State of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee v. George Joe Bartlett, Defendant and Appellant

Summary

The court affirmed Bartlett’s felony DWI conviction and sentence, concluding that sufficient evidence supported both the present DWI conviction and the finding that he was the person previously convicted of two DWIs. It also held that the trial court acted within its discretion in using the same jury for the former-convictions proceeding, admitting fingerprint records, and rejecting Bartlett’s proposed instructions and verdict forms. The court determined that the challenged instructions and verdict form were substantively adequate and that Bartlett failed to show prejudice.