Deadlines After a Conviction
SDCL § 23A-32-15 — thirty days after the judgment is filed to appeal, and two years for habeas corpus
Thirty days. An appeal from the judgment must be taken within thirty days after the judgment is signed, attested, and filed. An appeal other than from a judgment must be taken within thirty days after written notice of the filing of the order has been given to the party appealing.
Who handles this in South Dakota: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the South Dakota directory.
A timely motion. A timely motion filed in the circuit court under section 23A-29-1 ends the running of the time, and the full time for appeal starts again from the attestation and filing of the order on that motion. Where the circuit court does not act on the motion, or extend its time to act, within the time prescribed, it runs from the date the court's time for action expires.
Two years, for habeas corpus. A two-year statute of limitation applies to every application for relief under the habeas corpus chapter. It runs from the latest of four dates the section lists.
- The date the judgment became final, by the conclusion of direct review or the expiration of the time for seeking it.
- The date an impediment to filing, created by state action in violation of the constitution or laws of the United States or of this state, is removed, where it prevented the filing.
- The date a constitutional right asserted in the application was first recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States or the Supreme Court of this state, where the right is newly recognized and retroactive to cases on collateral review.
- The date the facts the claim rests on could have been discovered through the exercise of due diligence.
The exceptions to the appeal time in the sections it names, assigned counsel on appeal, a stay pending appeal, and federal habeas corpus run on rules and deadlines of their own and are not on this page. Whether a deadline has passed in a particular case is a question for a licensed South Dakota attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- SDCL § 23A-32-15 — Time of taking appeal
- SDCL § 21-27-3.3 — Two-year statute of limitation
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Dakota attorney.