Judicial issue on ballot

By Joe Kafka, Associated Press Writer | Friday, December 23, 2005

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PIERRE — Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Thursday that he verified enough signatures to place a proposed constitutional amendment on next year’s ballot that would strip judges of immunity from lawsuits over decisions they make.

Nelson said petitions that were brought to his office last month contain the required 33,456 signatures to qualify the measure for to be placed on the 2006 general election ballot.

If voters approve the proposal, South Dakota would likely be the first state to allow judges to be put on trial if people believe that those judges violated their rights. People could press for civil damages or even criminal charges.

Judicial immunity, the doctrine that bars people from suing judges over their official acts, was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in an 1871 case.

The South Dakota amendment would eliminate state judges’ immunity in cases involving deliberate violations of the law or someone’s constitutional rights or deliberate disregard of the facts.

The proposal is the third constitutional issue that will face voters next year.

Another measure would change the method of assessing real estate for property-tax purposes. Annual assessment increases would be limited, and large increases in assessments would be allowed only when land, homes or businesses are sold. The sales price would then become the new assessed value.

The third proposal, which was ordered for ballot placement by the Legislature, seeks to assure that South Dakota does not recognize same-sex marriages. It would define valid marriages as only those unions between men and women.