UNDATED – Two South Dakota counties whose policies violated petition circulators’ First Amendment rights to political speech had to fork over a combined $74,000 in attorney fees and costs for the lawyer representing the group that sued them.
On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered Lawrence County to pay Dakotans for Health’s attorney, Jim Leach, $19,238.90 in fees and costs.
Dakotans for Health prevailed in its lawsuit last year against Lawrence County, where a policy restricted petition circulators at the courthouse in Deadwood to a designated area away from public sidewalks surrounding the complex.
A similar situation and lawsuit occurred in Minnehaha County, resulting in that county agreeing to pay $54,815.15 for Dakotans for Health’s attorney fees and costs after a settlement last fall. South Dakota Searchlight obtained the figure recently after it was not included in public court documents.
Petition circulators for Dakotans for Health were gathering signatures in both counties to put two measures on statewide ballots Nov. 5 — one that would restore abortion rights, and one aimed at eliminating the state sales taxes on groceries. Both petitions have since been submitted and validated with enough signatures to qualify for the election.
In a court order in the Lawrence County case, Judge Roberto Lange wrote that the county’s policy “burdened substantially more speech than necessary” to preserve public safety and allow local citizens to conduct county business without disruption.
