If a plea agreement has been reached by the parties, the court shall, on the record, require the disclosure of the agreement in open court, or on a showing of good cause, in chambers, at the time the plea is offered. The prosecuting attorney shall disclose on the record any comments on the plea agreement made by the victim, or his designee, of the defendant‘s crime to the prosecuting attorney. Thereupon the court may accept or reject the agreement, or may defer its decision as to the acceptance or rejection until there has been an opportunity to consider the presentence report. If the court accepts a plea agreement involving any felony charge, the prosecuting attorney shall file a brief written report, which includes the terms of the plea agreement and the ultimate reasons therefor, with the division of criminal investigation and, if the defendant is incarcerated in a state correctional facility, also with the warden thereof.

Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 23A-7-9

  • Chambers: A judge's office.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. Source:
  • Presentence report: A report prepared by a court's probation officer, after a person has been convicted of an offense, summarizing for the court the background information needed to determine the appropriate sentence. Source: U.S. Courts
  • written: include typewriting and typewritten, printing and printed, except in the case of signatures, and where the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2

Source: SL 1978, ch 178, § 100; SL 1983, ch 183, § 2; SL 1985, ch 194, § 2; SL 2023, ch 82, § 21.