WHAT THE WORDS MEAN

Also called exempt property, protected property

Property no creditor may levy on or sell, such as clothing, family pictures, a year's food and fuel, and prescribed health aids.

Also called APC, sleeping it off in the car

Being in control of a vehicle without driving it. The DUI law forbids driving or being in actual physical control of any vehicle while impaired or at 0.08 percent or more.

Also called voter affidavit, no ID affidavit

A sworn statement of name and address a voter without identification may sign at the polls, under penalty of perjury, instead of showing an ID.

Also called adulthood, legal age

Adulthood, which begins at eighteen years of age, counted from the minute of the day the person was born.

Also called attorney in fact

The person a power of attorney names to act. An agent acts in good faith, within the authority granted, and in the principal's reasonable expectations or best interest.

Also called felony assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, strangulation

Serious bodily injury with extreme indifference, injury with a dangerous weapon, menacing with a deadly weapon, or impeding breathing by pressure on the throat or neck. A Class 3 felony.

Also called medical cannabis limit, how much a cardholder may have

What a medical cannabis cardholder may have: three ounces of cannabis or less, the products the rules allow, and with a cultivation card two flowering plants and two that are not.

Also called homeschool

Education outside a public or nonpublic school that satisfies the duty to have a child of school age attend.

Also called divorce standstill order, automatic divorce order

The order that takes effect against both spouses once a divorce is served, barring disposing of marital assets, taking a child out of the state, or changing insurance without consent or a court order.

Also called best interest standard, child welfare standard

The standard for custody: the child's temporal, mental and moral welfare. Neither parent is preferred over the other.

Also called medical cannabis patient, registry card holder

A person with a medical cannabis registry card, who is not subject to arrest, prosecution or penalty for medical use within the allowable amount.

Also called inattentive driving, careless operation

Driving carelessly and without due caution so as to endanger a person or property, short of reckless driving. A Class 2 misdemeanor.

Also called car seat

The car seat a child under five years of age rides in, secured according to the manufacturer's instructions, unless the child weighs at least forty pounds and rides in a seat belt.

Also called one year misdemeanor, serious misdemeanor

The more serious of the two misdemeanor classes, with a maximum of one year in a county jail or a $2,000 fine, or both.

Also called thirty day misdemeanor, minor misdemeanor

The lesser misdemeanor class, with a maximum of thirty days in a county jail or a $500 fine, or both.

Also called lowest felony, two year felony

The least serious felony class: a maximum of two years in a state correctional facility or a fine of $4,000, or both.

Also called magistrate, first appearance judge

The judicial officer an arrested person is taken before, the nearest one available, without unnecessary delay after the arrest.

Also called equal pay for equal work, same job same pay

Jobs with comparable requirements of skill, effort and responsibility, for which an employer may not pay one sex less than the other.

Also called conservatorship, money guardian

A person a court appoints to manage the property and financial affairs of someone too impaired to manage them.

Also called true threat, threat of harm

A threat made with the intent to place someone in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury, which is stalking on its own.

Also called violent felony, violent crime conviction

One of the convictions that bars a person from possessing or controlling a firearm, along with the listed drug felonies. A violation is a Class 6 felony.

Also called trespassing, refusing to leave

Defying an order to leave given in person by the owner, or entering a building surreptitiously with no privilege to. A Class 1 misdemeanor.

Also called consumer fraud, deceptive trade practice

Knowingly using fraud, false promises or misrepresentation, or hiding a material fact, in selling or advertising, whether or not anyone was actually misled.

Also called living will

A competent adult's signed statement about withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, witnessed by two adults or notarized.

Also called disturbing the peace, breach of the peace

Fighting, unreasonable noise, disturbing a lawful meeting or blocking traffic, done to cause serious public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm. A Class 2 misdemeanor.

Also called take home pay, net pay

The pay garnishment is measured against, of which no more than twenty percent may be taken in a week on an ordinary debt.

Also called home solicitation sale, door sale

A sale of twenty-five dollars or more solicited in person, where the buyer agrees somewhere other than the seller's place of business.

Also called overdose, OD

An acute condition from a controlled substance that a person would reasonably believe needs medical help. Calling for help for one brings immunity from possession charges, once.

Also called power of attorney, POA, financial power of attorney

A power of attorney that says it is not affected by the principal's disability, so the agent's authority continues after the principal loses capacity. It is signed before a notary.

Also called stand your ground

An obligation to back away before using force. South Dakota says a person using force as its sections permit has no duty to retreat.

Also called one party consent, recording a call

Any apparatus used to overhear or record a communication. Using one without the consent of a sender, a receiver or a party to the conversation is a Class 5 felony.

Also called senior, older adult

A person sixty-five years of age or older, whose physical abuse or neglect is a Class 6 felony.

Also called spousal share, forced share

The part of the augmented estate a surviving spouse may claim instead of what the will gives, set by how long the two were married.

Also called good samaritan

Help rendered in good faith during an emergency, for which no one is liable in civil damages unless the act was willful, wanton or reckless.

Also called enhanced carry permit, enhanced concealed pistol permit

A higher grade of concealed pistol permit. A person twenty-one years of age or older who holds one, with the principal's written permission, is outside the ban on guns at a public school.

Also called property division, dividing marital property

The court's division of property in a divorce, by what is equitable in the circumstances, whichever spouse holds title.

Also called temporary protection order, emergency order, TPO

A temporary order granted before the other side is heard, on an affidavit of immediate and irreparable injury, lasting until the hearing.

Also called comp bar, cannot sue the employer

The rule that workers' compensation is an injured employee's remedy against the employer, in place of a lawsuit, apart from an intentional tort.

Also called emergency exception, exigency

An emergency that can justify a warrantless arrest. With an arrest warrant or such circumstances, and after reasonable notice and refusal, an officer may break into a dwelling to arrest.

Also called sealing a record, clearing an arrest

The sealing of every record of an arrest or case, which returns the person in law to their status before it.

Also called having children, families with kids

Having children in the household. A landlord or seller may not refuse to rent or sell, or set different terms, because of it.

Also called support from the estate, widow allowance

A reasonable sum from the estate for the surviving spouse and dependent children during administration, which comes before most claims.

Also called proof of insurance

The insurance, bond or deposit every driver or owner maintains on a vehicle at all times. Failing to maintain it is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Also called habitability

The condition a landlord keeps residential premises and common areas in, along with good and safe working order, including electrical, plumbing and heating systems.

Also called eviction case, FED

The court action to recover possession of property, used to evict a tenant who holds over or leaves rent unpaid for three days after it is due.

Also called violent felony in progress

A felony whose imminent commission, along with imminent death or great bodily harm, can justify deadly force when a person reasonably believes it necessary to prevent it.

Also called good cause to quit, valid reason to quit

The narrow set of reasons for quitting that do not cost unemployment benefits, such as a certified health hazard or an employer that required moving.

Also called felony theft, grand larceny

Theft of property worth more than one thousand dollars, or of a firearm, livestock, or anything taken from the person, at any value. A felony, its class rising with value.

Also called holdover tenant, staying after the lease ends

Staying after the lease ends. If the landlord accepts rent, the lease is presumed renewed on the same terms for the same time, not exceeding one year.

Also called handwritten will, will in your own handwriting

A will whose signature and material portions are in the person's own handwriting. It is valid whether or not it was witnessed.

Also called homestead exemption, family home protection

A resident family's home, exempt from judicial sale, judgment liens and court process for as long as it remains a homestead.

Also called personal information, identity information

Information that identifies a person, whose use without permission to deceive or defraud, or to reach their accounts, is identity theft, a Class 6 felony.

Also called implied consent law, consent to testing

The rule that anyone who drives in South Dakota is considered to have consented to a test of blood, breath or another bodily substance. A refusal may be admitted at trial.

Also called patient who cannot decide, incapacitated patient

A patient who cannot make a health care decision. Without an agent or guardian, family members decide for them in the order the code lists, down to a close friend.

Also called innocent owner defense, owner who did not know

An owner whose property is not forfeited, to the extent of their interest, for an act they show was done without their knowledge or consent.

Also called learner's permit

The first permit a teen holds, from fourteen years of age, allowing driving only with a licensed adult in the seat beside, and no wireless device at all.

Also called dying without a will, intestacy

Dying without a valid will. The estate then passes by the order the code sets: the spouse first, then descendants, parents, and on out.

Also called no fault divorce, marriage cannot be saved

Grounds the court finds are substantial reasons for not continuing the marriage, and one of the causes for which a divorce may be granted.

Also called lemon law period, lemon law window

The window a defect is first reported in: one year after delivery of the new vehicle or its first twelve thousand miles, whichever comes first.

Also called required reporter, duty to report

A professional the code lists, from doctors to teachers to coaches, who must report suspected child abuse or neglect. Intentionally failing to is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Also called mechanic's lien, contractor lien, construction lien

A lien on improved property for the labor or materials furnished, which ends unless a statement is filed with the register of deeds within the time the code sets.

Also called fired for cause, job misconduct

For unemployment, failing to obey orders or do the job, substantial disregard of the employer's interests, willful wrongdoing, or repeated serious carelessness.

Also called cell phone, smartphone, texting while driving

A phone or similar device a driver may not use while operating a vehicle, apart from calls, navigation, hands-free use and emergencies.

Also called move over law, slow down and move over

The rule for passing a stopped emergency vehicle showing red lights: move to the farthest lane, or on a two-lane road slow well below the limit, at least three hundred feet before it.

Also called NCO, stay away order

A bar on contact with the victim: automatic while in custody after a domestic abuse arrest until the first court appearance, and by court order after a conviction.

Also called no knock entry, unannounced entry

A search warrant whose magistrate excused the notice of authority and purpose, on probable cause that evidence would be destroyed or someone endangered.

Also called warranty defect, defect

A new vehicle's failure to conform to an express warranty, which the manufacturer repairs if it was reported during the lemon law rights period.

Also called bounced check notice, NSF notice

The notice by mail that a check bounced, which the holder serves before taking the check to the state's attorney.

Also called public meeting, open meeting

A meeting of a public body, open to the public unless the body cites a specific law to close it, with a period for public comment.

Also called open bottle, open can in the car

Alcohol in a package or receptacle whose seal is broken, within reach of anyone in the passenger area of a vehicle on a public highway. A Class 2 misdemeanor for the person who has it.

Also called normal wear and tear, normal use

The use a home shows from ordinary living. A landlord may keep deposit money to restore the premises to their condition at the start of the tenancy, except for this.

Also called boundary fence, line fence

The fence on the line between two owners' land, each building the half on their right hand facing the line, unless they agree otherwise.

Also called carry permit, concealed carry permit

A permit the sheriff of the county where the applicant lives issues after a background investigation, valid throughout the state.

Also called PR bond, release on your own recognizance, unsecured bond

Release before trial on a promise to appear, with no money posted. It is the rule unless the court finds it will not assure appearance or that the defendant may endanger others.

Also called executor, administrator

The person appointed to settle an estate. No appointment proceeding may be started more than three years after the death, apart from narrow exceptions.

Also called petty ticket, minor offense

A lesser kind of offense, such as not having the license on the driver. An officer may detain a person only as long as it takes to issue the complaint and summons, and that detention is not an arrest.

Also called misdemeanor theft, petit theft

Theft of property worth one thousand dollars or less: first degree over four hundred dollars, a Class 1 misdemeanor; second degree at four hundred dollars or less, a Class 2.

Also called towing lien, storage lien

The right to hold a towed vehicle and its contents for the reasonable cost of towing and storage, capped at $500 on the contents.

Also called abandoned belongings, left behind property

The status of a former tenant's belongings worth $500 or less, left ten days after the tenant quits, which the landlord may then dispose of.

Also called restraining order, order for protection, domestic abuse order

A court order after a hearing, on finding domestic abuse, that can bar abuse, exclude the abuser from the home and set temporary custody and support, for up to five years.

Also called place open to the public, business open to the public

A business that offers its services and facilities to the public, which may not refuse anyone or treat them unequally because of a protected trait.

Also called records custodian, records officer

The official who answers a written records request, no later than ten business days after receiving it.

Also called right to possession, undisturbed possession

A tenant's right to possession without interference. A landlord who unlawfully removes or excludes the tenant owes two months' rent in damages and any deposit and advance rent.

Also called basic speed rule

The speed the conditions allow. Driving faster than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions is a Class 2 misdemeanor whatever the posted limit.

Also called presumption, legal assumption

A conclusion the law draws unless shown otherwise. A domestic abuse conviction or history creates one that custody with the abusive parent is not in the child's best interest.

Also called right of redemption, redemption period

Buying back property after a foreclosure sale, which everyone entitled may do within one year of the sale, or within the short period of a one hundred eighty day redemption mortgage.

Also called payday, pay period

The payday set in advance. Wages are paid at least once each calendar month, and a departing employee's last wages are due by the next regular payday.

Also called tow company

A business that tows vehicles. One that tows an unattended vehicle from a public street on its own reports the removal to the owner, or to the police, within twenty-four hours.

Also called fix it and take it off the rent, repair and subtract

A tenant's remedy when a landlord neglects a needed repair within a reasonable time after notice: make the repair and take the cost out of the rent.

Also called resisting, fighting the arrest

Preventing or trying to prevent an officer from making an arrest by force, threats of force, or means that create a substantial risk of injury. A Class 1 misdemeanor.

Also called paying the victim back, victim compensation order

Repayment to a victim that the court orders, in addition to the sentence, for any felony or misdemeanor.

Also called rights restored, civil rights restoration

The return of full citizenship rights to an inmate on discharge from the sentence, with a certificate from the secretary of corrections.

Also called RMP, restricted permit, provisional license

The permit a teen holds after the instruction permit, allowing driving by day with a parent's permission, at night only with a parent beside, and with passenger limits.

Also called retaliatory eviction, landlord payback

A rent increase above fair market value, a cut in utility services, or a notice to vacate not based on a breach, after a tenant complained, asked for repairs in writing, or joined a tenants' union.

Also called tearing up a will, destroying a will

Burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating or destroying a will, done with the intent to revoke it, by the person or at their direction in their presence.

Also called secondary offense, secondary enforcement

Something an officer may ask about or enforce only after stopping someone for another reason, such as proof of insurance or a seat belt.

Also called damage deposit, rental deposit

Money held to secure a rental agreement, however the lease names it. It may not exceed one month's rent without special conditions and agreement.

Also called stand your ground immunity, immunity from prosecution

Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil liability for force used as the law permits. Once claimed, the other side must overcome it by clear and convincing evidence.

Also called dating relationship, boyfriend or girlfriend

One of the relationships that lets a person petition for a domestic abuse protection order, now or within the past twelve months.

Also called assault, misdemeanor assault

Attempting or recklessly causing bodily injury, or putting someone in fear of imminent harm by physical menace or a credible threat. A Class 1 misdemeanor, and a felony on a third within ten years.

Also called small claims court, small claims procedure

A simpler court procedure for claims up to twelve thousand dollars, in which the plaintiff gives up a jury and an appeal.

Also called affidavit of collection, avoiding probate

A sworn statement that lets a successor collect a small estate's personal property without probate, once the waiting period has passed and no representative is appointed.

Also called harassment, cyberstalking

Willfully, maliciously and repeatedly following or harassing someone, by any means including electronic messages, or making a credible threat. A Class 1 misdemeanor.

Also called time limit to sue, deadline to sue

The time within which a lawsuit can be started after the cause of action accrues, six years for a contract.

Also called zero tolerance

A person under the age of twenty-one may not drive with 0.02 percent or more alcohol, or while evidence of marijuana or an unprescribed drug remains. A Class 2 misdemeanor.

Also called financial exploitation, elder financial abuse

A caretaker entrusted with an elder's or disabled adult's property taking it with intent to defraud, punished as theft.

Also called eluding, fleeing police, running from the cops

Fleeing or trying to elude an officer after failing to stop at the officer's signal. A Class 1 misdemeanor, and the court may revoke the license for up to one year.

Also called tipped wage, server wage

Counting a tipped employee's tips toward the minimum wage. An employer claiming it pays at least fifty percent of the minimum in cash and makes up any shortfall.

Also called DUI manslaughter, killing someone while driving drunk

Causing another's death, including an unborn child's, by negligent driving while under the influence. A Class 3 felony, with the license revoked for at least ten years.

Also called dangerous dog, attack dog

A dog that, unprovoked, attacks or menaces a person in a public place, or a worker lawfully on private property. Keeping one is a public nuisance.