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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:
- $3.25 Million Verdict in New York Against Jail Medical Profiteer Armor Health, July 1, 2026
- After Spoliation Sanction, CoreCivic Settles Suit Over Suicide in New Mexico ICE Lockup, July 1, 2026
- Conviction Tossed for Former Alabama Prisoner Paroled After 42 Years, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Continues to Hack Away At First Step Act, July 1, 2026
- California Supreme Court Limits Money Bail for Nonviolent Charges, July 1, 2026
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026
- Fifth Circuit Kills Louisiana Prison Medical and Mental Health Care Reform, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Shuts Down GEO Group Bid for Immunity in Suit by Colorado ICE Detainees, July 1, 2026
- $25,000 Paid to Former New York Jail Detainee Subjected to Delayed Healthcare and Denied Mental Healthcare— Despite Seven Suicide Attempts, July 1, 2026
- Prisoners’ Risk of Death In Custody More than Doubles in Solitary Confinement, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026. Dental Care, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Class Certification, Deliberate Indifference.
- $112,500 Paid to Former New Mexico Prisoner Denied Public Records of Excessive Force by Guards, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Public Records Act, False Imprisonment.
- Settlement Reached in Mental Health Care Class-Action at San Diego County Jails, June 1, 2026. Settlements, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Class Actions, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Pepper Spraying Incident Prompts Policy Change at Washington Women’s Prison, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Settlements, Staff Training, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Sixth Circuit Rules Prisoner Held After Parole Board Ordered Release on Parole Could Not State a Rights Violation Claim, June 1, 2026. Parole, Overdetention, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Arkansas Supreme Court Bows to Governor’s Board of Correction Takeover, June 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Cost of Prison Systems, Settlements, State Legislation, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- California Pays $15,000 to State Prisoner Who Claimed He Was Targeted by Guards, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Summary Judgment, Settlements.
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Exercise, Sanitation, Bedding, Settlements.
- Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Strickland Governs Collateral Claims That Defense Counsel Prevented Defendant From Testifying, May 1, 2026. Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Strickland Standard, Failure to Address/Advise Defendant, Grounds for Relief, Right to Testify/Remain Silent.
- Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Due Process Risks of Automated Traffic Enforcement, May 1, 2026. Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Authentication/Identification, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.

