AMY FORLITI
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — Search warrants will be unsealed in an investigation into billionaire banker-turned philanthropist T. Denny Sanford for possible possession of child pornography, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled.
The unanimous ruling, dated Wednesday and announced Thursday, upheld a lower court ruling that said state law prohibits courts from sealing search warrants and the corresponding lists of what investigators found. The affidavits supporting the search warrants will remain sealed until the investigation is concluded or criminal charges are filed, as allowed under state law.
“Notwithstanding the skilled advocacy on behalf of the parties, the question we confront here is not a close one,” Justice Mark Salter wrote, adding that state law and court rules are clear. “With the exception of the affidavits in support of the five search warrants, our current…
