clicking on the links below: Current Opinions are for Thursday, February 12, 2026 213954P.pdf 02/12/2026 United States v. Alex Johnson U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 21-3954 U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - Southern 242625U.pdf 02/12/2026 United States v. Tell Cadotte U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 24-2625 U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - Western