South Dakota § 19-19-606 - Juror's competency as a witness.

§ 19-19-606. Juror's competency as a witness.

(a) At the trial. A juror may not testify as a witness before the other jurors at the trial. If a juror is called to testify, the court must give a party an opportunity to object outside the jury's presence.

(b) During an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment.

(1)    Prohibited testimony or other evidence. During an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify about any statement made or incident that occurred during the jury's deliberations; the effect of anything on that juror's or another juror's vote; or any juror's mental processes concerning the verdict or indictment. The court may not receive a juror's affidavit or evidence of a juror's statement on these matters.

(2)    Exceptions. A juror may testify about whether:

(A)    Extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the jury's attention;

(B)    An outside influence was improperly brought to bear on any juror; or

(C)    A mistake was made in entering the verdict on the verdict form.

Source: SL 1979, ch 358 (Supreme Court Rule 78-2, Rule 606); SDCL §§ 19-14-6, 19-14-7; SL 2016, ch 239 (Supreme Court Rule 15-39), eff. Jan. 1, 2016.