Gun owners in South Carolina often have questions about how their rights work in real encounters with law enforcement and the courts. The three questions below cover what happens when police search a car, whether a gun has to be disclosed during a stop, and what happens if bond is denied on a gun charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Police Search Your Car If You Have a Concealed Weapon Permit in South Carolina?
Whether you have a concealed weapon permit or not really has nothing to do with the police and their ability to legally search your car. Car searches are based on probable cause. There’s a lesser standard for the police to pull you over, it’s even less than probable cause, and it’s reasonable suspicion, so that’s almost no standard, just any old reason to pull you over because cars are regulated.
The courts have really restricted your privacy rights, so much so that you almost have none in a car. So the police are approaching the car and they see something that makes them think either a crime has been committed or is being committed, and that could be anything. It could be somebody where they smell somebody smoking marijuana, it could be where somebody looks like they’re holding a beer, it could look like where somebody’s holding a gun.
Under the open carry law in South Carolina, holding the gun is really not a crime. However, just because the law changed a year ago doesn’t mean that changes people’s thinking that has been going on for decades. So if police see you holding a gun, they’re probably going to revert to that’s illegal and it may not be, and then later, if they search based on that, then there could be some issues there.
But the police are able to search your car without a warrant, without a search warrant, if they have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed or is being committed. And so the fact that you have a concealed carry permit really doesn’t affect it one way or the other.
Do You Have to Tell Police You Have a Gun in South Carolina?
I don’t know that there’s a specific law, and I can’t point to one or think of one, where you’re legally required to say, officer, I have a weapon, officer, I have a loaded gun, officer, I have a gun. But almost everybody who’s a law-abiding citizen always tells the police when they arrive that they have a loaded gun, and that just makes sense.
When the police arrive and they’re being called to something where there was danger, something’s going on, they don’t know who’s who, they don’t know who could harm them, and they all have loaded guns and they’re trained to use them, and they may even have their guns out at their side or even pointed at you or other people as they arrive. Legally, I can’t point to a law that says when police arrive you’re required to tell them that you have a weapon.
With South Carolina’s open carry law, the gun can be anywhere, and so if the police officer is getting you out of the car and you stand up and the police officer sees a gun in the car seat where you just stood up, they’re going to have this rush of fear and emotion where they realize they could have been killed because the gun was right next to your hand, and that’s going to change the dynamics of that encounter a lot.
If they discover that you had a gun and you never told them, they’re going to interpret that as somehow you weren’t being honest or you were lying to them.You don’t have to do any of that legally, but it’s going to change the dynamics of the encounter. So legally, do you have to tell the police you have a gun? The answer to that is no, not legally, you do not have to tell them that you have a gun.
Denied Bond for a Gun Charge in South Carolina? What Happens Next
If you go in front of a judge on a charge, you got arrested, you go to a bond hearing, and the judge denies bond or denies bail, it’s a terrible situation to be in. It’s not something that cannot be fixed, but it takes some time, and you’re stuck in jail.
Generally on gun charges, especially the people the firm represents on gun charges, the bail is just routine, you get charged, your bond is set, you get out. In federal court, if you have a criminal history or they see you as a career criminal or a felon in possession of a gun or something like that, they deny bond for everybody for those kinds of charges, drugs and guns, but not for the state court.
Greg McCollum brings roughly 30 years of experience and a background as a former prosecutor to gun charge cases in South Carolina. That combination of courtroom experience on both sides of the case can matter in how a bond hearing, a search-and-seizure issue, or a gun charge is approached.
If you have questions about gun charges in South Carolina, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.
