The officer executing a search warrant may break open any building, structure, or container or anything therein to execute the warrant if, after giving notice of his authority and purpose, he is refused admittance. An officer executing a search warrant may break open any building, structure, or container or anything therein for the purpose of liberating a person who, having entered to aid him in the execution of a warrant, is detained therein, or when necessary for his own liberation.
S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-35-8
Breaking in to execute warrant after refusal of admittance--Liberation of person executing warrant
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case State v. Iverson (1985)
Most recently applied in Swedlund v. Foster (January 2003)
Source: SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 34.1107; SDCL, §§ 23-15-14, 23-15-15; SL 1978, ch 178, § 445.
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.