S.D. high court: Warrants in Sanford probe will be unsealed

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Search warrants will be unsealed in an investigation into billionaire banker-turned philanthropist T. Denny Sanford for possible possession of child pornography, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled.

The unanimous ruling, dated Wednesday and announced Thursday, upheld a lower court ruling that said state law prohibits courts from sealing search warrants and the corresponding lists of what investigators found. The affidavits supporting the search warrants will remain sealed until the investigation is concluded or criminal charges are filed, as allowed under state law.

“Notwithstanding the skilled advocacy on behalf of the parties, the question we confront here is not a close one,” Justice Mark Salter wrote, adding that state law and court rules are clear. “With the exception of the affidavits in support of the five search warrants, our current order sealing the Supreme Court clerk’s appellate file will be dissolved following the expiration of the time for petitioning for rehearing or the resolution of a petition seeking rehearing, provided we do not grant the petition.”

Under state law, Sanford’s attorneys have 20 days to ask the court to reconsider.

The investigation into Sanford was reported last year by ProPublica and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Court documents in the case are sealed and refer only to “an implicated individual” — both news outlets went to court for access.

Sanford has not been charged with a crime. His attorney, former South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, did not mention Sanford by name but released a statement saying: “The ultimate fact remains that the investigating authorities have not filed any criminal charges.”

Jon Arneson, an attorney for the Argus Leader, said the opinion’s conclusion “is a very lucid...