OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTIONS FOR NEW TRIAL ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. A jury, after a five-day trial, found Defendant Michael Heath Thetford (Thetford) guilty of charges of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Impersonating a Federal Officer, Interstate Stalking, and Tampering With a Witness. On November 17, 2014, Thetford filed three separate motions. Through his court-appointed counsel, Thetford sought a new trial arguing newly discovered evidence, based on the United...
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS WOODS AND BELLEVUE'S MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT MMIC'S MOTION TO DISMISS KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Plaintiffs, Nicole and Robert Nichols, bring claims against defendant Dr. Michael P. Woods and Bellevue Obstetrics & Gynecology Associates, P.C., (Bellevue) alleging medical malpractice, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium. Additionally, plaintiffs bring claims against defendant MMIC...
ORDER DENYING IN PART AND GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFFS' MOTION TO COMPEL [DOCKET NO. 21] VERONICA L. DUFFY, Magistrate Judge. INTRODUCTION This matter is before the court on plaintiffs' complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging that defendants, members of the Vermillion, South Dakota, Police Department, violated plaintiffs' constitutional rights. See Docket No. 1. Pending is plaintiffs' motion to compel further initial disclosures from defendants under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. Petitioner Anthony Kaden filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. 2254 for a writ of habeas corpus. Doc. 1. Kaden also moved for a hearing on his petition. Doc. 11. Respondents Robert Dooley and Marty Jackley (the State) moved to dismiss Kaden's petition, arguing that it is time barred. Docs. 6, 7. Because Kaden's petition is untimely under the one-year statute of limitations in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death...
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO STAY KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Defendant, Larry Moss, moves the court to stay this action pursuant to the Colorado River abstention doctrine. Plaintiff, National Music Museum: America's Shrine to Music (NMM), opposes the motion. For the following reasons, the motion to stay is denied. FACTUAL BACKGROUND NMM is a South Dakota nonprofit corporation located in Vermillion, South Dakota. Defendant Robert Johnson is a Tennessee resident who collects rock...
ORDER CHARLES B. KORNMANN, District Judge. On July 14, 2014, Curtis Allen Dosch ("Dosch) petitioned this court for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254. He has filed voluminous documents in support of his petition. Respondents have filed a motion (Doc. 11) to dismiss the petition, claiming Dosch failed to exhaust his claims in state court and, therefore, his claims are procedurally barred. The claim is that he did not timely seek a certificate of probable cause for...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO REMAND CHARLES B. KORNMANN , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiff filed and served a complaint in state court against defendants for negligence, breach of contract, breach of warranties, and strict liability arising out of claimed damages occurring when a storage bin at plaintiff's Mellette, South Dakota, facility ruptured, spilling corn on the ground. The bin was manufactured by Chief Industries, Inc. ("Chief") and was installed by...
ORDER CHARLES B. KORNMANN , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Petitioner was convicted in 1997 for Count I, third degree rape which occurred in 1991, Count II, first degree rape which occurred in 1989, and Count III, sexual contact with a child which occurred in 1986. He was originally sentenced to 7 years on Count I, 12 years on Count II, and 7 years on Count III, all counts to run consecutively, for a total sentence of 27 years. Pursuant to SDCL 23A-27-4, a separate judgment was...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN, Chief District Judge. INTRODUCTION On October 21, 2014, defendant Casey Godfrey was charged by superseding indictment in CR. 14-50005. (CR. 14-50005, Docket 44). The three counts of the superseding indictment charge: count 1, attempted enticement of a minor using the internet; count 2, attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor; and count 3, receipt of child pornography. Id. On October 21, 2014, Mr. Godfrey was charged by indictment in CR. 14-50099. (CR. 14-...
ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SERVICE BY PUBLICATION, DOCKET # 28 FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL, DOCKET # 31 VERONICA L. DUFFY, Magistrate Judge. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff, Cody Ray Caskey, is an inmate at the South Dakota State Penitentiary ("SDSP") in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He has filed a civil rights lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. Liberally construed, Caskey has alleged the defendants have violated his civil rights in various ways, including failure to provide medical care and failure to...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION FOR DISPOSITION OF MOTION TO SUPPRESS MARK A. MORENO, Magistrate Judge. SUMMARY In this firearms case, Clyde Aquallo seeks to suppress, on Fourth and Fifth Amendment as well as Miranda grounds, the rifles and shotguns seized from his live-in girlfriend's house, the pre- and post-arrest statements he made to tribal officers and the urine sample taken from him, including the test results for the same. Because none of this evidence is excludable, the Court recommends...
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO QUASH JURY PANEL JEFFREY L. VIKEN, Chief Judge. On December 8, 2014, defendant Luis Olivares filed a motion to quash the jury panel in this case. (Docket 1104). On December 9, 2014, the United States responded and requested that the court deny defendant's motion to quash the jury panel. (Docket 1107). Later on December 9, 2014, outside the presence of the jury, the court received oral argument from defendant and the United States. The Sixth Amendment of the United...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING ADMISSIONS TO SUPERVISED RELEASE REVOCATION PETITION AND ORDER OF DETENTION MARK A. MORENO, Magistrate Judge. The above-captioned matter came on before the Court on Thursday, December 4, 2014, pursuant to the standing order of designation entered by the active District Judges of this District and 18 U.S.C. 3401(i). Plaintiff, United States of America, appearing through counsel, Timothy M. Maher, Assistant United States Attorney, and Defendant, Roger...
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING MOTION TO STAY KAREN E. SCHREIER, District Judge. Defendants, Travis Lantis and Maverick Aviation, LLC, move the court to dismiss or stay this action based on a pending state-court action in Florida. Plaintiff, Chaz Aircraft, LLC, has not responded. For the following reasons, the court denies the motion to dismiss but grants the motion to stay. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Chaz Aircraft is a Florida limited liability company. Lantis is a South Dakota...
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT KAREN E. SCHREIER, District Judge. Defendants, Sheriff Mike Milstead, Chief Deputy Sheriff Michelle Boyd, Pam Knopf, and Jeff Gromer, move for summary judgment on plaintiff, Ryan Michael Klave's, complaint. Defendant Linda Osborne moves to dismiss the complaint for failure to formally serve her with the complaint. The complaint alleges that Klave was denied medications to treat various mental illnesses while he was incarcerated at the...
MEMORANDUM OPINION ND ORDER RE: ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE WAIVER AND ORDER FOR EXTENSION CHARLES B. KORNMANN, District Judge. The Government has requested an order directing former defense counsel to respond to petitioner's claims of ineffective assistance set forth in petitioner's motion to vacate under 28 U.S.c. 2255. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has recognized that the attorney-client privilege may be impliedly waived when a client attacks his attorney's competence and raises the...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS TO SEVER ROBERTO A. LANG, District Judge. The Government indicted Defendants Eugene Condon and Robert McLane together on charges of possession and sale of a stolen firearm. Doc. 46. Both Condon and McLane filed motions to sever, which this Court now grants. I. Indictment and Facts Surrounding Indictment The charge against Eugene Condon, contained in Count I of the superseding indictment, alleges that, on or about October 9, 2013, at Eagle Butte, Condon...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge. The Government charged David Marrowbone with one count of failure to register as a sex offender in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2250(a). Doc. 1. On October 14, 2014, Marrowbone, through counsel, filed a motion to dismiss indictment for failure to state an offense pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(3)(B) and a brief in support of that motion. Docs. 27, 28. The Government opposed the motion...
ORDER DENYING 2255 MOTION KAREN E. SCHREIER, District Judge. Petitioner, Viengxay Chantharath, moves to vacate, correct, or set aside his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255. Chantharath is incarcerated in a Bureau of Prisons facility. Respondent opposes his motion. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Chantharath was charged in a Seventh Superseding Indictment with one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. Cr. Docket 498. 1 Prior to...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER RE: FORFEITURE MOTION LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL, District Judge. Defendant Guillermo Ortiz filed a Motion claiming interest to $4,100 that Ortiz contends was not properly taken from his residence. Doc. 105. The Court then ordered the United States Attorney's Office to respond to the motion. After the response was filed Ortiz filed a reply, then later filed a supplement. Doc. 110, 111. For the reasons stated in this memorandum the Court is denying Ortiz the relief...
