South Dakota court suspends law license of former attorney general after fatal accident

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Supreme Court has ordered a six-month suspension of former state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s law license, citing actions he took after a deadly accident with a pedestrian that precipitated his political downfall.

Ravnsborg violated “Rules of Professional Conduct,” the Supreme Court ruling issued Wednesday states.

“Ravnsborg’s patent dishonesty concerning the use of his phone, as well as the developed forensic evidence, raise genuine questions about the integrity of his statements regarding the night of the accident,” the ruling states. “This conduct, particularly considering Ravnsborg’s prominent position as attorney general, reflected adversely on the legal profession as a whole and impeded the administration of justice.”

It’s unclear if Ravnsborg will appeal. A call to a phone number listed for Ravnsborg on Thursday went unanswered. Messages were left with Ravnsborg’s attorney, Michael Butler.

Ravnsborg, a Republican, was elected in 2018. He was impeached and removed from office less than two years after the 2020 accident that killed 55-year-old Joe Boever, who was walking along a rural stretch of highway when he was struck.

A disciplinary board of the South Dakota State Bar sought a 26-month suspension of Ravnsborg’s law license, though it would have been retroactive to June 2022, when he left office.

At a hearing before the South Dakota Supreme Court in February, Ravnsborg spoke on his own behalf, telling justices that contrary to the disciplinary board’s allegations, he was remorseful.

“I’m sorry, again, to the Boever family that this has occurred,” Ravnsborg told the court. “It’s been 1,051 days, and I count them every day on my calendar, and I say a prayer every day for him and myself and all the members of the family and all the people that it’s affected. And I’m very sorry for that.”

Thomas Frieberg, an attorney for the disciplinary board, said at the February hearing that members focused on Ravnsborg’s actions after the accident.

“The board felt very strongly that he was, again, less than forthright. That he was evasive,” Frieberg said.

Ravnsborg was driving home from a political fundraiser the night of Sept. 12, 2020, when his car struck “something,” according to a transcript of his 911 call. He told the dispatcher it might have been a deer or other animal.

Relatives later said Boever had crashed his truck and was walking toward it, near the road, when he was hit.

Ravnsborg resolved the criminal case in 2021 by pleading no contest to a pair of traffic misdemeanors, including making an illegal lane change and using a phone while driving, and was fined by a judge. Also in 2021, Ravnsborg agreed to an undisclosed settlement with Boever’s widow.

At the 2022 impeachment hearing, prosecutors told senators that Ravnsborg made sure that officers knew he was attorney general, saying he used his title “to set the tone and gain influence” in the aftermath of the crash. Butler, at the February hearing, said Ravnsborg was only responding when an officer asked if he was attorney general.