Cases

Jans v. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 2021 S.D. 51, ¶ 1, 964 N.W.2d 749, 751

The Department of Public Safety (Department) disqualified Brian James Jans’ commercial driver’s license (CDL) for one year after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) and received a suspended imposition of sentence. Jans appealed, arguing the Department’s decision violated the doctrine of the separation of powers under article II of the State Constitution by unconstitutionally infringing upon the judiciary’s sentencing authority. He also argued the Department no longer had the statutory authority to disqualify his CDL once his case was dismissed and discharged under SDCL 23A-27-14. On April 29, 2016, Jans was arrested for first offense DUI pursuant to SDCL 32-23-2. On August 29, 2019, the Department sent Jans notice that his CDL would be disqualified for one year. Jans argued the disqualification of his CDL would violate article V, § 5 of the South Dakota Constitution, which grants courts the exclusive authority to suspend “imposition or execution of a sentence.” This Court concluded that (1) Jans failed to show that South Dakota’s CDL disqualification statutes violate the separation of powers doctrine in article II of the State Constitution; (2) that , SDCL 32-12A-64 and SDCL 32-12A-1(7) must be read in harmony with specific provisions in chapter 32-12A requiring the Department to disqualify the CDL of an offender who received a suspended imposition of sentence for a qualifying offense; and (3) that the Department properly considered the 2016 DUI conviction for the purpose of CDL disqualification under SDCL 32-12A-32. Therefore, this Court affirmed the Department’s decision.

Ibrahim v. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 2021 S.D. 17, ¶ 1, 956 N.W.2d 799, 800

This case primarily presents a question of statutory interpretation concerning South Dakota’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) disqualification statute, SDCL 32-12A-36(4).

Specifically, whether possession of a felony quantity of marijuana while using a motor vehicle is “using a … vehicle in the commission of any felony ….” This Court concluded that (1) nothing in the statute suggests that the Legislature intended to exclude felonies that could also be committed without using a vehicle; (2) that CDL disqualification under SDCL 32-12A-36(4) applies when a vehicle is used as a means to possess a felony quantity of marijuana; (3) that the circuit court erred in determining SDCL 32-12A-36(4) was unconstitutionally vague as applied to Ibrahim; and (4) that Ibrahim has not challenged that he was convicted of possessing a felony quantity of marijuana in his vehicle after he was stopped by law enforcement. As a result, this Court held that possession of a felony quantity of marijuana while using a motor vehicle is considered using a vehicle in the commission of any felony, and thus, this Court reversed the circuit court’s decision and affirmed the Department’s decision.

Stanley v. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 2023 S.D. 13, ¶ 1

Russell C. Stanley pleaded guilty to unauthorized ingestion of a controlled drug or substance, having been cited for the offense while operating a motorcycle. The circuit court granted Stanley a suspended imposition of sentence. Following the criminal proceedings, the Department of Public Safety (Department) notified Stanley that his commercial driver’s license (CDL) was subject to disqualification for a period of one year pursuant to South Dakota law. Stanley requested an administrative hearing to contest the proposed disqualification. An administrative law judge upheld the disqualification and the Department entered a final order disqualifying Stanley’s CDL privileges. Stanley appealed to the circuit court, which reversed the disqualification of his CDL privileges. The Department appealed the circuit court’s decision. The felony ingestion statute in SDCL 22-42-5.1 prohibits a person from “knowingly ingest[ing] a controlled drug or substance or hav[ing] a controlled drug or substance in an altered state in the body ….” This Court found that there is no evidence or showing that Stanley utilized the motorcycle to commit the crime of ingestion of a controlled substance. Moreover, this Court found that the offense as committed by Stanley in this case is therefore not subject to mandatory CDL disqualification within SDCL 32-12A-36(4). As a result, this Court affirmed the circuit court’s decision reversing the Department’s disqualification of Stanley’s CDL.

RASMUSSEN v. SOUTH DAKOTA DEPT. OF LABOR, 510 N.W.2d 655 (1993)

Worker whose off-duty driving while under influence of alcohol (DUI) conviction precluded him from further duties as employer’s truck driver, and who left employment with employer altogether after unsuccessful attempt to operate grinder, sought unemployment compensation benefits. Department of Labor denied benefits, and the Circuit Court, affirmed. Worker appealed. The Supreme Court held that: (1) worker’s DUI conviction constituted “work-connected misconduct,” and (2) worker’s inability to operate grinder, not his DUI conviction, led to discharge from employment.  Reversed.

HOFER v. REDSTONE FEEDERS, LLC., 870 N.W.2d 659 (2015)

Claimant, who worked as a truck driver for a family-owned farming business, sought workers’ compensation benefits from his employer. The Circuit Court granted summary judgment in favor of employer. Claimant appealed. The Supreme Court held that: (1) a “farm or agricultural laborer,” for purposes of statute exempting employers of those laborers from obtaining workers’ compensation insurance, was someone who engaged in physical labor for a farm or agricultural operation; (2) test for determining claimant’s status examines nature of claimant’s work and nature of employer’s business; and (3) claimant, who worked exclusively for employer and hauled nothing other than agricultural products, was an “agricultural laborer” and thus was exempt from coverage.  Affirmed.

STATE v. KAUFMAN, 877 N.W.2d 590 (2016)

Defendant filed a motion to reopen his case and allow him to withdraw his guilty plea. The Circuit Court denied defendant’s motion, and he appealed.  The Supreme Court held that it did not have jurisdiction to consider defendant’s appeal.

“Defendant pleaded guilty in South Dakota to driving under the influence and admitted to being a habitual offender. After entry of the judgment of conviction, the State of Nebraska suspended defendant’s commercial driver’s license. Defendant filed a motion in a South Dakota circuit court to reopen his case and allow him to withdraw his guilty plea under SDCL 23A–27–11. He claimed the loss of his commercial driver’s license constituted a manifest injustice. The circuit court denied defendant’s motion, and he appeals. The State asserts that this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider defendant’s appeal. We agree and dismiss for lack of appellate jurisdiction.”

ERICKSON v. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY, 904 N.W.2d 352 (2017)

Licensee appealed decision of the Department of Public Safety disqualifying him from operating commercial motor vehicles for one year after licensee pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while his blood alcohol content was 0.08 percent or more. The Circuit Court reversed. Department appealed.  The Supreme Court held that pleading guilty to driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more constituted a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol sufficient to support suspension of motorist’s commercial driver’s license (CDL).  Reversed.

Statutes

Adoption of Federal Regulations

What Constitutes a CMV

Major Disqualifying Offenses

SD Codified L § 32-12A (Refer to applicable subsections 36,37,38,39,43-54)

Major Disqualifying Offenses (Alcohol)

Serious Traffic Offenses

Identification of Conviction

Masking Convictions

10-Day Posting Requirement

Controlled Substance Sections

Hazardous Materials (Parts)

Applicability

Disqualification (Out of Service)

Disqualification (Railroad Crossing)

Resources

News

Broadcast Library

Come To Order – Human Trafficking – Episode One

Come on the road with The National Judicial College Judicial Ambassadors as they educate judges on a wide variety of topics related to keeping America’s highways safe including CDL issues, masking, autonomous vehicles, human trafficking and more. If it happens on the highway, we talk about it here.

Episode One: An Overview of Human Trafficking for Judges – August 27, 2025

This episode is the first in a four-part series on human trafficking and what judges need to know to address this issue in their courts and communities. All episodes in the series were recorded during a judicial human trafficking leadership workshop held at The National Judicial College. This first episode focuses on the definition of human trafficking and when and where judges are likely to encounter victims and others.

Guests include:

Judge Gayle Williams-Byers, a judicial fellow at the NJC and a retired judge from Ohio. Aaron Ann Cole of Funfsinn of Hicks & Funfsinn in Lexington, Kentucky. Previously, she worked as a prosecutor in Cook County, Illinois, in the special prosecution unit in the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, and in the special prosecution unit of the Fayette County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. She is on the faculty at the National Judicial College.

Judge Chris Turner, a Magistrate Judge in the Third Judicial District in Shawnee County Kansas.

Come To Order – Human Trafficking – Episode Two

Come on the road with The National Judicial College Judicial Ambassadors as they educate judges on a wide variety of topics related to keeping America’s highways safe including CDL issues, masking, autonomous vehicles, human trafficking and more. If it happens on the highway, we talk about it here.

Episode Two: The Judge’s Guide to Understanding the Systems Behind Human Trafficking – August 29, 2025

This is the second episode in a series designed to help judges understand human trafficking. This episode focuses on the often complex systems behind human trafficking and help explain some of the challenges in adjudicating these cases.

Guests include:

Dr. Jeanne Allert, the founder and director of the Institute for Shelter Care, a national initiative to address gaps in service and quality for victims of exploitation. She is also the founder of The Samaritan Women. She holds a PhD in Counseling and Psychological Studies.

Lindsey Lane, the director of strategic engagement at the Human Trafficking Institute in Georgia. She formerly was a human trafficking prosecutor and assistant district attorney in North Carolina and a senior assistant district attorney in Tennessee’s Third Judicial District.

Come To Order – Human Trafficking – Episode Three

Come on the road with The National Judicial College Judicial Ambassadors as they educate judges on a wide variety of topics related to keeping America’s highways safe including CDL issues, masking, autonomous vehicles, human trafficking and more. If it happens on the highway, we talk about it here.

Episode Three: How Bias May Prevent Judges From Recognizing Human Trafficking – September 25, 2025

This episode continues our series on human trafficking and what judges need to know and what they can do to help address this issue in their communities. It explores how biases may prevent judges from recognizing human trafficking in their courtrooms.

Guests include:

Dr. Joseph A. Vitriol, an assistant professor at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in social-personality and political psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and a BA/MA in forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Dr. Christine McDermott, who is a research fellow at the National Judicial College. She earned her Ph.D. and master’s in interdisciplinary social psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Come To Order – Human Trafficking – Episode Four

Come on the road with The National Judicial College Judicial Ambassadors as they educate judges on a wide variety of topics related to keeping America’s highways safe including CDL issues, masking, autonomous vehicles, human trafficking and more. If it happens on the highway, we talk about it here.

Episode Four: How The Trucking Industry Is Fighting Human Trafficking & What Judges Need To Know – September 26, 2025

This is the final episode of our four-part series on human trafficking and what judges need to know and what they can do to help address this issue in their communities. This episode focuses on how the trucking industry is fighting human trafficking and how that may impact how cases end up before a judge.

Guests include:

Jake Elovirta, the Director of Enforcement Programs for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance; Judge Chris Turner, who is a Magistrate Judge and director of Judicial Outreach in the Third Judicial District in Shawnee County Kansas; and Dylan Wecht, a Public Sector Engagement Specialist for Truckers Against Trafficking.

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Why Judge? “Unmasking” Procedural Fairness and Empathy for Self-Represented Litigants in Court

Course Description:

This webcast explores the concept of “masking” by self-represented litigants (SRLs) holding a Commercial Driver License (CDL), and its impact on procedural fairness. Masking occurs in everyday court adjudication procedures. When adjudicating SRLs, the language needs to be and appear “respectable” and avoid negative judgments within the courtroom. The presentation will examine how court discretion, implicit expectations of respectability, and the absence of active listening and empathy can impact SRLs’ judgements. Participants will learn to exercise these abilities while still upholding judicial ethical duties. Participants will gain insights into fostering courtroom practices that uphold procedural fairness while recognizing and responding to masking behaviors.

 

Course Objectives:

After this course, participants will be able to:

● Define masking in the context of CDL self-represented litigants and explain how it impacts procedural fairness and perception of credibility in court.

● Describe how respectability norms, court discretion, and language expectations can denigrate the challenges with CDL-SRLs and identify strategies to mitigate these barriers while maintaining judicial ethics.

● Demonstrate the use of active listening and empathy to recognize and appropriately respond to masking behaviors with ethos, fostering fair and respectful courtroom interactions.

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Impaired Driving and Alcohol/Drug Issues within Commercial Drivers’ License (CDL) and Commercial Motor Vehicle Cases

Course Description:

This national webcast provides judges with a comprehensive overview of current laws and emerging issues related to impaired driving within the context of Commercial Drivers’ License (CDL) and Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV) cases. Topics include the federal and state legal frameworks governing alcohol and drug use among commercial drivers, with a particular focus on marijuana-related offenses and enforcement challenges.

 

Course Objectives:

After this course, participants will be able to:

● Identify current CDL/CMV alcohol and drug impaired driving elements and issues;

● Explain the concept of “masking” within CDL/CMV cases and recognize its state & federal impacts; and

● Reinforce foundational knowledge of current compliance requirements for CDL/CMV impaired driving cases.