South Carolina General Assembly
116th Session, 2005-2006

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Bill 293


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 17-13-47 SO AS TO ALLOW A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER EMPLOYED BY A NEIGHBORING STATE TO ENTER SOUTH CAROLINA IN FRESH PURSUIT OF A PERSON WHO IS IN FLIGHT FROM THE COMMISSION OF A CRIMINAL OFFENSE IN THE NEIGHBORING STATE AND TO ARREST THE PERSON, TO PROVIDE FOR A PROCEDURE TO DETERMINE THE LAWFULNESS OF THE ARREST, THE RELEASE OF THE PERSON ARRESTED, AND THE EXTRADITION OF THE ARRESTED PERSON, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THIS SECTION APPLIES ONLY TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY A NEIGHBORING STATE WHEN HIS STATE HAS ENACTED A PROVISION SIMILAR TO THIS SECTION RELATING TO THE ARREST AND CUSTODY OF A PERSON PURSUED INTO A NEIGHBORING STATE.

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

SECTION    1.    Chapter 13, Title 17 of the 1976 Code, is amended by adding:

"Section 17-13-47.    (A)    A law enforcement officer employed by a Georgia or North Carolina law enforcement agency who enters this State in fresh pursuit of a person who is in immediate and continuous flight from the commission of a criminal offense has the same authority to arrest and hold in custody the person on the ground that he has committed a criminal offense in another state which is a criminal offense under the laws of this State as a law enforcement officer of this State.

(B)    When an arrest is made in this State by a law enforcement officer of another state pursuant to subsection (A), the law enforcement officer must, without unnecessary delay, take the person arrested before a judicial official of this State. The judicial official must conduct a hearing for the purpose of determining the lawfulness of the arrest. If the judicial official determines that the arrest was lawful, he must commit the person arrested to await a reasonable time for the issuance of an extradition warrant by the Governor of this State. If the judicial official determines that the arrest was unlawful, he must discharge the person arrested.

(C)    This section applies only to a law enforcement officer employed by either Georgia or North Carolina if his state has enacted a provision similar to this section relating to the arrest and custody of a person pursued into a neighboring state."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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