State v. Alexander
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of violating S.D. Codified Laws 40-1-23 for having a "potentially dangerous animal," holding that the circuit court erred in failing to make the required finding of whether the animal was dangerous.
In City of Pierre v. Blackwell, 635 N.W.2d 581 (S.D. 2001), the Supreme Court held that Blackwell was not afforded due process when he was convicted based on the animal control officer's determination of dangerousness. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction in this case, holding (1) Blackwell mandates that due process requires a higher standard than that stated in section 40-1-1(5) to prove the dangerousness of an animal in a criminal proceeding; and (2) because the circuit court clarified that it would have acquitted Defendant but for the 40-1-1(5) language, Defendant's conviction must be reversed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.