Bill 828

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               828
Ratification Number:       634
Act Number                 511
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Resisting arrest with the use of a
                           deadly weapon

(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.