Did South Carolina require fingerprints when a juvenile was charged only with carrying a gun onto school property?

Plain-English summary

In 1999, a South Carolina investigator asked whether a juvenile charged only with carrying a firearm onto school property had to be fingerprinted. An assistant deputy attorney general said yes. The juvenile fingerprinting statute covered several types of charges, including a crime “in which a weapon was used.” The author read carrying a firearm onto school property without permission as using the weapon, even without a display or threat.

The opinion distinguished the firearm statute's two forms of conduct. One prohibited carrying the gun onto covered property without permission; the other prohibited displaying, brandishing, or threatening with it. The opinion treated carrying alone under the first provision as enough to trigger fingerprinting when the juvenile was taken into custody and charged. The letter was an informal opinion.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1999. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did the juvenile have to fire or brandish the gun to be fingerprinted? A: No. For the charge analyzed, the opinion counted unauthorized carrying onto school property as use of the weapon.

Q: Did the opinion address a juvenile charged only with possession? A: Yes. That was the question presented, and the author concluded that a juvenile taken into custody and charged under the carrying provision had to be fingerprinted.

Q: Why did the second part of the firearm statute matter? A: It described displaying, brandishing, or threatening with a gun as a separate offense. The author contrasted that obvious use with the carrying covered by the first part, which he also considered use.

Background and legal framework

The opinion quoted Section 20-7-8510's listed fingerprinting categories, including crimes in which a weapon was used, and Section 16-23-420's school-property firearm provisions. It then applied the weapon-use category to the specific unauthorized-carrying charge. It did not analyze other juvenile charges or different facts.

Citations and references

• Section 20-7-8510: juvenile fingerprinting categories quoted in the opinion.
• Section 16-23-420: firearm offenses on school property quoted and analyzed in the opinion.

Official title

Inquiring whether a juvenile charged only with possession of a firearm on school property must be fingerprinted in accordance with the guidelines of § 20-7-8510.

Requester

Leslie Lambert, Investigator, Greenville County Sheriff’s Office

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/december-14-1999/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/99dec-14-lambert.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
C HARLES M . C O NDON
ATTORN E Y G EN ERA L

December 14, 1999

Leslie Lambert, Investigator
Greenville County Sheriffs Office
4 McGee Street
Greenville, South Carolina 29601

Re:

Informal Opinion

Dear Investigator Lambert:
Thank you for your letter to the Attorney General' s Office which has been referred to me for a response. You request clarification on South Carolina Code of Laws Section 20-7-8510, which specifies when a juvenile in custody must be fingerprinted. Specifically you inquire whether a juvenile charged only with possession of a firearm on school property must be fingerprinted in accordance with the guidelines of§ 20-7-8510. South Carolina Code§ 20-7-8510 (C) states: A juvenile charged with committing an offense must be fingerprinted by the law enforcement agency who takes the juvenile into custody if the juvenile is charged with: ( 1) a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60; (2) grand larceny of a motor vehicle; (3) a crime in which a weapon was used; or ( 4) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44. Thus, a juvenile must be fingerprinted if charged with one of the four types of crimes specified above. The question remains, then, whether the possession of a weapon on school property fits within one of these categories. South Carolina Code Section 16-23-420 reads: (A) It is unlawful for a person to carry onto any premises or property owned, operated, or controlled by a private or public school, college, university, technical college, other postsecondary institution, or any publicly-owned building a firearm of any kind, without the express permission of the authorities in charge of the premises or property. (B) It is unlawful for a person to enter the premises or property described in subsection (A)

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December 14, 1999
and to display, brandish, or threaten others with a firearm. (C) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

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In the limited circumstances you describe, in which the juvenile is charged only with the possession of a firearm on school grounds, the only potentially applicable provision of§ 20-7-851 O(C) is Part (3), "a crime in which a weapon was used." Section 16-23-420 provides for two circumstances involving the use of a weapon on school property. The first, or Part (A), prohibits a person from even possessing a firearm on school property withouttheexpresspermissionofthose in charge in the property. The second, or Part (B), prohibits a person not guilty of (A) from entering the property described in (A) and displaying , brandishing, or threatening others with the weapon. For example, one may have the permission of the authorities to possess the gun on school property but then threaten another with it; or a person could obtain the weapon from someone with authority and then threaten another with it. Both would violate Part (B) but not (A). The two provisions describe separate crimes. The manner in which "a weapon was used" in Part (B) of 16-23-420 may seem more clear than in Part (A). The use of the weapon in Part (B) is the displaying, brandishing and threatening. The use of the weapon in Part (A) is the carrying. This distinction emphasizes that the use of the weapon is inherent even in only the possession of the weapon and its presence on school grounds. In Part (A), the person need only carry the firearm onto school property, without appropriate permission, to commit the crime. It is, therefore, the opinion of this Office that a charge under §1623-420 (A) for possession of a weapon on school property is included in the crimes specified in § 20-7-8510. As such, a juvenile taken into custody and charged under §16-23-420 (A) must be fingerprinted accordingly. This letter is an informal opinion only. It has been written by a designated Assistant Deputy Attorney General and represents the position of the undersigned attorney as to the specific question asked. It has not, however, been personally scrutinized by the Attorney General not officially published in the manner of a formal opinion. With kind regards, I remain

Assistant Deputy Attorney General