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South Dakota Sobriety Program Participants Will No Longer Be Jailed for Non-Payment of Fees
Loaded on March 1, 2026
by Chuck Sharman
published in Prison Legal News
March, 2026, page 11
Filed under:
Settlements,
Class Certification,
Fourteenth Amendment, rights,
Unlawful Detention,
Ability to Pay.
Location:
South Dakota.
by Chuck Sharman
The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota granted preliminary approval on December 3, 2025, to a settlement resolving a putative class-action challenge to Pennington County’s policy of diverting defendants to its 24-7 Sobriety Program and then jailing them when they can’t afford …
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More from this issue:
- Like Prisoners, Most Jail Detainees Now Banned from Receiving Physical Mail, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Florida Sheriff Received $50,000 Donation from Jail Medical Contractor
- Watchdog Blasts BOP for Failure to Treat Prisoner’s Preventable Cancer, by Chuck Sharman
- South Dakota Sobriety Program Participants Will No Longer Be Jailed for Non-Payment of Fees, by Chuck Sharman
- Colorado Lawmakers Approve Prison Bed Funding, Despite DOC Understaffing
- Eighth Circuit Rules Iowa Prisoner’s Adverse Summary Judgment Is Not a “Strike”, by Chuck Sharman
- Colorado Law Intended to Reduce Prison Population Hasn’t Improved Conditions, by Michael Thompson
- New York City Mayor Appoints Ex-Rikers Prisoner as Corrections Commissioner
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, by David Reutter
- Georgia Grand Jury Scolds Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, by Chuck Sharman
- Ninth Circuit Affirms $3.84 Million Jury Verdict in Death of San Bernardino Jail Detainee from Acute Alcohol Withdrawal, by Sam Rutherford
- Leaked Video Footage Shows California Prison Guards Engaged in Retaliatory Assault, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Constitutional Challenge to Louisiana Prison “Farm Line” Granted Class Certification, by Chuck Sharman
- SCOTUS Sides with Federal Prisoner in Habeas Review Case, by Chuck Sharman
- Fourth Circuit Holds Federal Prisoner Does Not Earn First Step Act Time Credits While in Transit Between Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Report Finds Persistent Overcrowding Drives Cascade of Problems at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- $6 Million Settlement with Washington DOC for Delayed Treatment That Let Prisoner’s Liver Cancer Become Fatal, by Chuck Sharman
- Sixth Circuit Revives Michigan Prisoner’s Challenge to Guard Tackle That Broke His Foot, by Chuck Sharman
- Southern Poverty Law Center Report Shows Culture of Abuse at Florida Prison, by Michael Thompson
- Jury Awards Over $9.5 Million for Oklahoma Jail Death, by Chuck Sharman
- Washington Appellate Court Uses Personal Restraint Petitions Mooted by Prisoners’ Transfers to Order Remedial Measures at Troubled Juvenile Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Alaska Prisoner’s Discipline for Violating Invalidated Rule Tossed, by Chuck Sharman
- $300,000 Class-Action Settlement at California Jail Includes Policy Changes; Agreements with Aramark and Wellpath Reached Confidentially, by Chuck Sharman
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, by Michael Thompson
- Number of Narcan Doses Raises Drug Concerns at New Jersey Prisons
- Louisiana Prisoner Sustains Claim Against Prison Doctor for Allowing Assignment to “Field Duty” Despite Known Ankle Injury, by Chuck Sharman
- Two Detainees Captured After Escape from Southwest Georgia Jail
- U.S. Jails Hold 52,000 Detainees for Nothing More than “Failure to Appear”, by Chuck Sharman
- Maryland Prisons Reel from Growing Number of Prisoner Deaths, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Incarcerated Women Featured in True Crime Media Face Flood of Sexual Harassment, by Kwaneta Harris, Leigh Goodmark
- Missouri Judge Heavily Sanctions DOC for “Deliberate Disregard for the Authority of This Court” in Suit Over Prisoner’s Suicide, by Matthew Clarke
- “Devil in the Ozarks” Gets 13 More Years for Escape
- Overcrowded State Mental Hospitals Lead to Longer Jail Time and Lack of Treatment, by Michael Thompson
- Fourth Circuit Revives Deliberate Indifference Claim for Baltimore Detainee Served Rotten Food, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment in Illinois Prisoner’s Segregation Lawsuit, by Michael Thompson
- One in 10 Prison Admissions Is Now for Technical Parole Violation, by Chuck Sharman
- Utah Pushes for Additional $130 Million to Expand Prison that Cost $1 Billion
- Texas State Jails Fail: Institutions Conceived as Safe Spots for Rehabilitation After Minor Drug Convictions Now Flooded With Drugs and Major Felons, by Matthew Clarke
- Eleventh Circuit: District Court Erred in Dismissing BOP Prisoner’s Medical Claim, Finds Prison Officials Made Administrative Remedies Unavailable, by David Reutter
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, by Chuck Sharman
- Detainee Death from Kidney Infection Highlights Broken Policy in Washington State, by Michael Thompson
- Tenth Circuit Affirmed Denial of Guards Qualified Immunity in Disabled Detainee’s Fourteenth Amendment Claim, by David Reutter
- New Jersey Governor’s Order Allows People with Prior Felony Convictions to Serve on Jury Duty
- Missouri Pays $212M for Prison Health Care, But Prisoner Deaths Aren’t a Performance Measure, by Rudi Keller
- Minnesota Study Shows Disproportionate Rate of Health and Mental Problems for Recently Incarcerated, by Michael Thompson
- Eight Detainees Escape from Louisiana Jail, Captured in 24 Hours
- Maine Was the First State to Abolish Parole. Incarcerated Mainers, Advocates Hope to Bring it Back., by Emma Davis
- Oklahoma County Jail Could Lay Off Half Its Staff Due to $5.4 Million Budget Gap
- Medical Audit at New Mexico Jail Once Again Finds Poor Level of Healthcare
- New York City Begins Construction on Chinatown Jail Despite Opposition
- Alarming Conditions at Texas Family Detention Center Owned by CoreCivic
- Mail Went Digital in Alabama Prisons. Families Are Saying Their Mail Isn’t Being Delivered, by Nayanika Guha
- ICE Wants to Spend $38 Billion to Turn Warehouses into Detention Camps
- Wisconsin Hasn’t Created Prison Nursery Program, One Year After Court Order
- Alaska’s DOC Was $24 Million Over-Budget Last Year, Spent Most on Overtime
- Private Prison Firm GEO Group Reports Record $254 Million Profit After New ICE Contracts, by Brett Wilkins
- North Carolina Prisons Are Facing a “Dire” Staffing Crisis
- New York Governor Pulls Plug on Prison Watchdog Funding
- Showers at St. Louis County Jail Riddled with Mold, Report Finds
- Illinois DOC Has Failed to Improve Prison Health Care Seven Years After Order
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026
- Washington DOC Barred from Putting Prisoners on Lockdown and Calling It “Programming”, Sept. 1, 2026
- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026
- $100,000 Paid to Five Prisoners Assaulted by Centurion Gynecologist at Florida Lockup, Sept. 1, 2026
- “Nothing Short of Disgraceful”: New York Prisoner Wins Injunction Ordering Cancer Treatment Delayed Seven Years, Sept. 1, 2026
- HRDC Wins Injunction Against Minnesota DOC Policy Banning Its Publications, Sept. 1, 2026
- $280,000 Paid for South Carolina Detainee’s Death in Charleston Jail, Sept. 1, 2026
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026
- $5.4 Million Jury Verdict Against Riverside County in Suit Over Jail Fentanyl Death, Sept. 1, 2026
- Atlanta Jail Begins Turning Away Misdemeanor Arrestees, Sept. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- $500,000 for Mentally Ill Detainee Beaten by Guard at Ohio Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Settlements, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- $3 Million Paid by San Diego County for Diabetic Detainee’s Jail Death; NaphCare Settles Separately for Undisclosed Amount, Sept. 1, 2026. Naphcare, Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Damages, Settlements.
- $11 Million Paid by Boston to Exonerated Prisoner for 37-Year Wrongful Incarceration, Sept. 1, 2026. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Monell Liability, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- Hawai‘i Pays $600,000 for Prisoner’s Withdrawal Death, Sept. 1, 2026. Medication, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its “Money of Mass Incarceration” Report, Aug. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Forfeiture, Effects of Mass Incarceration, Ability to Pay.
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Damages Class Certification in Opioid Treatment Denial, Aug. 1, 2026. Wexford Health Services, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Class Certification, Deliberate Indifference.

