South Carolina Criminal Attorney Blog

The South Carolina legislature is back discussing a law against texting on cell phones while driving. A subcommittee was scheduled to discuss it again this past week, but that was canceled as they were still debating some issues on the amount of court fees, which they are considering changing.

More and more states are addressing this issue and passing laws due to the tremendous amount of accidents that are directly attributed to drivers texting. I personally know that here in Horry and Georgetown Counties are no exception as you see it almost daily. Last fall I was in the right-hand lane and watched a lady in Myrtle Beach run right into the back of someone because she was more interested in texting than driving her car.

So far on the law, they've decided that it will be a misdemeanor and drivers will receive a fine in the amount of $25.00. Compared to all of the other traffic violations, fines, assessments, court costs and so forth, that is an extremely cheap penalty. Under the law, the police would not be allowed to confiscate anyone's cell phone. Nor would they be allowed to read messages whether text messages or emails. After the law is passed, there will be a waiting period of six months before the police would be able to pull someone over solely for the texting phone violation.

A couple of interesting things come to mind with this new law. Anytime that the police have a new and additional reason to pull someone over, it tends to open the door for more arrests and traffic tickets for other things. For example, if a person is pulled over for just texting and then the office smells marijuana or alcohol, they would be allowed to continue the investigation on those grounds as they would amount to what is called "reasonable suspicion." Once drivers are pulled over there are all kinds of other possibilities, including but not limited to license, registration and insurance violations, contraband, drug paraphernalia, DUS (Driving Under Suspension) possible safety violations, and so on, with Driving Under the Influence being the most significant.

I would also imagine that from a prosecutor stand point this would be a bear to deal with. Since in so many of our small courts here in SC, where the police officers take on the role of solicitor, I'm sure they would enjoy dealing with it either. I say this because of the difficulty in proving exactly what a person was doing with the phone. I just can't imagine how a police officer can testify that he/she knew beyond a reasonable doubt that the person was texting, and not dialing a number. But I suppose the good side of this as far as prosecution is concerned, that it only having a $25.00 fine will cause the vast majority of people to just pay the fine and be done with it. I certainly couldn't conceive anyone retaining a criminal defense attorney for such a thing.

Another thing that you can't help but wonder about, is how in the world will the police be able to be certain that someone was texting and not just dialing the phone. Or for that matter, doing any other function on the phone. If you look at someone through your car window and then through their car window, it is nearly impossible, if not totally impossible to tell exactly what they are doing with the phone. Its certainly impossible to read the little screen and see if its text or numbers. Nor could someone follow the pattern of button pushing to determine exactly what they are doing. Remember, it will still be legal to make and receive phone calls. I can certainly understand why they want such a law, but from a practical matter is sounds like a loser. The only way that the state will ever be able to put a real dent in this problem would be to ban the use of cell phones entirely while driving. Obviously, that would have to be an entirely different article. For the time being, suffice it to say that it appears we are on the verge of another nearly useless law.

Since I seem to be on a roll with traffic violations and DUI's lately, I thought I'd do a few more and shed some advise on what to do and what not to do when pulled over.

First of all, the road is the police officer's forum. You will not win an argument no matter how right you are and no matter how well you present your side of the story. All you are going to do is make the officer mad. Especially if he starts to see that he is wrong. He/she will not admit it. The best thing you can do is be nice and polite, no matter how hard that might be. There will be another day and when that day comes, it will not be solely the officer's forum. It will be a court of law and you'll have an even playing field.

Another thing to be aware of almost all, if not all, South Carolina patrol cars have video camera and microphones. The microphones are wireless and the officer has the mic on him, even though you cannot see it. The officers will turn that equipment on each time they pull someone over. So remember that anything that you say is probably being taped and recorded.

When you are pulled over the officer has the right to tell you to get out of the car, and that goes for your passengers as well. He/she also has the right to "pat" you and your passengers down. That is in the law for officer safety.

If you get a speeding ticket, you do not have the right to see the radar and it's a waste of time to even ask, so don't bother.

Do not assume that just because you may be 100% guilty of the traffic violation that there is nothing that can be done. There is a lot of give an take in the traffic courts and many of those violations can be reduced. And that includes the fine amount and the points. You owe it to yourself to contact and attorney and see what can be done. Traffic tickets are routinely reduced and its been that way for years. If you have two or more, then often they will be willing to dismiss one or more, depending on how many you might have.

The courts in this particular area, Myrtle Beach, Conway, Georgetown, Murrells Inlet, Garden City, and the surrounding counties I have practiced in for years. By and large the police, judges, solicitors (prosecutors), are very accommodating with working with attorneys in negotiating traffic tickets. Its just a phone call to see if something can be done and its certainly worth the few minutes it takes to find out.

As for out-of-state pulled over here in Myrtle Beach and elsewhere in SC, if you have not read what I posted on December 14th, then you really should. Scroll down to see it. There is some invaluable information for out-of-state drivers and the whole process can be entirely different.

Pay very, very close attention to the court date on your ticket. In fact, read the whole ticket. You cannot get out of a ticket because a word is mis-spelled, or the wrong word was used, like you see on TV. But it's a good idea to read the ticket and if there is anything incorrect on it be sure to point it out to the attorney you talk with.

The court date is of extreme importance. If you miss the court date, usually what happens is the officer that gave you the ticket will have been there. They then have a Bench Trial in your absence, which they are allowed to do. The officer will explain what happened and that will be the only information the judge will have to decide the case and you will lose. It is possible for an attorney to file a motion to reopen the ticket if you miss court, but you will need an extremely compelling reason for missing it and even then, there is no guarantee the judge will grant the motion.

Speaking of television, erase everything you have ever heard or seen on TV. Its seldom correct. I've seen people go into court without an attorney and look silly arguing with the judge that the city police officer did not have jurisdiction to write a traffic ticket because they were pulled over outside the city limits. They did not realize that a city officer has jurisdiction in the entire state of South Carolina to write tickets and make arrests up to three miles past the limits. A lot of other misunderstandings can occur which just result in unnecessary headaches. Call a lawyer.

You may see where the officer wrote a dollar amount on the ticket. He/she may have written bond next to it. That is simply a recommended fine amount and is not anything official.

Should you decide to go to court without being represented by an attorney and are offered a Bench Trial, be careful. A Bench Trial is a trial with no jury and the judge decides if you are guilty or not-guilty. Although people have won Bench Trials without an attorney, it does not happen often. Be aware that the officer is experienced with this, he/she knows how to talk in court, present the case, explain the allegations, and its extremely easy to get nervous and not be successful. There are certain rules of evidence that restrict what you can say and cannot say, what questions you are allow to ask and questions you are not allowed to ask, and so on. It is not advisable to do this on your own, but you have the right to. Once you have the Bench Trial and the judge rules, that's it. There's no turning back and there is no negotiating. That was your day in court and what ever the judge decides is the courts' ruling. You will be stuck with that decision, unless you appeal, and appealing is a gigantic headache. You cannot appeal simply because you did not like the judge's decision. You can only appeal if there was some sort of a judicial error or mistake of law.

All traffic violations are handled by magistrate courts and city courts, also called municipal courts. Unless you are an attorney, a courtroom can be a very intimidating place to be. If you should decide to go it alone and once your in court you find yourself nervous, unsure of what is going on, or for any other reason regret having made that decision, then you have an absolute right to request a jury trial and they will have to let you go and the jury trial will be scheduled on another date. Requesting a jury trial does not necessarily mean that you will have one. What it does is it saves you from going forward with the bench trial, it preserves your right to have a jury trial if you should decide that you truly want one, and it give you time to consult with an attorney.

Phone calls and questions are always free. If you have received a ticket your are more than welcome to call.

Myrtle Beach & South Carolina----Attorney reports on out-of-state traffic tickets

Out-of-state drivers beware. What the law is in your state may not be what the law is in another. At a glance, that may sound silly. But wait. It makes sense.

Since I'm an attorney in Myrtle Beach who defends people charged with traffic violations, I've seen how people have been hurt thinking that one particular ticket here in SC, will have the same results when it transfers back to their home state. That is not necessarily the case

Many states have what are called, Reciprocity Agreements. That means that they have agreed that they will exchange information when someone one receives a ticket in one state but they are a licensed driver in another. For example, if someone who is licensed in North Carolina gets a ticket here in South Carolina, it will transfer back to the DMV in NC. The problem is there is no adjustment for the point system and the points have different values in each state. A more specific example is this. Say a person gets a 4 point speeding ticket here in SC. They do not think its any big deal so they just send in the fine money to be done with it. Then SC transfers the conviction to the DMV in NC. The Department of Motor Vehicles in Raleigh will then suspend the person's driving privileges in NC for 30 days. That is because a 4 point violation is a much more serious offense than a 4 point violation in SC.

A lot of people from NC will call with a ticket and ask if I can get them Prayer for Judgement. No, I cannot. We do not have that here in South Carolina. I wish we did. It sounds like a nice program. When an out-of-state driver receives a traffic ticket in SC, it is imperative for them to talk with an attorney. With a lot of traffic violations the court will lower the charge and the fine simply by asking. Its been that way for years, especially with speeding tickets. But because of the difference in point values, our courts realize and understand that what might be a normal and common reduction for a particular ticket, might cause unreasonable harm once that ticket is transferred back to the driver's home state. Therefore, a little extra special reduction and consideration is often given to those out-of-state drivers.

Having practiced and defended traffic tickets in all of the magistrate courts and municipal courts in Horry and Georgetown Counties, the help that the judges give is uniform and they all make an effort. That is especially true with Myrtle Beach Municipal Court (also called Myrtle Beach City Court), Conway Central Traffic Court (also called Conway Central Jury Court), which handle more traffic cases than any other courts. Same goes with Central Traffic Court in Georgetown and the surrounding counties.

So people need to at least call an attorney to ask and never assume that one ticket will have the same results when it hits their home DMV

Absolutely.. In all honesty, its possible for the person who received the ticket to get some help without an attorney. But no attorney is going to recommend that a person go to court or deal with a court without representation. And that includes speeding tickets.

Speeding tickets are handled in either Magistrate Court or Municipal Court (city court). Myrtle Beach and Conway handle the bulk of these tickets in Horry County.

I have only seen two instances when a lawyer could not get help for a person that received a speeding ticket. One, was when the ticket was written up for as low of a speeding violation there is. And two, when the driver was less than nice on the side of the road when getting the ticket. In other words, he/she mouthed off to the officer. Other than those two situations, speeding tickets are routinely reduced. That includes the fine and the points.

Lawyers typically do not charge much for these. For an out-of-state driver that gets a speeding ticket, the small amount of money is well worth it when you consider the fine reduction, points reduction, losing a day's work to drive to a South Carolina court, gas prices, increased insurance costs, the mark on the driving record, and the inconvenience of it all.

For drivers from North Carolina, getting help on speeding tickets can make a huge difference. The way that the violation transfers back to NC, results in extremely harsh penalties at times, including the possibility of a license suspension in NC. Unfortunately, South Carolina does not have "Prayer for Judgment" like North Carolina does.

Speeding tickets are not the only traffic violation that can be reduced or changed. The other possibilities vary and depend on the particular ticket.

Never just assume that paying the ticket is your only option.

For more on this and how a lawyer can help you, go to my website.