Grand jury could have second-guessed judges
An amendment that aimed to add a measure of accountability to judges failed Tuesday.
At press time, 90 percent of voters had rejected the measure, with 594 of 818 precincts reporting.
Some voters said they were confused by the measure and simply voted to keep the state constitution as is.
Amendment E, also known as the Judicial Accountability Initiative Law, would have created a special grand jury of South Dakotans to review complaints against jurors, county commissioners, prosecutors, city councilors, board members and judges - in essence, those with judicial immunity.
Under the proposed amendment, the grand jurors would have been able to penalize those who have judicial immunity with fines, jail or removal of their public insurance coverage and retirement benefits.
Such consequences would prevent people from serving as jurors or running for office, creating a government gone amok, several voters said. "I thought it was stupid. It shouldn't be on there," said Chris Schwartz, 18, of Sioux Falls. "Nobody would be on a jury."
Details here from the Argus Leader.