Suspended Imposition FAQ
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
What is suspended imposition of sentence, commonly referred to as “suspended imp?”
A suspended imposition is a procedure that allows a person that has pled guilty to or has been convicted of an offense to have that offense removed from their record. A suspended imposition of sentence allows a defendant to avoid many of the negative consequences that can come from a conviction such as: loss of employment, driver’s license revocation, loss of voting rights, loss of firearm possession rights, and requirements to carry expensive SR-22 auto insurance. A person may receive two suspended impositions of sentence in a lifetime: one on a misdemeanor level offense and one on a felony level offense. When the Court grants a person a suspended imposition of sentence they are usually placed on probation (for felony level offenses) or sentence conditions (for misdemeanor level offenses) that must be completed successfully before the record of the guilty plea is sealed and removed from his or her record. If that person violates the probation or sentence conditions, the State can file a motion to revoke the suspended imposition of sentence with the Court. If the Court grants the motion to revoke, the person would then be sentenced for the original offense and the conviction would then remain on their record permanently. (See SDCL 23A-27-12.2 & SDCL 23A-27-13).