SC Municipal Court Administration Handbook
State of South Carolina Municipal Court Handbook
2011
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to express our appreciation to the following individuals for their contributions in providing information, writing and editing this Handbook.
Steve Blake, Certified Public Accountant, Cline Brandt Kochenower & Company, P.A. Judith Hotchkiss, Assistant Chief, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Justice
Ashlie Lancaster, Director, South Carolina Energy Office (formerly Executive Director, S.C. Office of Victim Assistance)
Gary Lamel, Assistant Public Defender, York County John Mackintosh, former Local Records Services Supervisor,
S.C. Department of Archives and History Robert McCurdy, Senior Staff Attorney, S.C. Court Administration
David Michel, Chief Municipal Judge, Town of Mount Pleasant
Board of Directors Municipal Court Administration Association of SC April 2011
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State of South Carolina Municipal Court Handbook Table of Contents
Overview and Purpose......................................................................................................................................5
Sources of the Law.........................................................................................................................................6 The Constitution.............................................................................................................................................6 The South Carolina Code of Laws...............................................................................................................6 Case Law..........................................................................................................................................................7 Local Law.........................................................................................................................................................7 Rules of Court.................................................................................................................................................7 Attorney General`s Opinions........................................................................................................................7 Administrative Procedures ............................................................................................................................7 Other Resources .............................................................................................................................................8
Overview of South Carolina Judicial System..............................................................................................9 Judiciary ............................................................................................................................................................ 9 The Courts.......................................................................................................................................................9 Supreme Court................................................................................................................................................9 Court of Appeals ............................................................................................................................................9 Circuit Courts..................................................................................................................................................9 Masters-In-Equity ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Family Courts................................................................................................................................................10 Magistrate Courts .........................................................................................................................................10 Municipal Courts ..........................................................................................................................................11 Probate Courts ..............................................................................................................................................11 South Carolina Court Administration .......................................................................................................11 The Prosecution............................................................................................................................................12 The Defense ..................................................................................................................................................12
Municipal Clerk of Court................................................................................................................................13 Role of the Clerk of Court ..........................................................................................................................13 Organization .................................................................................................................................................. 14 Relationship Between Law Enforcement and Clerks of Court .............................................................15 Relationship Between Municipal Judge and Clerk of Court ..................................................................15 Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................................................16 Judicial Misconduct ......................................................................................................................................18 Office of Disciplinary Counsel...................................................................................................................19 Commission on Judicial Conduct ..............................................................................................................19 Filing Complaints .........................................................................................................................................19
Procedures and Guidelines.............................................................................................................................20 Traffic Violations..........................................................................................................................................20 Criminal Offenses.........................................................................................................................................21 Distinctions Between Civil and Criminal Law .........................................................................................21 Procedural and Substantive Law........................................................................................................21 Statutory and Common Law ..............................................................................................................22
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Classification of Crimes...............................................................................................................................22 Parties To A Criminal Action .....................................................................................................................23 Requirements For Proof of Guilt in the Criminal Case..........................................................................23 South Carolina Criminal Courts .................................................................................................................23 Entering Pleas...................................................................................................................................................24 Warrants, Arrests and Bond Issuance...........................................................................................................27 Arrest Warrants.............................................................................................................................................27 Courtesy Summons Warrants .....................................................................................................................28 Arrest Without A Warrant ..........................................................................................................................29 Arrest With A Warrant ................................................................................................................................30 Bench Warrants ............................................................................................................................................32 Fugitive Warrants .........................................................................................................................................32 Bail Proceedings............................................................................................................................................34 Municipal Ordinances .....................................................................................................................................40 Business Licensing........................................................................................................................................40 Code Enforcement.......................................................................................................................................40 Jury Trials, Jurors and New Trials .................................................................................................................40 Summary of Jury Trial Procedure ..............................................................................................................40 Preliminaries To Jury Trial ..........................................................................................................................42 Introductory Remarks..................................................................................................................................42 Final Instructions To The Jury ...................................................................................................................43 Submission of the Case................................................................................................................................44 Court Interpreters ............................................................................................................................................45
Records Management and Database Searches.............................................................................................47 Court Docket ................................................................................................................................................47 Filing of Documents and Required Notices.............................................................................................47 Reports of Monies........................................................................................................................................47 Filing of Warrants and Related Papers with Clerk of Court ..................................................................47 Notice to Clerk of Court and Solicitor of Request for Preliminary Examination ..............................48 Return of Papers to Clerk of Court After Preliminary Examination....................................................48 Papers to Clerk of Court in Criminal Appeals .........................................................................................48 Report to S.C. Law Enforcement Division ..............................................................................................48 Reports to S.C. Court Administration.......................................................................................................49 Records Retention ........................................................................................................................................49 Change of Venue..................................................................................................................................50 Expungements ...................................................................................................................................... 50 Confidential Records ...........................................................................................................................52 Inactive Records Maintenance ...........................................................................................................53 Access ............................................................................................................................................................. 53 Records Retention and Disposition Schedules ........................................................................................54 Interpreting the Schedules ..................................................................................................................54 Schedule Implementation Procedures ..............................................................................................54 Methods of Destruction......................................................................................................................55 Procedures for Amending or Making Additions to Existing Schedules......................................55 Procedures for Establishing Additional Schedules for Individual Courts...................................55 Records No Longer Created.......................................................................................................................55 Damaged Records ........................................................................................................................................56
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Freedom of Information Act......................................................................................................................56 Numbered Receipts and Arrest Warrants.................................................................................................57 Numbered Arrest Warrants ........................................................................................................................57 Numbered Receipts......................................................................................................................................58 Search Warrants ............................................................................................................................................58 National Crime Information Center/Criminal Justice Information Services......................................59
NCIC Security ......................................................................................................................................59 System Usage ........................................................................................................................................60 NCIC Contacts and Additional Information...................................................................................60
Fines and Assessments....................................................................................................................................61 Determining Fees and Assessments ..........................................................................................................61 Municipal Uniform Ordinance Summons ................................................................................................61 Fees, Pullouts and Surcharges.....................................................................................................................62 Assessments................................................................................................................................................... 62 Determination/Calculation .........................................................................................................................63 Collecting Fines and Remitting Assessments, Surcharges and Pullouts...............................................66 Installment Payments...................................................................................................................................67 Remitting........................................................................................................................................................ 69 Filing and Reporting to the State Treasurer`s Office ..............................................................................69 Separation of Monies and Accounts..........................................................................................................70
Court Facilities and Court Security ...............................................................................................................72 Court Facilities and Accessibility................................................................................................................72 Court Security ...............................................................................................................................................73 Courtroom Safety and Security Planning .........................................................................................73 Court Security Procedures...........................................................................................................................76
Victims Assistance and Other Court Programs ..........................................................................................77 Victims Assistance and Advocacy..............................................................................................................77 Training Requirement ..................................................................................................................................77 Forms Victims Should Be Provided by Summary Court........................................................................79 Restitution...................................................................................................................................................... 79 Setting Restitution and Payment........................................................................................................80 Collection of Fees ................................................................................................................................81 SC Victim`s Compensation Fund...............................................................................................................81 Victims Assistance Revenue .......................................................................................................................81 Expenditures of Crime Victim Services ....................................................................................................82 Pretrial Intervention Program.....................................................................................................................84 Alcohol Education Program .......................................................................................................................87
Defense of Indigents .......................................................................................................................................89 Determination of Indigency........................................................................................................................89 Appointment of Counsel.............................................................................................................................90 Appellate Defense ........................................................................................................................................90 Counsel Fees and Expenses........................................................................................................................91
Appendix ...........................................................................................................................................................94
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