The South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled against the Argus Leader and the South Dakota Newspaper Association after they sued South Dakota House Speaker Spencer Gosch. The lawsuit was filed after a list of state lawmakers who voted for a special legislative session to consider the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was kept secret.
The lawsuit alleged Gosch violated the state’s open records law by keeping the list secret and also said that Gosch was unresponsive to requests from the Argus Leader to obtain the list. The Argus Leader and South Dakota Newspaper Association requested the South Dakota Supreme Court intervene to force the release of the list and to stop the special session from taking place until the lawsuit was resolved.