Almost a year and half after the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Missouri v. McNeely, the South Dakota Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision affirming the rights of drivers not to be forced to give blood absent a search warrant, exigent circumstances, or consent. This decision benefits all drivers in South Dakota and gives persons charged with DUI or DWI additional protections and defenses. The case at issue is State v. Fierro. In …

This week the South Dakota Supreme Court issued a pair of criminal sentencing cases. They are the kind of cases that, on the surface, don’t seem that interesting. Yet, when you look deeper into the cases, they highlight some deeper issues within the criminal justice system. In State v. Cook, the defendant, Mr. Cook, was sentenced to 20 years with 10 suspended for aggravated assault and for being a habitual offender. This happened back in 2009. He appealed his con…

Over a year after the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Missouri v. McNeely, the South Dakota Supreme Court has issued its first major decision on the matter of forced blood draws in DUI cases. The case is State v. Fierro, and it goes a long way in protecting the rights of drivers in South Dakota from arbitrary, forced blood draws without the basic protection of a search warrant. In Fierro, the defendant was stopped by the South Dakota H…

For those of us who practice in criminal law and do any work with sex offenses, the questions that come up regarding registry issues can be vast and complex. Often the kneejerk answer to registry questions boils down to, “You were convicted of a sex offense, so you have to register for life.” However, that is not always the case. I have seen many changes in the sex offender registry in South Dakota during the last ten years. We can now advise clients that registr…

My last post discussed a recent Supreme Court victory. I represented Kyle Steiner in a habeas corpus action stemming from a child sex abuse case. After years of fighting, Kyle obtained some justice. A week after the Steiner decision was released, the South Dakota Supreme Court issued its decision in State v. Graham. The full text of the decision can be read on my web site, www.murphylawoffice.org. The result in that case, however, was not in our client’s favor. T…