Opinion ID: 1956001
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Attorney fees are permissible.

Text: At the trial level, the part-time state's attorney was awarded fees in this state-sponsored paternity suit. Although the award has been dismissed due to our remand of the first issue, we find it appropriate to address this question due to judicial economy, as it is certainly capable of repetition on remand. Ordinarily, a state's attorney cannot receive additional payment for performing services he or she is obligated by statute to provide. Under Art. XII, § 3 of the South Dakota Constitution, the Legislature shall never grant any extra compensation to any public officer ... nor authorize the payment of any claims or part thereof created against the state, under any agreement or contract made without express authority of law ... We hold that SDCL 7-16-23, set forth below, is in line with the Constitution and expressly authorizes the compensation for part-time state's attorneys: Other than fees for child support enforcement services made upon the request of the department of social services to a state's attorney under a cooperative agreement with his board of county commissioners, and fees payable under contract for representation of the county or its officers in civil cases and administrative proceedings outside the county pursuant to § 7-16-6, a board of county commissioners may not give or pay any fees or costs to a state's attorney as part of his salary or in addition to his salary; provided, however, each board shall participate in the costs of the prosecution and enforcement by the state's attorney of support obligations against any responsible parent, whether of a civil or criminal nature, on a fee for service basis with the department of social services. The fee is paid to the state's attorney in addition to any other compensation of the state's attorney for the performance of his other public duties. A full-time state's attorney, as defined by § 7-16-19, is not entitled to receive the fees payable for child support enforcement services authorized by this section nor shall a full-time state's attorney be entitled to extra compensation for representation of the county or its officers in civil cases and administrative proceedings outside the county pursuant to § 7-16-6. As the statute plainly provides, a state's attorney may receive additional fees for child support services. However, the statute's final sentence specifically precludes full-time, not part-time, state's attorneys from receiving the compensation. Thus, by inference, a part-time state's attorney may receive such compensation provided an agreement exists with the board of county commissioners. Furthermore, paternity proceedings are necessarily included as child support services. In 1992, the South Dakota Legislature enacted SDCL 15-17-38, which states in pertinent part: The court, if appropriate, in the interests of justice, may award payment of attorneys' fees in all cases of divorce, annulment of marriage, determination of paternity, separate maintenance, support or alimony. (Emphasis added.) To hold that the establishment of paternity falls outside the scope of child support services is not reasonable; without proof of paternity, support would be unenforceable. Whereas trial courts have broad discretion in awarding attorney's fees, Schmidt v. Schmidt, 444 N.W.2d 367, 370 (S.D.1989), an award such as this is permissible.