24-15-1. Files and case histories of inmates--Purposes--Access to file.

If a defendant is sentenced to a state correctional facility, the Department of Corrections shall develop a file which shall contain a complete history of that person. The executive director of the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall generate an adequate case history of each inmate of a state correctional facility to enable the executive director to make recommendations to the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The case history shall include results of risk and needs assessments of the inmate conducted by the department and other agencies as available and copies of documents relevant to supervision, treatment, and violation decisions in the inmate's prior prison, probation and parole custodies. The case history shall be transferred and kept as a permanent record of the Department of Corrections, solely for the proper supervision of the inmate by the Department of Corrections and as a guide to the inmate's needs. Except for the information authorized for release pursuant to § 24-2-20, no person other than members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, its executive director, the secretary of corrections, or any person specifically delegated for such access by the secretary of corrections, may inspect such file unless otherwise ordered by a circuit court or subpoena after notice to the secretary of corrections and an opportunity for a hearing on any objections to inspection. The secretary shall have ten days after receipt of the notice to inform the court if the secretary requests a hearing.

Source: SDC 1939, § 13.5304 as added by SL 1955, ch 31, § 2; SL 1964, ch 33, § 6; SDCL §§ 23-57-11, 23-60-1, 23-60-2; SL 1977, ch 198, § 11; SL 1978, ch 186, § 16; SL 1987, ch 13, § 2; SL 1989, ch 20, § 173; SL 1991, ch 209, § 1; SL 1992, ch 177, § 16; SL 2001, ch 118, § 2; SL 2004, ch 168, § 51; SL 2011, ch 127, § 1; SL 2013, ch 101, § 30; SL 2023, ch 82, § 80.



SDLRC - Codified Law 24-15-1 - Files and case histories of inmates--Purposes--Access to file.

24-15-1.1. Parole defined--Prisoner not required to accept parole--No right to parole.

Parole is the discretionary conditional release of an inmate from actual state correctional facility custody before the expiration of the inmate's term of imprisonment. The prisoner remains an inmate under the legal custody of the Department of Corrections until the expiration of the inmate's term of imprisonment. A prisoner is not required to accept a conditional parole. A prisoner is never entitled to parole. However, parole may be granted if in the judgment of the Board of Pardons and Paroles granting a parole would be in the best interests of society and the prisoner.

Neither this section or its application may be the basis for establishing a constitutionally protected liberty, property, or due process interest in any prisoner.

Source: SL 1985, ch 205, § 1; SL 1989, ch 20, § 174; SL 2004, ch 168, § 52; SL 2023, ch 82, § 81.



SDLRC - Codified Law 24-15-1 - Files and case histories of inmates--Purposes--Access to file.

24-15-1.2. Prior felonies--Determination and effect on parole eligibility.

The determination of whether a prior offense is a felony for the purposes of this chapter shall be determined by whether it is a felony under the laws of this state, any other state, or the United States at the time of conviction of the offense. Any felony conviction in this state, any other state, or the United States shall be considered to determine parole eligibility under §§ 24-15-4 and 24-15-5.

Source: SL 1986, ch 204.