The state is throwing even more charges at Robert Herzberg, the Colorado man busted near Kadoka in July for speeding, snorting cocaine, smoking dope, and hauling 292 pounds of what may have been industrial hemp. But the Jackson County Clerk of Courts illegally tried to suppress publication of that heightened prosecution:
The Jackson County Clerk of Court staff refused to give the Argus Leader the case number when reached via phone to prevent the paper from reporting on the case. When asked by the Argus Leader for the state statute on which the staff was basing its refusal, staff said the case is a public record, but they didn’t want to give the Argus Leader access to the court documents. The staff only gave the Argus Leader access to the case after it was pointed out that the court can’t prevent access to a public record on the sole basis that the court doesn’t want the public to know about the case [Lisa Kaczke, “More Charges Added in Prosecution of Hemp Delivery Driver in South Dakota,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2019.09.20].
Jackson County is acting a lot like Governor Kristi Noem, standing in the way of free speech just because she doesn’t like it, not because she has any legal or constitutional right to do so.
Jackson County continues to show racism as that is who they are, just like GNOem. The only reason South Dakota will not allow hemp is the same reason South Dakota does not allow for Medicaid Expansion, the Black guy, President Obama. President Obama signed the Farm Bill in 2014 that finally clarified the difference between hemp and marijuana. Bonus racism, President Obama also signed into law the Affordable Care Act of which Medicaid Expansion was one of the key components to providing healthcare for rural South Dakotan’s. Coincidentally and whose name is synonymous with the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), GNOem and the rest of those that would deprive operators the chance to have an alternative crop and affordable healthcare, only forbid it because of racism that hurts their own white race. White farmers are too ignorant to know the facts and follow the herd mentality because they’re white and the guy that stood to help them is Black, can’t have that.
The last thing racist (proven in elections) Jackson County wants to provide are the facts that might provide a crack in the facade of GNOem’s folly regarding hemp.