S*828 Session 103 (1979-1980)
S*0828(Rat #0634, Act #0511 of 1980) General Bill, By J.V. Smith, H.A. Chapman,
J.R. Richardson and D.S. Taylor
A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Sections
16-3-625 so as to make it unlawful and a felony for any person seventeen years
of age or older to resist arrest by a law enforcement officer with the use of
a deadly weapon and to provide penalties for violations, including a mandatory
term of imprisonment; to amend Section 16-1-10, relating to crimes classified
as felonies, so as to include a violation of Section 16-3-625 therein; and to
amend Chapter 9 of Title 16, relating to offenses against public justice, so
as to codify various common law crimes, to provide penalties for violations of
such crimes to provide certain conditions when a person shall not be
prosecuted for the commission of such crimes, and to provide that injunctive
or other civil relief against such conduct shall not be denied on the ground
that the conduct constitues a crime.-at
02/05/80 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-31
02/05/80 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-31
04/24/80 Senate Recalled from Committee on Judiciary SJ-7
05/01/80 Senate Amended SJ-17
05/01/80 Senate Read second time SJ-17
05/01/80 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
amendments SJ-17
05/07/80 Senate SPECIAL ORDER SET AFTER ALL OTHER SPECIAL ORDERS SJ-7
05/08/80 Senate Amended SJ-9
05/08/80 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-9
05/13/80 House Introduced and read first time HJ-2770
05/13/80 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-2771
05/28/80 House Recalled from Committee on Judiciary HJ-3330
06/03/80 House Debate adjourned HJ-3450
06/04/80 House Debate adjourned HJ-3521
06/04/80 House Reconsidered HJ-3526
06/04/80 House Amended HJ-3526
06/04/80 House Read second time HJ-3529
06/05/80 House READ THIRD TIME HJ-3621
06/05/80 House Returned HJ-3621
06/05/80 Senate Concurred in House amendment and enrolled SJ-19
06/05/80 Senate Ratified R 634 SJ-386
06/11/80 Signed By Governor
06/11/80 Effective date 06/11/80
06/11/80 Act No. 511
06/27/80 Copies available
(A511, R634, S828)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION
16-3-625, SO AS TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL AND A FELONY FOR ANY PERSON SEVENTEEN
YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER TO RESIST ARREST BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WITH THE
USE OF A DEADLY WEAPON, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS, INCLUDING A
MANDATORY TERM OF IMPRISONMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 16-1-10, RELATING TO CRIMES
CLASSIFIED AS FELONIES, SO AS TO INCLUDE A VIOLATION OF SECTION 16-3-625
THEREIN; AND TO AMEND CHAPTER 9 OF TITLE 16, RELATING TO OFFENSES AGAINST
PUBLIC JUSTICE, SO AS TO CODIFY VARIOUS COMMON LAW CRIMES, TO PROVIDE
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF SUCH CRIMES, TO PROVIDE CERTAIN CONDITIONS WHEN A
PERSON SHALL NOT BE PROSECUTED FOR THE COMMISSION OF SUCH CRIMES, AND TO
PROVIDE THAT INJUNCTIVE OR OTHER CIVIL RELIEF AGAINST SUCH CONDUCT SHALL NOT
BE DENIED ON THE GROUND THAT THE CONDUCT CONSTITUTES A CRIME.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Penalty
Section 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 16-3-625. Any person seventeen years of age or older who
resists the lawful efforts of a law enforcement officer to arrest him or her
or any other person with the use or threat of use of any deadly weapon against
the officer, when such person is in possession or claims to be in possession
of a deadly weapon, shall be deemed guilty of a felony and upon conviction
shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than ten nor less than two
years. No sentence imposed hereunder for a first offense shall be suspended to
less than six months nor shall the persons so sentenced be eligible for parole
until after service of six months. No person sentenced under this section for
a second or subsequent offense shall have such sentence suspended to less than
two years nor shall such person be eligible for parole until after service of
two years.
As used in this section 'deadly weapon' shall mean a shotgun, rifle, pistol
or knife.
This section shall in no manner affect or replace the common law crime of
assault and battery with intent to kill nor shall it apply if the sentencing
judge in his discretion elects to sentence an eligible defendant under the
provisions of the 'Youthful Offenders Act'."
Felonies specified
Section 2. Section 16-1-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-1-10. The crimes referred to in the following sections:
Sections 16-1-40 (accessory before the fact in the commission of a felony);
16-3-10 (murder); 16-3-30 (killing by poison); 16-3-40 (killing by stabbing or
thrusting); 16-3-50 (manslaughter); 16-3-70 (administering or attempting to
administer poison); 16-3-210 and 16-3-220 (lynching); 16-3-410 (challenging or
accepting challenge to duel); 16-3-430 (killing in duel); 16-3-620 (assault
and battery with intent to kill); 16-3-630 and 16-3-640 (rape and assault with
intent to ravish); 16-3-650 (carnal knowledge of woman child); 16-3-910
(kidnapping); 16-3-920 (conspiracy to kidnap); 16-9-10 to 16-9-40 (perjury and
subornation of perjury); 16-9-210 (bribery); 16-9-220 (accepting bribes);
16-9-260 (corrupting jurors and others); 16-9-270 (acceptance of bribes by
jurors and others); 16-9-410 (aiding escape from prison and rescuing
prisoner); 16-9-420 (aiding escape from officer or other person); 16-11-110
(arson); 16-11-310 (burglary); 16-11-320 (housebreaking); 16-11-330 (robbery
while armed with a deadly weapon); 16-11-350 (train robbery); 16-11-360
(robbery on trains); 16-11-380 (entering bank, etc., with intent to steal);
16-11-390 (safecracking); 16-11-540 (damaging, destroying, etc., building,
vehicle or other property by means of explosive or incendiary); 16-11-550
(threatening to kill, injure or intimidate individual or damage or destroy
property by means of explosive or incendiary); 16-13-10 (forgery); 16-13-210
(embezzlement of public funds); 16-13-230 (breach of trust with fraudulent
intent); 16-15-10 (bigamy); 16-15-120 (buggery); 16-17-470 (eavesdropping or
peeping); 23-29-60 and 23-29-90 (registration of members of subversive
organizations); 24-3-950 (furnishing contraband to prisoners); 25-7-20 to
25-7-70 (spying and sabotage of war effort); 44-41-80(a) (illegal abortion);
the crimes of treason, attempt to rape, robbery and highway robbery, grand
larceny and mayhem; 16-3-625 (resisting arrest by a law enforcement officer
with use or threat of use of a deadly weapon); and all other criminal offenses
punishable under the laws of this State which were felonies under the common
law are hereby classified as and declared to be felonies."
Common law crimes codified
Section 3. The 1976 Code is amended by adding to Chapter 9 of Title 16:
"Article 4
Section 16-9-310. For purposes of this article 'law enforcement officer'
shall mean any duly appointed or commissioned law enforcement officer of the
State, a county or municipality.
Section 16-9-320. Any person who knowingly and wilfully:
(a) Opposes or resists any law enforcement officer in serving, executing or
attempting to serve or execute any legal writ or process or who resists any
lawful arrest, whether under process or not, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than five hundred
dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one
year, or both;
(b) Assaults, beats or wounds any law enforcement officer engaged in
serving, executing or attempting to serve or execute any legal writ or process
or who assaults, beats or wounds such officer when such person is resisting
any lawful arrest, whether under process or not, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one thousand
dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than ten
years, or both.
Section 16-9-330. Any person who:
(a) Being duly served with a subpoena legally issued in any cause pending in
any court or in any matter before any legal authority, shall refuse or
wilfully fail to obey such subpoena or shall secrete himself shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one
hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more
than six months, or both;
(b) Being present before any court and being called upon to give testimony,
shall refuse to take an oath or affirmation or, being sworn or affirmed, shall
refuse to answer any questions required by such court shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than one hundred
dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not more than
six months, or both. Nothing in this item shall be construed to prohibit or
punish the exercise by any person of his right not to be compelled to
incriminate himself, as set forth in the Constitutions of this State and the
United States and construed by the courts of this State and the United States.
Section 16-9-340. Any person who by threats or force shall intimidate or
impede any judge, magistrate, juror, witness or potential juror or witness,
arbiter, commissioner or member of any commission of this State or any other
official of any court, in the discharge of his duty as such, or by threats or
force shall destroy or impede or attempt to obstruct or impede the
administration of justice in any court shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and upon conviction shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more
than two thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
Section 16-9-350. Any person who attempts personally or through third
parties to influence the action or decision of any grand or petit juror of any
court in this State or any prospective juror, upon any issue or matter which
is or may be pending before such juror or before the jury of which he is or
may become a member, by writing or sending him any written communication or
making any oral communication relating to such issue or matter, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more
than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the communication of
a request to appear before the grand jury, or other communication authorized
by the court.
Section 16-9-360. Any person who knowingly and wilfully, without
authorization of the court, by any means or device, records or attempts to
record the proceedings of any grand or petit jury in any court of this State
while such jury is investigating or deliberating shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than five hundred
dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.
Section 16-9-370. Any person who, knowing of the commission of an offense,
takes any money or reward, upon an agreement or undertaking expressed or
implied, to compound or conceal such offense or not to prosecute or give
evidence shall:
(a) If such offense is a felony be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon
conviction be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more
than one year, or both;
(b) If such offense is a misdemeanor be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned not
more than three months, or both.
Section 16-9-380. This article codifies various common law crimes and
supersedes them but no person shall be prosecuted or convicted for the
commission of the crimes defined herein if a contempt proceeding is instituted
against him in any court of this State on account of conduct defined as a
crime herein nor shall injunctive or other civil relief against such conduct
be denied upon the ground that the conduct constitutes a crime. If any other
statute of this State more specifically describes and prohibits the conduct
also prohibited in this article and provides penalties, that statute shall
govern and no prosecution may be instituted under this article."
Time effective
Section 4. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor. |