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(CN) — Questioning the “honesty and truthfulness” of former state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, the South Dakota Supreme Court suspended his law license for six months, its opinion arriving more than two years after lawmakers removed him from office following impeachment, and seven months after hearing the case on the matter.
Ravnsborg, a Republican, was driving home from a political fundraiser on a rural highway the night of Sept. 12, 2020, when he struck Joseph Boever, 55, who was walking along the shoulder with a flashlight of rural U.S. Highway 14 near Highmore, South Dakota. Investigators later described Ravnsborg as not being truthful and changing his story during interrogations.
“From our review of the record, several of Ravnsborg’s statements after the accident raise significant questions about his honesty and truthfulness,” Chief Justice Steven R. Jensen wrote in the court’s unanimous ruling. “Each decision he made was influenced by personal aspirations and political survival rather than his responsibility to serve the public and uphold the integrity of his office.”
The state Senate removed Ravnsborg on June 21, 2022. He no longer practices law in South Dakota, but he created a political action committee, $99 for Freedom, the following year. A Courthouse News call to a listed phone number resulted in an out-of-service message, and an emailed request for comment Thursday afternoon didn’t immediately receive a reply.
After hitting Boever, Ravnsborg called 911, identifying himself as the attorney general and telling the dispatcher he had hit something. He surveyed the road but couldn’t find a deer — hitting a deer while driving is a common occurrence on rural South Dakota roads. It wasn’t until he returned to the scene the next day that he saw Boever’s body.
Because of the potential for conflicts of interest, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation was called in. Its investigators later testified to South Dakota lawmakers that though Ravnsborg initially told law enforcement that he was not on his phone while driving, this was false. He changed his story after they confronted him and admitted he had checked his email on the road. He was not actually on his phone when the crash occurred.
Ultimately, authorities charged Ravnsborg with three misdemeanors: careless driving, using a mobile electronic device while driving and failing to stay in his lane. The careless driving charge was dropped as Ravnsborg pleaded no contest in August 2021 to the other counts. He faced no felony charges. His punishment was a $500 fine for each count and $3,742 in court costs, the Associated Press reported.
During the 2022 session, lawmakers talked of impeaching Ravnsborg but it didn’t go very far — at first. The State House Select Committee on Investigations voted in March 2022 to recommend he not be impeached for his actions, with only the committee’s two Democrats voting to recommend impeachment.
But the next month, facing potential blowback from constituents, the full House voted with a slim majority to send the matter over to the Senate for trial. The Senate tried Ravnsborg under two articles: the first for causing the death of Boever, the second for malfeasance in office following Boever’s death. The Senate removed him from office after a day-long trial, the state’s lieutenant governor bringing down the gavel with a startling crack after the vote results were read.
Ravnsborg was first elected in 2018.
His case came in front of the state Supreme Court in February after the Disciplinary Board of the South Dakota Bar filed recommendations against him, advocating a 26-month suspension, retroactive to the date of his removal from office.
Ravnsborg argued in front of the court that he should keep his license. In doing so, he defended his decision not to step down, saying that he had multiple investigations of the office of Republican Governor Kristi Noem going on simultaneously, and she would be able to appoint his replacement, South Dakota broadcaster Dakota News Now reported.
In the opinion, Jensen took issue with several aspects of Ravnsborg’s behavior since the fatal collision, including his decision not to resign or take a leave of absence, and to say virtually nothing to the public.
Referring to the board hearing that preceded that of the Supreme Court, Jensen wrote: “He acknowledged, however, that his decision not to resign or take a leave of absence was predominantly motivated by his desire to protect his professional, political, and military careers,”
Ravnsborg continues to serve as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.
The board’s findings included that Ravnsborg did not believe the attorney general had been the chief law enforcement officer for the state and would not acknowledge that he should be held to a higher standard, Jensen said.
“We emphasize that Ravnsborg, just like every other criminal defendant, had a constitutional right to maintain silence. However, once he decided to submit to an interview with NDBCI, Ravnsborg failed to conduct himself with honesty,” Jensen wrote. “Ravnsborg’s statements and arguments throughout the disciplinary proceedings, including to this court, demonstrate Ravnsborg’s lack of awareness and unwillingness to acknowledge the unique authority and responsibility he held as attorney general.”
Ravnsborg’s actions prejudiced the administration of justice, the chief justice said.
“It is evident, even as of the time of oral argument to this court, that Ravnsborg failed to consider how his actions following the accident and the subsequent investigation, would impact his office’s ability to fulfill its duties in such a way that maintained the public’s confidence,” Jensen wrote. “During this time, Ravnsborg concealed himself from the public eye, failed to acknowledge the seriousness of the ongoing investigation, and perhaps most importantly, did nothing to reassure the public that he could continue to perform his responsibilities as attorney general while the investigation and criminal prosecution continued.”
Jensen also assailed Ravnsborg for constantly identifying himself as attorney general when stopped by law enforcement officers suspecting him of traffic violations, including one when he was in his camouflage uniform on his way to Army Reserve duty in Nebraska.
After the state Senate bounced Ravnsborg, Noem appointed Pennington County Attorney Mark Vargo, who assumed the role with the understanding that he not run for election for the position. A few months later, voters elected Marty Jackley, who previously served ten years in the role preceding Ravnsborg, to the office, and he serves there today. Vargo and Jackley are also Republicans.
Jensen said in the ruling that Ravnsborg will be responsible for reimbursing the state “for all costs and expenses related to these proceedings.”
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