Title 7, COUNTIES

The state's attorney shall give opinions and advice without fee to the board of county commissioners and other civil officers of his county, if requested by the board or officers, upon all matters in which the county is interested or relating to the official duties of the board o…

The state's attorney shall appear in all courts of his county and prosecute and defend on behalf of the state or his county all actions or proceedings, civil or criminal, in which the state or county is interested or a party. No state's attorney is required to appear in courts ou…

Each state's attorney shall inquire into and make a full examination of all the facts and circumstances of every case where an offender is committed to jail or released on bail. Source: SL 1895, ch 64 , § 6; RCCrimP 1903, § 210; RC 1919, § 4706; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 34.1504; S…

Each board of county commissioners may, by resolution, establish and maintain an office of public defender to fulfill the requirements of § 23A-40-7 . Source: SL 1978, ch 152 , § 1.

An indigent person who is entitled to be represented by a public defender shall be counseled and defended at all stages of the matter beginning with the earliest time when a person providing his own counsel would be entitled to be represented by an attorney, including the revocat…

This chapter applies only to representation in the courts of this state, except that it does not prohibit a public defender from representing an indigent person in an action seeking relief other than the recovery of money damages in a federal court of the United States, if; (1) T…

If at any stage of proceedings, including appeal or other post-judgment proceedings, a public defender is unable to represent an indigent person, because of a conflict of interest or other good cause, the court concerned may assign a substitute private attorney to represent the i…

The governing body of a municipality situated in a county in which an office of public defender has been established, may request the board of county commissioners of the county to extend the duties of the public defender to represent all indigent persons who are subject to proce…

Any direct expense, including the cost of a transcript or substitute for a transcript, that is necessarily incurred in representing an indigent under this chapter shall be paid by the municipality or county on behalf of which the service is performed. Source: SL 1978, ch 152 , § …

If two or more jurisdictions jointly establish an office of public defender, the expenses not otherwise allocable among the participating jurisdictions, unless otherwise agreed upon, shall be allocated on the basis of population according to the most recent federal decennial cens…

The board of county commissioners of each county participating in a public defender plan shall annually appropriate money from the general fund to administer the public defender. The funds appropriated by the participating counties shall be placed in a public defender fund which …

Each public defender shall submit, at least monthly, to the presiding judge of his circuit court, a list of cases disposed of by his office for the purpose of setting the liens required by § 23A-40-9 . Any funds collected from public defender liens pursuant to the provisions of §…

A public defender shall keep appropriate records for each indigent person represented by the public defender's office. A public defender shall submit an annual report to the advisory committee showing the number of indigent persons represented by the public defender's office, the…

If a board of county commissioners elects to establish and maintain an office of public defender, it may join with the board of county commissioners of one or more other counties to jointly establish and maintain an office of public defender. In that case the participating counti…

If a board of county commissioners elects to establish an office of public defender it shall: (1) Prescribe the qualifications of the public defender, the term of office and the rate of annual compensation; and (2) Provide for the establishment, maintenance, and support of the of…

A public defender advisory committee shall be established whenever an office of public defender is established. A committee shall consist of the following members: (1) One person not admitted to the practice of law, not an employee of the county, and not a law enforcement officer…

The advisory committee shall appoint and dismiss the public defender. To be appointed, a person shall be licensed to practice law in this state, be competent to counsel and defend a person charged with a crime, and have basic knowledge of, and experience in, criminal law. Source:…

If an office of public defender has been established, the board of county commissioners may employ, on recommendation by the public defender and in the manner and at the compensation prescribed by the advisory committee, such assistant public defenders, clerks, investigators, ste…

An assistant public defender, before employment, must be licensed to practice law in this state and be competent to counsel and defend a person charged with a crime. A public defender may assign and substitute his assistant public defenders to cases referred to the office of the …

If an office of public defender has been established the board of county commissioners shall provide appropriate facilities, including office space, furniture, equipment, books, postage, supplies, and interviewing facilities in the jail, necessary for carrying out the public defe…

A public defender shall represent any indigent person who is: (1) Detained by a law enforcement officer without charge or judicial process; (2) Arrested or charged with having committed a crime or of being a juvenile delinquent; (3) Detained under a conviction of a crime, juvenil…

There is established at the association of county commissioners a county legal expense relief fund administered by the county legal expense relief board created pursuant to §

A majority of the members - elect of the county commission shall pass a resolution requesting participation in the county legal expense relief fund before November 1, 1993, to initially be considered a participating county for the purposes of this chapter. If less than thirty - f…

The county legal expense relief board shall promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , regarding the procedure and requirements for allowing additional counties to participate in the fund, the procedure and requirements for allowing participating counties to withdraw from the f…

Any participating county may apply to the board for funds from the county legal expense relief fund if that county has incurred expenses related to any one criminal prosecution resulting in a court trial that are in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars. The application shall in…

The board established pursuant to § 7-16B-22 shall determine if the application is in order and the claim is justified and may approve disbursements to the county for ninety percent of any expenses related to any one criminal prosecution resulting in a court trial which qualifies…

A series of trials arising out of a single incident shall be considered as one court trial in applying the provisions of §§ 7-16B-16 and 7-16B-17 . Source: SL 1992, ch 55 , § 6.

Prior to January thirty-first, the board shall calculate the actual disbursements from the county legal expense relief fund in the previous calendar year and shall compute each participating county's share utilizing the formula established in § 7-16B-20 . The board shall certify …

If it appears to the board that the county legal expense relief fund reserve is likely to be completely depleted, the board may determine a supplemental assessment is required and shall compute each participating county's share utilizing the formula established in § 7-16B-20 . Th…

Each participating county's share of the county legal expense relief fund shall be computed utilizing the following factors: (1) The percent of the total population of the participating counties in the state which reside in the county excluding individuals not subject to the juri…

The board may accept any gifts, contributions, or funds obtained from any other source for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter. The administration and expenditure of these funds shall be in accordance with this chapter. Source: SL 1992, ch 55 , § 9. 7-16B-2…

Source: SL 1992, ch 55 , § 1; SL 1995, ch 40 ; SL 2010, ch 37 , § 1; SL 2016, ch 44 , § 38.

Each county is a body corporate for civil and political purposes only, and as such may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in any court in this state. Source: SL 1874-5, ch 27 , § 28; PolC 1877, ch 21, § 13; CL 1887, § 572; RPolC 1903, § 795; RC 1919, § 5791; SL 1935, ch 79 …

Any county of this state may, through its board of commissioners, enter into agreements with and receive grants from federal agencies. Source: SL 1965, ch 211 , § 2; SL 2016, ch 44 , § 47.

The board of county commissioners may promote industrial, tourist, and recreational activities and make payment from the general fund to nonprofit corporations or associations engaged in promotion either within or outside of the boundaries of the county. Any nonprofit corporation…

Any county of this state that has a population of thirty thousand or more, through its board of commissioners may, from its general fund, contribute to the support of a program of safety and the prevention of accidents. Such support may be, in whole or in part, to a safety counci…

Every county shall have power to enter into agreements with the United States, with the State of South Dakota and with any authorized agency, subdivision, or unit of government, federal or state, to cooperate with and furnish assurances of cooperation and sponsorship as required …

Every county shall have power (1) To prevent or control flooding within its boundaries which endangers property; (2) To enter into agreements with the United States, with the State of South Dakota, and with any authorized agency, subdivision, or unit of government, federal or sta…

All powers conferred upon municipalities under chapter 9-54 relating to the power to issue revenue bonds shall also be applicable to any county. Source: SL 1972, ch 45 , § 1.

Any county, in order to accomplish the purposes provided in chapter 9-54 , may enter into agreements with any other public agency or agencies for joint or cooperative action and such agreements shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 1-24 . Source: SL 1972, ch 45 , § 1.

Any county with a volunteer fire department may establish a deferred compensation program for its volunteer firefighters. Such a program may be financed by the county or by the volunteer firefighters and may be managed through the county or through an insurance company or other f…

Any county with volunteer advanced life support personnel may establish a deferred compensation program for its volunteer advanced life support personnel. Such a program may be financed by the county or by the volunteer advanced life support personnel and may be managed through t…

A county may pay compensation to a regularly scheduled commercial air carrier to provide basic or enhanced air service as provided in the Airport and Airway Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1987 and may provide compensation to a regularly scheduled air carrier under contract …

The board of county commissioners shall procure and keep a seal with emblems and devices as the board deems proper. This shall be the seal of the county and the county auditor may not use any other seal. Source: SL 1874-5, ch 27 , §§ 38, 39; PolC 1877, ch 21, § 17; CL 1887, § 578…

A county may adopt ordinances for the purpose of protecting public groundwater supplies from pollution. The ordinances shall be consistent with the wellhead protection program guidelines developed by the department pursuant to § 34A-3A-17 , and may include ordinances to establish…

The provisions of chapter 34-18 notwithstanding, a county may require that the owners or operators of temporary campgrounds secure a permit from the county before operating as a temporary campground within the county. For the purposes of this section, a temporary campground is an…