Federal Judge Rips SD Governor Over COVID Response

The Argus Leader reports:

A federal judge says a state court can’t use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to delay a Codington County trial and in the same breath criticized South Dakota’s response to the pandemic, saying it has done “little, if anything,” to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann ordered that unless the Codington County state court resolves Matthew Kurtenbach’s May 2019 case by January 15, 2021, Kurtenbach will win a federal petition he filed claiming wrongful imprisonment and a violation of his right to a speedy trial.

Kornmann harshly criticized the state and Gov. Kristi Noem’s response to the pandemic and said some state courts could have done more to keep cases moving while protecting parties. “South Dakota cannot ‘take advantage’ of its own failures to follow scientific facts and safeguards in entering blanket denials of the rights of speedy trials.”

Read the full article.

Federal Judge:
“South Dakota cannot ‘take advantage’ of its own failures to follow scientific facts and safeguards in entering blanket denials of the rights of speedy trials.”https://t.co/mSyNkk896e

— Danielle Ferguson (@DaniFergs) December 31, 2020