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- Dakota Rural Action v. Noem
Litigation
Dakota Rural Action v. Noem
About this case
Documents
Filing Date
Type
Action Taken
Document
Summary
10/24/2019
Motion
Joint motion filed for consideration of stipulated agreement and dismissal.
A month after a federal court in South Dakota blocked the State from enforcing provisions of a riot boosting statute, the State and plaintiffs reached a settlement pursuant to which the State agreed not to enforce the provisions that the court temporarily enjoined. The plaintiffs had alleged that the statute had been passed in anticipation of possible protests by environmental activists along the route of the Keystone XL pipeline.
09/18/2019
Decision
Motion for preliminary injunction granted and defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings or for certification to the South Dakota Supreme Court denied.
The federal district court for the District of South Dakota temporarily enjoined enforcement of provisions of a riot boosting statute enacted in South Dakota in 2019 in response to anticipated protests of the Keystone XL pipeline. The court also temporarily enjoined two felony riot statutes because they went “far beyond” the State’s “appropriate interest” in criminalizing participation in a riot with acts of force or violence. The court said the laws’ provision for criminal or tort liability for advising, encouraging, or soliciting persons participating in a riot to acts of force or violence was overbroad and vague.
09/18/2019
Decision
Defendant Sheriff Thom's motion to dismiss for lack of standing granted with leave for plaintiffs to file a motion to amend.
In a separate order, the court dismissed a county sheriff from the action because the court found the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring claims against him.
03/28/2019
Complaint
Complaint filed.
Environmental and indigenous groups and activists filed a lawsuit in federal court in South Dakota challenging the “Riot Boosting Act,” a law signed by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem in March 2019 that makes persons who participate in, direct, advise, or encourage “riots” or solicit another participant in a riot to acts of force or violence liable to the State or other political subdivision for damages. The plaintiffs alleged that the law was passed in response to pipeline protests near Standing Rock, North Dakota, and to legislators’ concerns regarding possible protests of the Keystone XL pipeline. The complaint asserted that the Riot Boosting Act, along with certain criminal statutes, unlawfully chilled “peaceful protests” in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Summary
Challenge by environmental and indigenous groups and activists to South Dakota's "Riot Boosting Act."