S.D. Codified Laws § 23A-7-2

(Rule 11(a)) Pleas permitted to defendant--Requirements for plea of guilty or nolo contendere

Applied in 24 court decisions — leading case McDonough v. Weber (2015)

Most recently applied in State v. Scott (May 2024)

Source: Supreme Court Rule 389, 1939; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 34.3520; SDCL, § 23-35-16; SL 1978, ch 178, § 92; SL 1980, ch 179, § 1; SL 1983, ch 174, § 5.

How often courts cite this section

citing decisions per year

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.

A defendant may plead:

(1) Not guilty;

(2) Not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity;

(3) Guilty;

(4) Nolo contendere; or

(5) Guilty but mentally ill.

Except as otherwise specifically provided, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere can only be entered by a defendant himself in open court. If a defendant refuses to plead, or if the court refuses to accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the court shall enter a plea of not guilty. The court may not enter a judgment unless it is satisfied that there is a factual basis for any plea except a plea of nolo contendere.

Official source: South Dakota Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.