S 1189 General Bill, By Thomas

Similar(H 4656)
 A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Section
 17-1-15 so as to provide that the South Carolina Supreme Court shall
 promulgate rules establishing time limits for the completion of certain
 criminal pretrial, trial, and appellate procedures, instances for which a
 continuance may be granted in circuit court; and by adding Section 17-1-17 so
 as to provide civil penalties to be levied upon officers of the court that
 violate the provisions of Section 17-1-15.

   02/28/96  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-12
   02/28/96  Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-12

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 17-1-15 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT SHALL PROMULGATE RULES ESTABLISHING TIME LIMITS FOR THE COMPLETION OF CERTAIN CRIMINAL PRETRIAL, TRIAL, AND APPELLATE PROCEDURES, INSTANCES FOR WHICH A CONTINUANCE MAY BE GRANTED IN CIRCUIT COURT; AND BY ADDING SECTION 17-1-17 SO AS TO PROVIDE CIVIL PENALTIES TO BE LEVIED UPON OFFICERS OF THE COURT THAT VIOLATE THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 17-1-15.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 17-1-15. The South Carolina Supreme Court shall promulgate rules that require:

(1) the period from the arrest of a person to his indictment shall not exceed thirty days;

(2) the period from the indictment of a person to the commencement of a trial shall not exceed ninety days in a case in which the solicitor is not seeking the death penalty;

(3) the period from the indictment of a person to the commencement of a trial of a person shall not exceed one hundred eighty days in a case in which the solicitor is seeking the death penalty;

(4) the period from the filing of a notice of appeal for a person who has been sentenced to death to the commencement of a hearing of the appeal by an appellate court shall not exceed ninety days;

(5) the period from the declaration of a mistrial to the commencement of a new trial for any defendant shall not exceed ninety days;

(6) the period from the notification of an appellate court ruling for a new trial and the commencement of a new trial shall not exceed ninety days;

(7) the General Sessions Court not to grant a continuance because of general court backlog. However, it may grant a continuance for:

(a) the examination of a defendant to determine his mental or physical competency to stand trial;

(b) the placement of a defendant in a pretrial intervention or pretrial diversion program;

(c) the processing of charges against a defendant by another county, state, or the federal government;

(d) the consideration of pretrial motions;

(e) the transfer of a defendant's case to another jurisdiction;

(f) the provision of medical or mental health treatment to a defendant;

(g) the disappearance of a defendant;

(h) the preparation of cases involving multiple defendants of a single crime;

(i) instances in which a case is unusual or complex and contains a novel question of fact or law, there is a large number of defendants, or the nature of the prosecution would make it unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for pretrial proceedings;

(j) a change in defense counsel; or

(k) instances in which a defendant cooperates with law enforcement officials during an investigation."

SECTION 2. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 17-1-17. The court may impose a civil fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars or more than five hundred dollars upon an officer of the court who violates a provision of Section 17-1-15, or require the court to ban the officer from appearing before the court for not more than ninety days."

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.