The Pennington County Courthouse and jail complex in Rapid City, in June 2023. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
The $3 million that South Dakota will send to counties in the coming weeks for their indigent legal service expenses will cover less than 12% of the collective amount of those costs incurred by counties during the last fiscal year.
The Legislature approved the one-time payouts earlier this year. The Unified Judicial System recently announced the state will distribute the funds based on how much each county spent on indigent defense, which is when judges appoint legal representation for someone who can’t afford to hire an attorney. That includes court-appointed attorneys and public defenders for criminal defendants, and representation of abused and neglected children.
Minnehaha County will receive about 30% of the $3 million total, having spent $7.7 million last year. Pennington County will receive 23% of the total, having spent $5.9 million.
Sen. Randy Deibert, R-Spearfish, advocated for indigent defense funding for counties during the last legislative session, which ended in March. Deibert said the distribution is fair, but added that the funding comes too late. The distribution couldn’t be calculated until after the state established the Commission on Indigent Legal Services this spring.