S.D. Governor’s Suit Over Book Reinstated

A circuit judge wrongly dismissed Gov. William J. Janklow’s $24-million libel lawsuit over a book that included an allegation that he once raped an Indian baby sitter, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The court, voting unanimously, reinstated the libel action Janklow brought in 1983 against Viking Press, which published “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,” and its author, Peter Matthiessen. The suit also named four booksellers who refused to take the book off their shelves despite a request from Janklow.