South Dakota to test early court oversight for people charged with crimes

Supreme Court Chief Justice announces pretrial services pilot that would start supervision, treatment and risk assessments before conviction

South Dakotans charged with crimes could get access to supervision, treatment and court oversight earlier in their cases.

That’s the goal of a new pretrial services pilot program South Dakota Chief Justice Steven Jensen unveiled Wednesday during his State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the state Legislature.

“We have no services … to provide services for individuals prior to conviction. This means individuals facing charges either remain in jail, where there is limited bed space, or are released without supervision,” he said before announcing that the Unified Judicial System is working with public safety and criminal justice leaders in Pennington County to stand up an initiative to enable defendant evaluations, monitoring and rehabilitation following an arrest.