State v. Hatchett

Summary

The Supreme Court of South Dakota held that a trial court may revoke driving privileges for only a definite period under South Dakota law, not for an indefinite period. The court reversed and remanded the license-revocation portion of the sentence. It affirmed the defendant’s five-year penitentiary sentence, concluding that a racial-disparity study, without case-specific evidence of discriminatory purpose or gross disproportionality, was insufficient to establish a constitutional violation.

Holdings

1. SDCL 32-23-4.6 authorizes revocation of driving privileges for a definite period determined by the court, subject to a minimum period of two years; it does not authorize an indefinite revocation.
2. The five-year penitentiary sentence was not shown to be grossly disproportionate to Hatchett's fourth-offense DUI and criminal history.
3. A defendant alleging race-based selective prosecution or sentencing must show both discriminatory effect and discriminatory purpose; a general statistical study, without evidence that the decisionmakers in the defendant's case acted with discriminatory purpose, is insufficient.

Questions Presented

1. Whether SDCL 32-23-4.6 authorized the circuit court to revoke Hatchett's driving privileges for an indefinite period.
2. Whether Hatchett's five-year penitentiary sentence was grossly disproportionate to the offense.
3. Whether the sentence violated equal protection because of racial disparity or discriminatory purpose.
4. Whether the Braunstein-Feimer statistical report alone required a remand for a racial-disparity or proportionality hearing.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded