State v. Smith
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting and sentencing Defendant for second-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.
On appeal, Defendant argued, among other things, that the circuit court erred in denying his motion to dismiss based on statutory immunity under S.D. Codified Laws 22-18-4.8, a statute that became effective during the pendency of his case. The Supreme Court disagreed and affirmed, holding (1) Defendant was not entitled to a pretrial determination of statutory immunity under section 22-18-4.8 because the statute was substantive and not retroactive; (2) the circuit court's erroneous admission of certain testimony was not prejudicial; (3) there was sufficient evidence to sustain the verdict, and therefore, the circuit court properly denied Defendant's motions for judgment of acquittal; and (2) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's motion for mistrial.
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