South Dakota lawmakers vote to halt impeachment against attorney general
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[March 09, 2021]
By Patrick Callahan
PIERRE, S.D. (Reuters) - The South Dakota
House of Representatives voted on Monday to halt impeachment proceedings
against the state attorney general over his conduct in a fatal car crash
last year while he still faces unresolved criminal charges from the
accident.
The lawmakers voted 57-11 vote to suspend further impeachment action
against the state's top law enforcement official, Republican Jason
Ravnsborg. The move marks a sharp turnaround after both Democratic and
Republican politicians had called for his ouster.
The clamor reached its peak last month after state authorities took the
extraordinary step of releasing video of police interrogations of the
attorney general and other evidence from the Sept. 12 crash, in which
his car struck and killed a man walking along a highway.
In the video, Ravnsborg told police he believed he had run into a deer,
rather than a person, until he returned to the scene the following day
to find the body of the victim, 55-year-old Joe Boever, lying in a
roadside ditch.
Investigators suggested that Ravnsborg's account lacked credibility,
telling him under questioning that a broken pair of eyeglasses belonging
to Boever were found in his car, indicating the victim's face had gone
through the windshield on impact.
Police also told Ravnsborg that Boever had been carrying a flashlight,
which was still illuminated when they found it the next day, and that
evidence showed Ravnsborg had driven onto the shoulder of the road where
the victim was walking.
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The South Dakota state capitol building is seen in Pierre, South
Dakota, U.S., February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Lawrence Hurley
The video sparked immediate outrage. Governor Kristi Noem, a fellow
Republican, demanded the resignation of Ravnsborg, who is charged
with three misdemeanor offenses in the accident. A bipartisan group
of lawmakers introduced an impeachment resolution in the state's
Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
But a state judge on Feb. 25 ordered the police interrogation video
and other evidence sealed, ruling that its disclosure violated
Ravnsborg's due process rights.
The court order prompted legislative leaders to introduce amendments
to the impeachment articles barring further House proceedings
against Ravnsborg at least until the criminal case against him is
resolved.
"The House's action today will allow the legal system to proceed
without further interference and with due process," Ravnsborg said
in a statement issued on Monday through his lawyer.
Ravnsborg, who has denied wrongdoing and refused to resign, is due
to make his initial court appearance in the case on Friday.
(Reporting by Patrick Callaghan in Pierre, S.D.; Writing by Steve
Gorman; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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