Legal Question in Criminal Law in South Carolina

Re: Uniform ordiance summons

You have brought up a couple very interesting points. And you also brought it up with a South Carolina Attorney that feels the same way as you do. I can expain some of your concerns, but others I cannot. Some of what you have expressed to me has been a point of contention with me for some time and I do not agree with what is going on. I will have to keep this breif since I am only allowed so much space to write. As long as Code Enforcement Officers have arrest power in SC, then they have the authority to issue a Uniformed Summons. Now, they are required to have some degree of Probabe Cause. If a person reports something, then presumably that is some form of Probable Cause. In other words, if someone calls the police and says I saw So-And-So steal an apple, then that alone is Probable Cause. However, the police have the authority and the obligation to look into it and exercise some descretion. Just because a call was made is not an automatic obligation to issue a summons or arrest. The same should be true with your department, but apparently is not. So your right, there are some constitutional concerns. As far as prosecuting with verbal testimony that may or may not be credible, that is what it is. Some cases have a lot of evidence and some have very little, some have strong evidence and some have weak evidence. That's just the way it goes. Now, your question about you as the arresting officer prosecuting the case is a concern of mine. That is done all the time in Magistrate Courts with the Police and Sheriff Deputies. My believe is because SC is a poor state and cannot affort to hire the prosecutors it needs. I see several problems with this practice. One is that it seems to me that the arresting officer has a conflict of interest. A true prosecutor is sworn to seek justice and not be bias. If the arresting officer is the prosecutor then he/she is put in a postition where they must make decisions that might be against their own interest. How is one of these people suppose to dismiss a charge based on an improper arrest for example, when it is this very same officer that made the arrest. I could go on and on about this but I won't. I just wanted to give you some sort or response even though I cannot tell you have this can be corrected. If you care to discuss this you are more than welcome to call or email me. I am duty bound by law to honor the Attorney/Client Privilege and cannot nor will not reveal our conversation to anyone. Thanks for writing. You made some good points. Robert Johnston