Legal Question in Traffic Law in South Carolina

Re: Right to Trial by Jury, South Carolina, disregard of a stop sign

It might work, and it very easily might not work. Usually the judges are very accommodating to officers that do not show up. There are many times when the officer has a very valid reason for not making it to court. These people work different shifts, sometimes double shifts, sometimes they are dealing with emergencies at the time of the court hearing, sometimes they are in certain training courses, etc. So the judges will often just continue the case until the officer can be there. Of course, if the judge thinks that the officer should have been there, then the judge has the legal right to dismiss the charge. But there is no way of knowing in advance what the judge will do. Nor is there anyway of knowing in advance if the officer will show or not. In my experience, and I have handled countless traffic offenses in South Carolina, if the officer does not show, then someone from the court will call the officer and tell them to come over. Good luck.