South Dakota Criminal Records - Can Criminal Records in SD Be Cleared?
Judges are the ones who have the power of handing down sentences in criminal trials.
However, if anybody wishes to clear up their criminal records in South Dakota, they would not be approaching the judges.
In South Dakota the only one who possesses the authority to clear up anybody's criminal records is the governor.
What is the process of clearing up your South Dakota Criminal Records? Your clearing-up process commences at the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
The other available option is to approach the governor directly.
You could either have a letter sent to the office or make a request in order to jumpstart the clearing-up process.
According to Gene Paul Kean, Minnehaha County Circuit Judge, the power to pardon lies with the executive branch.
Once somebody is sentenced and passed on to the executive branch, then the person is out of the court's jurisdiction and the court does not have any more control over that particular individual.
From July 2002 to December 2002, there were 23 applications made for clearance of South Dakota criminal records.
Michael Winder, information and policy specialist at the South Dakota Department of Corrections, stated that only 12 applications were recommended for clearance after all 23 applications were carefully considered.
The number is considerably less as compared to the larger number of applications that the parole board received in 2000.
During that year, 117 applications were received for clearance of South Dakota criminal records and of these 64 applications were recommended by the board for approval.
However, even though recommendations were made by the board, the final authority lies with the governor who is not bound by or influenced by any recommendations.
This is what was stated by Winder in an interview.
Governor Bill Janklow granted an estimated 60 pardons in the year 2002.
All of these pardons were granted without getting the board of paroles involved in the process.
The exact number of pardons granted in that year is not known primarily because according to the state law, all pardons are required to be sealed.
Besides criminal records pardons of South Dakota, convicted felons also have another way of shortening their sentence and getting out of prison before completing their entire sentence.
This process is called commutation and involves shortening a prison term and making it less than the original length.
This can be done either by allowing the person to go free or by parole.
The process is the same.
The applicant can choose to go to the governor directly and make a commutation request or the other option is to go through the Board of Paroles.
Why should you remove convictions from the South Dakota Criminal Records? The state law takes away a convicted felon's right to own a police scanner, to serve on any jury, to vote or to possess a firearm.
These are just few of the reasons why convicted felons may wish to have their conviction cleared from the South Dakota Criminal Records.
However, if anybody wishes to clear up their criminal records in South Dakota, they would not be approaching the judges.
In South Dakota the only one who possesses the authority to clear up anybody's criminal records is the governor.
What is the process of clearing up your South Dakota Criminal Records? Your clearing-up process commences at the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
The other available option is to approach the governor directly.
You could either have a letter sent to the office or make a request in order to jumpstart the clearing-up process.
According to Gene Paul Kean, Minnehaha County Circuit Judge, the power to pardon lies with the executive branch.
Once somebody is sentenced and passed on to the executive branch, then the person is out of the court's jurisdiction and the court does not have any more control over that particular individual.
From July 2002 to December 2002, there were 23 applications made for clearance of South Dakota criminal records.
Michael Winder, information and policy specialist at the South Dakota Department of Corrections, stated that only 12 applications were recommended for clearance after all 23 applications were carefully considered.
The number is considerably less as compared to the larger number of applications that the parole board received in 2000.
During that year, 117 applications were received for clearance of South Dakota criminal records and of these 64 applications were recommended by the board for approval.
However, even though recommendations were made by the board, the final authority lies with the governor who is not bound by or influenced by any recommendations.
This is what was stated by Winder in an interview.
Governor Bill Janklow granted an estimated 60 pardons in the year 2002.
All of these pardons were granted without getting the board of paroles involved in the process.
The exact number of pardons granted in that year is not known primarily because according to the state law, all pardons are required to be sealed.
Besides criminal records pardons of South Dakota, convicted felons also have another way of shortening their sentence and getting out of prison before completing their entire sentence.
This process is called commutation and involves shortening a prison term and making it less than the original length.
This can be done either by allowing the person to go free or by parole.
The process is the same.
The applicant can choose to go to the governor directly and make a commutation request or the other option is to go through the Board of Paroles.
Why should you remove convictions from the South Dakota Criminal Records? The state law takes away a convicted felon's right to own a police scanner, to serve on any jury, to vote or to possess a firearm.
These are just few of the reasons why convicted felons may wish to have their conviction cleared from the South Dakota Criminal Records.
