Jason Ravnsborg, former attorney general of South Dakota, speaks during a hearing about the future of his law license on Feb. 14, 2024, at the Capitol in Pierre while his legal team looks on. (David Bordewyk/SD NewsMedia Association)
Throughout my career in journalism, there were few more compelling days than June 21, 2022, the day of South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s impeachment trial.
Memories of that day rushed back recently as Ravnsborg was again in the news, asking the state Supreme Court to block the state Bar Association’s attempt to suspend his law license for 24 months. In June of 2022, the state Senate decided Ravnsborg was not the kind of man that should be attorney general. Now the Supreme Court will decide if he is the kind of man you would want for your attorney.
In 2020, Ravnsborg’s vehicle struck and killed pedestrian Joe Boever outside of Highmore. There were questions about Ravnsborg’s actions after the accident and how honest he was during the investigation. Gov. Kristi Noem called for his resignation and, when it wasn’t forthcoming, articles of impeachment were filed in the state House of Representatives.
More about the Ravnsborg case
During the impeachment trial, prosecutors came out like gangbusters, alleging that Ravnsborg’s lies to authorities started on the night of the accident. In his call to 911, Ravnsborg admitted that he had hit something. The dispatcher suggested it was probably a deer.
Prosecutors said Ravnsborg knew at the time that he’d hit a pedestrian as Boever’s head came through his windshield. As evidence, they pointed toward Boever’s glasses found in Ravnsborg’s car.
Perhaps the strongest prosecution witness was the highway patrolman assigned to reconstruct the accident. He wasn’t some random trooper pulled off the road but a veteran who, after joining the Highway Patrol, went back to college for an engineering degree just so he could bring that skill to accident scenes.
The trooper testified that he could determine with 95% accuracy where the impact occurred. Ravnsborg told investigators that he was sure he was in his own lane when he hit Boever. The trooper testified that he could determine with 100% accuracy that all four of Ravnsborg’s tires were to the right of rumble strip as he barreled along the shoulder of the road at 68 miles per hour.
After establishing that Ravnsborg belongs in the Distracted Driving Hall of Fame, the prosecution presented a case that, bit by bit, chipped away at the integrity of the man who had risen to be the state’s top law enforcement officer.
Ravnsborg had a reputation for being the kind of driver who takes speed limit signs as a suggestion rather than a rule. Prosecutors played body camera clips from various Ravnsborg traffic stops. His opening line was always the same: I’m the attorney general. Stopped near his National Guard base, he changed the script: I’m the commanding officer. Phoning 911 the night of the accident, he knew what to say: This is the attorney general.
Accustomed to using his office to get out of being ticketed, he wasn’t above using his office to garner information about the case against him. A former member of the Division of Criminal Investigation testified that, having never spoken to his boss before, he was pulled aside by Ravnsborg and quizzed at length about just what kind of information investigators could cull from his cell phone.
As it turns out, there’s quite a bit they can learn.
Ravnsborg told investigators he sometimes checks his phone while driving, but never for very long. On the night of the accident, he left a Lincoln Day Dinner in Redfield and gave his state-issued cell phone a workout. There was a long call to his father. Then he went through his email. Then he scrolled through news headlines.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
It’s his other phone, the personal phone he had with him that night, that offers a stark insight into Ravnsborg’s integrity. Prosecutors said that on his personal phone Ravnsborg had an On My Way app. That app offers cash and gift cards to safe drivers who don’t use their phones while driving. All the time that Ravnsborg was using his state-issued phone for talking and scrolling from Redfield to Highmore, the app on his personal phone was helping him rack up prizes from On My Way.
We’ve all seen the movies and TV shows about rogue lawyers who bend the rules for their clients. Faced with legal problems, maybe you want a lawyer who knows how to cow underlings (I’m the attorney general.), insert himself into an investigation (How much information can they get off my cell phone?), or scam a big corporation (Just ask the folks at On My Way.).
These attributes may make for good TV, but they are not the image of lawyers that the Bar Association wants to portray.
After a day of testimony that was by turns fascinating and horrifying, the state Senate essentially decided to fire Ravnsborg. Now, as they consider the former attorney general’s fate, the Supreme Court justices should look back on the day of his impeachment trial as they decide if he can keep his law license. Whatever they decide, it’s likely that the jury will be out for some time on whether Ravnsborg can ever rebuild his integrity.
The post As Ravnsborg tries to keep his law license, his integrity is lost appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight .
Most Popular
Comments / 0