


                                 CONSTITUTION
                                    OF THE
                            STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
                             (as revised to 1981)


                                   ARTICLE I

                             DECLARATION OF RIGHTS


Sec. 1.   All political power is vested in and derived from the people
          only, therefore, they have the right at all times to  modify
          their form of government.

Sec. 2.   The General Assembly shall make no law respecting an  estab-
          lishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise there-
          of, or abridging the freedom  of speech or of the  press; or
          the right of the people  to peaceably to assemble and  peti-
          tion the government or any department thereof for a  redress
          of grievances.

Sec. 3.   The privileges and immunities of citizens of this State  and
          of the United  States under this  Constitution shall not  be
          abridged, nor shall any person be deprived of life, liberty,
          or property without due process of law, nor shall any person
          be denied the equal protection of the laws.

Sec. 4.   No bill of  attainder, ex post facto law, law impairing  the
          obligation  of  contracts,  nor  law  granting  any title of
          nobility or  hereditary emolument,  shall be  passed, and no
          conviction shall work corruption  of blood or forfeiture  of
          estate.

Sec. 5.   All elections  shall be free and open, and  every inhabitant
          of this State possessing the qualifications provided for  in
          this Constitution shall have  an equal right to  elect offi-
          cers and be elected to fill public office.

Sec. 6.   Temporary absence  from the state shall not forfeit  a resi-
          dence once obtained.

Sec. 7.   The power to suspend the laws shall be exercised only by the
          General Assembly or by its authority in particular cases ex-
          pressly provided for by it.

Sec. 8.   In the government of this State, the legislative, executive,
          and judicial powers of the government shall be forever  sep-
          arate and distinct from each other, and no person or persons
          exercising the  functions of  one of  said departments shall
          assume or discharge the duties of any other.

Sec. 9.   All  courts  shall  be public,  and every  person shall have
          speedy remedy therein for wrongs sustained.

Sec. 10.  The right  of the  people  to  be secure  in their  persons,
          houses, papers,  and effects  against unreasonable  searches
          and seizures and unreasonable invasions of privacy shall not
          be violated, and no  warrants shall issue but  upon probable
          cause, supported  by oath  or affirmation,  and particularly
          describing the place to be searched, the person or thing  to
          be seized, and the information to be obtained.

Sec. 11.  No  person shall be held  to answer for any  crime where the
          punishment  exceeds  a  fine  of  two hundred dollars or im-
          prisonment for thirty days,  unless on a presentment  or in-
          dictment of a grand jury of the county where the crime shall
          have been committed, except in cases arising it the land  or
          naval forces  or in  the militia  when in  actual service in
          time of war or public danger. The General Assembly may  pro-
          vide for the waiver of an indictment by the accused.

Sec. 12.  No person shall be subject for the same offense to be  twice
          put in jeopardy of life or liberty, nor shall any person  be
          compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against  him-
          self.

Sec. 13.  Except as  otherwise provided in this Constitution,  private
          property shall not be taken for private use without the con-
          sent of the owner, nor for public use without just compensa-
          tion being first made therefor.

Sec. 14.  The right of trial by jury shall be preserved inviolate. Any
          person charged with  an offense shall  enjoy the right  to a
          speedy and public  trial by an  impartial jury; to  be fully
          informed of the  nature and cause  of the accusation;  to be
          confronted with the witnesses  against him; to have  compul-
          sory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to be
          fully heard in his defense  by himself or by his  counsel or
          both.

Sec. 15.  All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by  suffi-
          cient sureties, but  bail may be  denied to persons  charged
          with capital  offenses or  offenses punishable  by life  im-
          prisonment, giving  due weight  to the  evidence and  to the
          nature and circumstances of the event. Excessive bail  shall
          not be required; nor  shall excessive fines be  imposed; nor
          shall cruel;  nor corporal,  nor unusual  punishment be  in-
          flicted; nor shall witnesses be unreasonably detained.

Sec. 16.  In all indictments  or prosecutions for libel, the truth  of
          the alleged  libel may  be given  in evidence,  and the jury
          shall be the judges of the law and facts.

Sec. 17.  Treason against the State shall consist alone in levying war
          or in giving aid and  comfort to enemies against the  State.
          No person shall be held guilty of treason, except upon  tes-
          timony of at least two  witnesses to the same overt  act, or
          upon confession in open court

Sec. 18.  The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus-
          pended unless  when, in  case of  insurrection, rebellion or
          invasion, the public safety may require it.

Sec. 19.  No  person shall be imprisoned  for debt except in  cases of
          fraud.

Sec. 20.  A well regulated militia being necessary to the security  of
          a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear  arms
          shall not be  infringed. As, in  times of peace,  armies are
          dangerous to liberty, they  shall not be maintained  without
          the consent of the  General Assembly. The military  power of
          the State shall always be held in subordination to the civil
          authority and be governed by  it.  No soldier shall  in time
          of peace be  quartered in any  house without the  consent of
          the owner nor in time of  war but in a manner prescribed  by
          law.

Sec. 21.  No person shall in any case be subject to martial law or  to
          any pains or penalties by  virtue of that law, except  those
          employed in the armed forces  of the United States, and  ex-
          cept the militia in actual service, but by the authority  of
          the General Assembly.

Sec. 22.  No person shall  be  finally bound  by a judicial  or quasi-
          judicial decision of an administrative agency affecting pri-
          vate rights except  on due notice  and an opportunity  to be
          heard; nor shall he be  subject to the same person  for both
          prosecution and  adjudication; nor  shall he  be deprived of
          liberty or property unless by a mode of procedure prescribed
          by the General Assembly, and  he shall have in all  such in-
          stances the right to judicial review.

Sec. 23.  The provisions  of the Constitution shall be  taken, deemed,
          and  construed  to  be  mandatory  and  prohibitory, and not
          merely directory, except  where expressly made  directory or
          permissory by its own terms.


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