Getting arrested in South Carolina sets off a specific process: booking at the jail, waiting for a warrant to be served, and then a bond hearing where a judge decides on release. Below, Greg McCollum walks through what happens immediately after an arrest, how the warrant and bond hearing process works, and how long police can legally hold someone before that hearing takes place.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Get Out of Jail After an Arrest in South Carolina?
You can be arrested and taken to jail and charged with a felony, but you don’t have a warrant yet. Or you could be arrested for a misdemeanor, either the police saw you do it or it’s freshly committed, and you don’t have a warrant yet. So before you can go in front of a judge, a judge has to sign a warrant. And the warrant has to be served on you, which basically means they hand it to you and read it to you so you understand what you’re charged with. So in order to go to a bond hearing, you have to be served with the warrant. That, in another situation, could be complicated by, let’s say, you’re being arrested on an out of state warrant from somewhere else, but I won’t go into that right now. So you’re arrested, you’re taken into custody, a warrant is served on you, and then you’re going to go to a bond hearing. When you go to a bond hearing, the judge is trying to determine are you a flight risk, are you a danger to the community, and what conditions will make sure the community is safe and make sure you’ll come back for court. So that’s generally what’s going to happen when you’re arrested.
How Long Can Police Hold You Before a Bond Hearing in South Carolina?
It’s technically supposed to be 24 hours. Realistically in our state it has gotten a lot better, so it’s probably more like 12 hours. The summary courts and the courts in general have done a really good job in South Carolina of having these bond hearings twice a day, seven days a week. Bond hearings happen in South Carolina in different jurisdictions, in North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, and Conway. They’re happening at the same time every day for those different jurisdictions. So the bond hearings are frequent, as they should be, and you should get to a bond hearing fairly quickly.
How long you can be held without a bond hearing depends on the circumstances. Sometimes you’ll see cases where police are doing an investigation. They don’t want witnesses to talk to each other, so they put a hold on somebody. Now, these are more serious cases, sometimes drug arrests or a drug search where they’re going to search a place and bust somebody. It’s not as bad as it used to be. Sometimes in those situations, they would say they could hold somebody for 72 hours, and we would argue with them and say that they couldn’t. But under some special circumstances, the person could have a hold on them with no warrants served. The other thing is they could have one warrant served and have a hold for other warrants because they’re getting more warrants, so the person can’t have a bond hearing because they haven’t been served all the warrants. So the police can control that to some degree. In a serious case, say it’s going to take them another two days to get these warrants finalized, then you’re held for that period of time awaiting those warrants. In those kinds of extreme situations, this thing could drag on for several days.
What Happens Immediately After You’re Arrested in South Carolina?
You’re handcuffed and transported, that’s when you’re arrested. You’re handcuffed, you’re put in a patrol vehicle, you’re driven to a jail, you’re taken in, walked into the jail, they’re taking your handcuffs off of you, they’re going to take a picture of you, they’re going to fingerprint you. Depending on what you’re being charged with, they may take a swab to collect your DNA for a database. They’re going to take your clothes from you and tell you to put on this jail suit, and take your shoes from you and give you these little slipper things you have to wear. Then they’re going to take you and put you in a holding cell, and that’s what’s going to happen. Now you should be awaiting a bond hearing. But in Myrtle Beach there are some other jails, like North Myrtle Beach, where people are being charged with more petty crimes, and they’re not dressed out and put in a jail suit. So it’s possible that you don’t go through that, but it also happens a lot as well. It depends on which jail you go to, but that’s the process. That’s what’s going to happen, and then you should be waiting for a bond hearing.
With nearly 30 years of experience and a background as a former prosecutor, Greg McCollum brings a working knowledge of how South Carolina’s arrest, warrant, and bond hearing process actually unfolds in Horry County courts. That combination of experience can matter when someone is trying to understand what’s happening in the hours after an arrest and what to expect at a bond hearing.
If you have questions about an arrest or bond hearing in South Carolina, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.
