Before the jurors retire for deliberation, one or more officers shall be sworn to keep the jurors together in some private and convenient place, with such suitable food and drink as the court shall direct. The court may, in its discretion, either sequester the jurors during the adjournment of court overnight, under supervision of such officers, or allow the jurors to separate overnight during the adjournment of the court without supervision after proper admonishment. While supervising the jurors, the officers may not permit any person (including themselves) to communicate with the jurors or to ask whether the jurors have agreed upon a verdict except by order of court. The officers shall return the jurors into court when the jury has agreed upon a verdict.
S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-25-5
Officers sworn to protect privacy of jury--Overnight sequestration or separation--Prevention of communication--Return to court on reaching verdict
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Boykin v. Leapley (1994)
Most recently applied in Boykin v. Leapley (July 1994)
Source: SDC 1939, § 34.3652; SL 1955, ch 130; SDCL, § 23-43-46; SL 1978, ch 178, § 312; SL 2003, ch 135, § 1.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: South Dakota Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.