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South Dakota Supreme Court rules officer names can be kept secret
The 5-0 ruling says names or initials can expose officers to harassment, overturning a lower court decision in a case tied to Samir Albaidhani.
- On Thursday, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that officers involved in shootings can shield their names under Marsy's Law, reversing a lower court decision that denied redaction.
- The case stems from an April 3, 2024, shootout involving Samir Albaidhani, who fired on two Sioux Falls police officers who requested name redaction to prevent potential harassment.
- Interpreting Marsy's Law, the court classified officers as victims, stating, "A law enforcement officer is a 'person'" entitled to protection against intimidation or harassment as any other crime victim.
- The case will return to the circuit court "for further proceedings consistent with this opinion," as the Supreme Court overruled the previous judge who argued officers in official capacities cannot be victims.
- Legal precedents differ across the U.S., with the Ohio State Supreme Court similarly shielding officer identities while Florida's high court has ruled that constitutional provisions do not permit officers to conceal their names.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Associated Press News
South Dakota Supreme Court rules officer names can be kept secret
Two police officers involved in a shootout with a suspect in 2024 can have their names protected from public view to prevent someone from potentially locating or harassing the officer or their families, according to a ruling Thursday by the South Dakota Supreme Court that reversed a lower court’s de
SD Supreme Court Says Victims Rights Allow Exclusion of Cops’ Names from Public Court Records
2016 Amendment S, California tech billionaire Henry T. Nicholas‘s costly vanity project to enshrine his poor dead sister Marsy’s name into every state’s constitution, got some affirmation from the South Dakota Supreme Court yesterday. The high court ruled that the crime victims’ rights known as “Marsy’s Law” allow police to request the exclusion of their names from public court records in cases where the police can claim to be victims of crimes.…
The Daily Republic
State constitution allows shielding of officer names in police shootings, SD Supreme Court rules
Officers who shoot when threatened can shield their names from public view under the victims’ rights clause of the South Dakota Constitution, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The Wednesday decision came in one of the criminal cases filed against Samir Albaidhani, who’s been convicted in one county and has an open case in another for a series of interactions with law enforcement last year. Albaidhani fired on and struck one of the two Sioux Fal…
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