State v. Robert
Annotate this CaseEric Robert was under a sentence of death entered by a circuit court judge and let the time to file an appeal expire. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court in this case was statutorily obligated to review his sentence. The Court subsequently stayed Robert's execution and established a briefing schedule. Robert filed a motion to vacate those orders, arguing that the obligation to review his sentence did not grant the Court additional jurisdiction to stay his execution or to enter a briefing schedule. The Supreme Court denied the motion to vacate, holding that Robert's interpretation of S.D. Codified Laws 23A-27A-21, which included the argument that because Robert had not filed a notice of appeal the stay of proceedings contemplated by the statute was not available, was incorrect, as it would lead to an absurd result, flew in the face of the Court's authority, and was inconsistent with the constitutional analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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