South Carolina Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in South Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Who interpreted “similar disability” for South Carolina head and spinal cord injury case-management eligibility?
The 1998 opinion did not define “similar disability” or decide the constituent’s eligibility. It said the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs administered the law, and its reasonable…
Did South Carolina’s 1997 three-year expungement wait apply to a conviction entered while the wait was one year?
The 1998 AG opinion said the amended three-year waiting period applied to convictions entered before the change, including one whose old one-year period had not run by the amendment. It stressed…
Could a contract city attorney also serve as Abbeville County’s master-in-equity under South Carolina’s dual-office rule?
The 1998 AG opinion said Greenwood’s city attorney appeared to be a contract lawyer rather than a public officeholder on the facts presented. Because the master-in-equity post was an office but the…
Could a South Carolina sheriff serve court papers at an employee’s workplace, and when would resistance be a crime?
The 1998 opinion said deputies could serve process at a place of business, but the employer’s private work area raised privacy limits. It suggested using public areas or seeking the employer’s…
Did a South Carolina court clerk have to create bond-worth or lien-free statements, and could a recorded mortgage use an electronic signature?
The 1998 opinion found no duty for the clerk to create a surety’s worth statement or a statement that someone had no liens or judgments, though the clerk could assist and had to provide access to…
Should a South Carolina arrest warrant charge the underlying property crime or the repeat-offender sentencing statute?
The 1998 opinion said the warrant should charge the underlying offense, such as shoplifting, rather than treating the repeat-offender statute as a separate crime. The enhancement provision governed…
Could South Carolina repeal a Dorchester County law that shifted appointment and budget powers to county government?
The 1998 AG opinion found Act No. 512, a Dorchester-only transfer of appointment and budget powers to county government, constitutionally doubtful. It said a special law repealing that act and…
Did South Carolina’s Gift of Life Trust Fund have to invest only in state pooled funds?
No. The 1998 opinion read state pooled investment funds as an available option, not a requirement for the Gift of Life Trust. It separately said the Trust did not appear to be a state agency for the…
Could a South Carolina municipal traffic judge dismiss tickets after drivers completed a court-run class without prosecutor approval?
The 1998 opinion found the proposed court-run traffic diversion program legally suspect. It said a state statute was needed for a municipal judge to dismiss prosecutions on completion of a class,…
Could Chester County use a capital-project sales tax to close a landfill even though landfills were not listed?
The 1998 AG opinion said a landfill closure appeared to fall within the capital projects contemplated by the tax statute, even though landfills were not specifically listed. It read “may include” as…
Could Anderson County spend “C” road funds on public roads inside a privately developed industrial park?
The 1998 AG opinion said “C” funds could be used to build roads within the proposed industrial park because the public road project served an industrial-development purpose. It said the amount and…
Did the South Carolina AG settle disputed provisions of the 1998 deferred-presentment and check-cashing law?
No. The 1998 opinion said the deferred-presentment and check-cashing act was too ambiguous to support a clear answer to the specific interpretive questions. It said a court would need to resolve…
Could a South Carolina public school let students vote to display the Ten Commandments in its lobby?
The 1998 Attorney General said the proposed lobby display could be constitutional if it formed part of a larger educational theme about law, history or culture. The letter also distinguished student…
Can a South Carolina detainee earn good-time credit while jailed for civil contempt?
The 1998 AG said good-time credits did not apply to genuinely civil contempt, because the detainee could end that confinement by obeying the order. The AG could not classify the specific commitment…
Did three unexcused absences remove a Valley Public Service Authority board member in 1998?
No under the statute addressed in this 1998 opinion. The Attorney General said the Valley Public Service Authority was not a state board, so Section 1-3-245 did not remove its members after three…
Could one person serve on both the Pickens County Water Authority and Powdersville Water Company boards?
The 1998 AG concluded the two board seats could be held simultaneously. The Pickens County Water Authority seat counted as a public office, but a Powdersville Water Company directorship most…
Could a South Carolina school district let students keep cell phones locked in their cars in 1998?
The 1998 AG said a cellular telephone was not a “paging device” under the school statute then in force. It concluded that districts could adopt reasonable rules about student phone possession and…
Could a 1998 South Carolina disorderly-conduct charge arise inside a private club?
The 1998 AG said a club labeled private could still be a public place under the disorderly-conduct statute. Whether a particular club qualified depended on its actual access and operations; the…
Could Orangeburg restrict officers from drinking in city bars while off duty?
The 1998 AG thought such a restriction could be constitutionally valid to protect the department’s integrity. It could not be certain because it found no court decision on the same kind of rule.
Could a South Carolina mental-health employee also serve on a county elections commission?
The 1998 AG said an Allendale County Registration and Elections Commission seat was a public office. Whether a mental-health department employee could also serve depended on whether that job…
Could a South Carolina deputy pursue and arrest someone inside a town in the deputy’s own county?
The 1998 AG said yes. It read the pursuit amendment as expanding authority in neighboring counties, while leaving a sheriff and deputies with countywide jurisdiction, including incorporated areas of…
Did South Carolina home rule repeal the law allowing city police and fire civil service commissions?
No. The 1998 AG said the Home Rule Act did not repeal the civil-service commission provisions. A city could choose to abolish a commission by ordinance, but a city retaining one had to follow the…
Could a county stockade refuse prisoners sentenced there by a South Carolina municipal court?
The 1998 AG said county officials had to accept and hold prisoners committed to the stockade by a municipal court until a court changed the order. Officials could not independently reject or release…
Who could choose between two groups claiming to lead the same South Carolina political party?
The 1998 AG did not choose a Patriot Party faction. It said the proper group depended on which had met the statutory organization and convention requirements, a factual question potentially…
Could a South Carolina public gas authority buy natural-gas futures solely for profit?
No under the law analyzed in 1998. The AG treated futures contracts bought solely for profit, with no planned gas delivery, as investments; the permitted public-investment list did not include them.
Where did seized gambling proceeds go after forfeiture in South Carolina in 1998?
The 1998 AG said distribution of gambling forfeiture proceeds was governed by the cited state distribution statute. It also found no filing-fee exemption for drug-forfeiture petitions.
When did an appointed Lexington County auditor have to leave office after losing a primary?
The 1998 AG said the interim auditor remained until a successor was elected at the November general election and qualified. The successor would fill the remainder of the prior elected auditor’s term.
Did the 1998 harmful-to-minors law give public and school libraries the same defense as college libraries?
Yes under the statute analyzed in 1998. The AG said public and school libraries, like college and university libraries, could invoke the affirmative defense when carrying out legitimate functions…
Could a county council member volunteer as an associate municipal judge in 1998?
No. The 1998 AG treated both a county council seat and an associate municipal judgeship as public offices, so holding them together violated the state constitutional dual office holding rule.
Did the 1989 act governing Horry County school board elections still apply in 1998?
Yes. The 1998 AG said the act still governed Horry County Board of Education elections and that its successor-election method continued until the legislature amended it.
Did closing an Orangeburg high school require a referendum if students stayed in the same attendance area?
The 1998 AG said public hearings were required before the high school closed. A referendum was not required if students moved to another location within the same attendance area.
Did 1998 South Carolina AG guidance still allow public funds for a nonprofit public purpose?
The 1998 AG said two earlier opinions remained valid: allocating public funds to a nonprofit corporation for a valid public purpose did not violate the cited state constitutional provision.
Did McCormick County need to adopt planning and zoning under the 1994 South Carolina act?
Yes for planning and zoning after the transition described in the 1998 opinion. The AG said McCormick County had to enact ordinances conforming to the 1994 comprehensive planning act to continue its…
Did adopting a new countywide zoning ordinance under the 1994 act require signs on every affected parcel?
The 1998 AG said the initial ordinance under the 1994 planning act required an advertised public hearing but was not a parcel-by-parcel rezoning requiring posted signs. A later amendment that…
Could an off-duty reserve officer in civilian clothes assist a South Carolina arrest?
The 1998 AG said the reserve officer could report a witnessed offense to an on-duty officer and, if legitimately asked, help as a private citizen. Out of uniform, the reserve could not exercise…
Could a South Carolina sheriff serve a family-court child-support contempt warrant on Sunday?
The 1998 AG said the described bench warrant appeared to enforce civil contempt, so its process generally could not be served on Sunday. It said the classification depended on the particular order…
Could an airport police officer who held a constable commission also serve on town council?
Yes on the facts given in 1998. The AG said the officer’s law-enforcement authority came solely from a constable commission, which it did not count as a second public office for this dual office…
Could a Spartanburg County business burn unwanted wooden pallets in 1998?
The 1998 AG said state regulations generally prohibited open burning of wooden pallets, subject to listed exceptions that DHEC would assess. The county attorney told the AG there was no Spartanburg…
Could a retired South Carolina judge receive state retirement pay while serving as a federal judge?
The 1998 AG said a retired state judge appeared able to draw judicial retirement pay while serving in a federal judicial position. The state retirement provisions it analyzed did not include federal…
Could a check-collection agent seek a bad-check warrant for a South Carolina merchant?
The 1998 AG said a collection representative acting as the merchant’s agent could seek a bad-check warrant on a proper factual showing. An endorsee who had acquired the dishonored check could not…
Could a South Carolina town council refuse a certified petition election to change its government?
No. The 1998 AG said a town council had no discretion to refuse the special election after receiving a county-certified petition signed by the required share of qualified electors.
Did the 1998 South Carolina AG think a proposed public-nudity bill was facially constitutional?
The 1998 AG thought the proposed public-nudity amendment would likely survive a facial constitutional challenge, partly because it excepted protected expression and certain other conduct. It…
Did the 1998 South Carolina AG find three proposed constitutional amendments federally permissible?
The 1998 AG said proposed amendments on a school moment of silence, school vouchers and work for able-bodied inmates were consistent with the federal Constitution as analyzed in the letter. The…
Did the 1998 South Carolina AG say offshore gambling cruises were lawful from state ports?
No clear approval came from the 1998 opinion. The AG could not conclude that federal Johnson Act amendments displaced South Carolina gambling-device laws for cruises to nowhere and recommended a…
Could a homeowner use trespass law or civil ejectment when an adult son refused to leave?
The 1998 AG said both a criminal trespass complaint and civil ejectment could be available on the described facts. It left the choice to the homeowner and did not decide a specific prosecution.
Could a Colleton County school board member also serve as county administrator in 1998?
No. The 1998 AG treated both a Colleton County school board seat and the county administrator post as public offices. Assuming the second post while holding the first violated the state dual office…
Could one person serve as both a South Carolina master in equity and municipal judge?
No. The 1998 AG said both a master in equity and a municipal court judge were public offices, making simultaneous service a violation of the state dual office holding prohibition.
Could a South Carolina probate judge also serve as a municipal court judge?
No. The 1998 AG said both a probate judgeship and a municipal judgeship were public offices. Taking the second while holding the first violated the constitutional dual office rule and was treated as…
Did South Carolina’s 1998 Peeping Tom law cover intentional spying in a public restroom?
Yes on the described facts. The 1998 AG said a person who entered an opposite-sex public restroom to purposefully spy on occupants could violate the Peeping Tom statute; intent and the privacy…
Could a suspended South Carolina county council member run for reelection while indicted?
The 1998 AG said the suspended council member could run for reelection while the indictment was pending. If reelected, he could not serve while the indictment and governor’s suspension order…
What did the 1998 South Carolina AG say about police trackers and computer-made search warrants?
The 1998 AG found no South Carolina statute directly governing police tracking devices, but analyzed federal privacy limits on their use. It also said a department could produce computer-made search…
Could a Colleton County school board member also serve as county administrator under the 1998 South Carolina dual-office rule?
No. The 1998 AG concluded that a Colleton County school board seat and the county administrator position were both public offices, so one person could not hold them at the same time. Taking the…
Could a threat to shoot at police cars count as a threat against an officer under South Carolina law in 1998?
Possibly. The 1998 AG said a threat to shoot at any police car near a property was not excluded from the public-official threat statute merely because no officer was named. The threat still had to…
Could South Carolina declare unopposed school board candidates elected without a vote under a 1997 proposal?
The 1998 AG considered proposed S.402 constitutionally suspect. It would have treated unopposed Laurens County school board candidates as elected without holding an election, removing voters' chance…
Could a South Carolina town make it an offense to ignore a police officer's stop signal or lawful order in 1998?
The 1998 AG considered Lexington's proposed ordinance constitutionally valid on its face, though a close question. It said the stop provision could be read as enforcing lawful investigative stops;…
Who had priority at a death scene in South Carolina in 1998, the sheriff or the coroner?
Neither official had automatic priority, the 1998 AG said. Law enforcement and the coroner each had investigative authority; the circumstances and immediate needs at a death scene determined whose…
Could the South Carolina officer who swore out an arrest warrant also serve it in 1998?
No, according to the 1998 AG letter. It reaffirmed the office's view that the law enforcement officer whose affidavit supported an arrest warrant should not serve that same warrant.
Could a Kershaw election commissioner also serve as Lancaster County attorney under South Carolina's 1998 dual-office rule?
The 1998 AG could not give a final yes-or-no answer. It said a Kershaw election commissioner held a public office, but whether the Lancaster County attorney position was also an office depended on…
Could Jonesville police enforce a Union County ordinance inside town limits without adopting it as a town ordinance?
The 1998 AG said Jonesville did not need to copy a Union County ordinance into its town code. It concluded that a city-county agreement could make a county ordinance applicable inside town limits…
When did investigators need a warrant to search a fire scene for suspected arson under the 1998 South Carolina AG opinion?
The 1998 AG said entry to fight a fire and a reasonable continuation to find its cause required no warrant. A later search after officials left generally required consent, a warrant, or new exigent…
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Attorney general opinions in South Carolina are written by the South Carolina Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.