SEPTEMBER 20, 2024:
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Supreme Court has ordered a six-month suspension of former state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s law license, citing actions he took after a deadly accident with a pedestrian that precipitated his political downfall.
Ravnsborg violated “Rules of Professional Conduct,” the Supreme Court ruling issued Wednesday (Sept. 18, 2024) states.
“Ravnsborg’s patent dishonesty concerning the use of his phone, as well as the developed forensic evidence, raise genuine questions about the integrity of his statements regarding the night of the accident,” the ruling states. “This conduct, particularly considering Ravnsborg’s prominent position as attorney general, reflected adversely on the legal profession as a whole and impeded the administration of justice.”
It’s unclear if Ravnsborg will appeal. A call to a phone number listed for Ravnsborg on Thursday went unanswered. Messages were left with Ravnsborg’s attorney, Michael Butler.
Ravnsborg, a Republican, was elected in 2018. He was impeached and removed from office less than two years after the 2020 accident that killed 55-year-old Joe Boever, who was walking along a rural stretch of highway when he was struck.
A disciplinary board of the South Dakota State Bar sought a 26-month suspension of Ravnsborg’s law license, though it would have been retroactive to June 2022, when he left office.
At a hearing before the South Dakota Supreme Court in February, Ravnsborg spoke on his own behalf, telling justices that contrary to the disciplinary board’s allegations, he was remorseful.
“I’m sorry, again, to the Boever family that this has occurred,” Ravnsborg told the court. “It’s been 1,051 days, and I count them every day on my calendar, and I say a prayer every day for him and myself and all the members of the family and all the people that it’s affected. And I’m very sorry for that.”
Thomas Frieberg, an attorney for the disciplinary board, said at the February hearing that members focused on Ravnsborg’s actions after the accident.
“The board felt very strongly that he was, again, less than forthright. That he was evasive,” Frieberg said.
Ravnsborg was driving home from a political fundraiser the night of Sept. 12, 2020, when his car struck “something,” according to a transcript of his 911 call. He told the dispatcher it might have been a deer or other animal.
Relatives later said Boever had crashed his truck and was walking toward it, near the road, when he was hit.
Ravnsborg resolved the criminal case in 2021 by pleading no contest to a pair of traffic misdemeanors, including making an illegal lane change and using a phone while driving, and was fined by a judge. Also in 2021, Ravnsborg agreed to an undisclosed settlement with Boever’s widow.
At the 2022 impeachment hearing, prosecutors told senators that Ravnsborg made sure that officers knew he was attorney general, saying he used his title “to set the tone and gain influence” in the aftermath of the crash. Butler, at the February hearing, said Ravnsborg was only responding when an officer asked if he was attorney general.
FEBRUARY 14, 2024:
Extended version:
JUNE 29, 2023:
The disciplinary board of the South Dakota State Bar Association is asking the state Supreme Court to suspend the law license of former Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg for a period of 2 years.
Ravnsborg was impeached and removed from office last year (2022) for his role in the death of pedestrian Joseph Boever near Highmore in September of 2020.
The disciplinary board issued the recommendation on May 19, 2023. They say Ravnsborg violated professional conduct standards and eroded public confidence in the legal profession by his actions after the accident. The board recommends a suspension of Ravnsborg’s law license for 26 months and that the suspension be retroactive to June 21, 2022, the date he was removed from office.
Ravnsborg formally denied the allegations in the recommendation on June 14, 2023. The issue now goes to a separate referee to take testimony and issue any additional findings of fact and conclusions of law along with a recommendation to the State Supreme Court; they will make the final disciplinary decision.
Ravnsborg has not practiced law since his removal from office, but did tell the disciplinary board that he intends to seek a position in an undetermined jurisdiction.
(News partner WNAX contributed to this story.)
JUNE 21, 2022:
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Senate convicted Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg of two impeachment charges stemming from a 2020 fatal accident, removing and barring him from future office. The votes Tuesday (June 21, 2022) were a stinging rebuke that showed most senators didn’t believe his account of the crash. Ravnsborg told a 911 dispatcher the night of the crash that he might have struck a deer or other large animal, and has said he didn’t know he struck a man — 55-year-old Joseph Boever — until he returned to the scene the next morning. Lee Schoenbeck, the chamber’s top-ranking Republican, said there was no question in his mind that was a lie. Ravnsvorg “ran down an innocent South Dakotan,” he said. Ravnsborg declined to address lawmakers. He has maintained he did nothing wrong.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Prosecutors at the impeachment trial of South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg say he lied to investigators and abused the power of his office after he struck and killed a pedestrian. They are seeking conviction on a pair of impeachment charges that would mean automatic removal from office. Ravnsborg’s attorneys countered in Tuesday’s (June 21, 2022) opening statements that such an action would improperly undo the will of voters for what Ravnsborg has maintained was an accident. Ravnsborg struck and killed 55-year-old Joe Boever in September 2020. Ravnsborg told a 911 dispatcher that he was in the middle of the road and might have struck a deer, and has said he didn’t know he hit a man until the next day. Criminal investigators said they doubted some of his statements.
South Dakota Senate floor as defense attorney Mike Butler gives his opening statement in the Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg impeachment trial June 21, 2022.
South Dakota state senators listen to testimony during the impeachment trial of state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg June 21, 2022.
South Dakota state senators listen to testimony during the impeachment trial of state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg June 21, 2022.
Photo of damage to Ravnsborg’s car shown during impeachment trial.
June 21, 2022.
(L to R): Senate President Pro-tem Lee Schoenbeck, special consultant, attorney and former Lt. Gov. Matt Michels and Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden briefly confer before taking a 15 minute break during testimony.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Prosecutors at the impeachment trial of South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg say he lied to investigators and abused the power of his office after he struck and killed a pedestrian. They are seeking conviction on a pair of impeachment charges that would mean automatic removal from office. Ravnsborg’s attorneys countered in Tuesday’s (June 21, 2022) opening statements that such an action would improperly undo the will of voters for what Ravnsborg has maintained was an accident. Ravnsborg struck and killed 55-year-old Joe Boever in September 2020. Ravnsborg told a 911 dispatcher that he was in the middle of the road and might have struck a deer, and has said he didn’t know he hit a man until the next day. Criminal investigators said they doubted some of his statements.
Prosecution team in South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s state Senate impeachment trial June 21, 2022.
Defense team in South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s state Senate impeachment trial June 21, 2022.
(L to R): Attorney Ross Garber, Ravnsborg and attorney Mike Butler.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota senators will begin hearing evidence for the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, whose account of a fatal 2020 traffic accident led criminal investigators, some lawmakers and the victim’s family to question his truthfulness. The South Dakota Senate is starting the two-day impeachment trial on Tuesday (June 21, 2022). Ravnsborg struck and killed a pedestrian, but initially said he may have struck a deer or large animal and didn’t know otherwise until he returned to the scene the next day. The Republican-controlled Senate will hear from impeachment prosecutors, defense attorneys, crash investigators and former members of Ravnsborg’s staff as lawmakers decide whether to remove the Republican attorney general from office.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg faces the state’s first impeachment trial this week (June 21, 2022) for his conduct surrounding a 2020 car crash in which he struck and killed a pedestrian. The state Senate is preparing to decide whether the first-term Republican should be kicked out of office and barred from holding state office in the future. It will take two-thirds of the Republican-controlled Senate to convict Ravnsborg. The House set the stage for the trial this spring, deciding that Ravnsborg made misleading statements about the crash and misused his office during the investigation.
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