Media company accuses S.D. state courts of violating U.S. Constitution

Courthouse News seeking federal review of judiciary practice

A national newsgathering company is accusing the state court administrator and the two court administrators in South Dakota’s largest counties of violating its First Amendment rights.

Courthouse News has filed suit against South Dakota State Court Administrator Greg Sattizahn in federal court. Karl Thoennes, the court administrator in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties is a named defendant, as is Liz Hassett, the court administrator in Pennington County.

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The media company, which covers state courts in all 50 states as well as federal district and appellate courts, argues that South Dakota’s practice of processing new civil complaints is a violation of the First Amendment. Under the process used in South Dakota, court administrators withhold civil complaints that are e-filed from the public until they have completed administrative tasks of processing the complaints.

That processing can delay civil complaints from being available to the public for one to three days, Courthouse News alleges. During the past 14 months, the group estimates that 40 percent of new civil filings were withheld for a day, and 15 percent for two days or longer. That diminishes their news value.

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