Both the U.S. and South Carolina Constitutions protect people from unreasonable searches and seizures, requiring the police to have a search warrant reviewed and signed by a judge to comply with these protections in many situations. Be that as it may, the police can occasionally conduct a search without a warrant.
The Constitution of the State of South Carolina guarantees bail for non-violent offenders, and throughout the state’s history, it has expanded that assurance by creating a statutory right to bail for all non-capital offenses. Equally importantly, that statute creates a presumption that favors release on recognizance (OR) without bail.
South Carolina has an unusual murder statute, as it does not define separate murder charges; in fact, the state law never uses terms like “capital murder,” “first-degree murder,” or “second-degree murder.”
Nevertheless, the statute defines three punishment levels for murder, which roughly correspond to the punishments other states associate...
If you supplied another person with drugs that led to an overdose death, it’s possible that a South Carolina court will bring criminal homicide charges against you. This can occur even in cases where you shared your drugs for free, not expecting payment for them.
Fortunately, an experienced
Child custody hearings are notoriously contentious, but they sometimes cross the boundary between civil matters and criminal charges.
In some cases of custodial interference, criminal charges are justified because one parent attempts to keep the other from access to the child. In other cases, one...
You have been pulled over by Spartanburg law enforcement for speeding — so it catches you off guard when the officer asks if they can search your car. For many law-abiding drivers, the thought of police searching through their cars as part of a routine traffic stop is unsettling.
You know that when an officer arrests you, they will place you in handcuffs and take you to jail. You might also know that you can post bail and be released from jail after an arrest. However, what happens between your arrest and your release is a less commonly understood chain of...
Manslaughter is a serious charge, with serious penalties for those who are convicted. But if you unintentionally killed someone while defending yourself in South Carolina, it’s possible that the law could recognize you as a victim rather than an aggressor.
In these cases, an experienced criminal defense...
Suppose that you are charged after allegedly stealing items from a business, but you later repay the merchant for the allegedly stolen goods. Or suppose that you are charged with domestic violence after a heated argument with your partner, but the two of you later work the matter out in counseling.
Being arrested can be scary and traumatic. You never know how you might feel or react until the moment, and it’s not uncommon to act in a way that could be deemed as resisting or evading arrest. However, this is a crime that will only make the situation worse.
