Senate Amendment 3A
H 3532 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
Bond Reform

Senator Harpootlian proposes the following amendment (SMIN-3532.MW0049S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:

SECTION X. Chapter 15, Title 17 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 17-15-280.(A) To protect the fundamental rights of the accused and to advance the State's interest in speedy resolution of criminal trials, any person charged with a noncapital offense who is denied bond shall be brought to trial within one year of arrest or be released on his own recognizance.

(B) It shall be the duty of the court to ensure that the defendant is tried within the time specified above. No trial shall commence unless the prosecuting attorney first certifies to the court that discovery was fully produced at least thirty days prior and that all exculpatory information possessed by the prosecution team, including law enforcement, has been disclosed to the defendant and his counsel.

(C) Any extension of time requested and obtained by the defendant, on any delay attributable to the defendant's post-arrest conduct, shall be excluded from any calculation of the trial deadline.

(D) Any court of competent jurisdiction that finds that a defendant has not been brought to trial within the time set forth above, shall release the defendant on his own recognizance pursuant to conditions set forth in Section 17-15-10(A), unless good cause be shown to the court and the court makes a finding of fact, memorialized in written order, and a certain trial date set.