How a DUI case moves through Horry County, step by step

1. Arrest and booking

A DUI arrest in Horry County can be made by several agencies: the Myrtle Beach Police, the Horry County Police, the Sheriff's Office, the S.C. Highway Patrol, or the police in North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, or Conway. The agency matters, because it usually decides which court hears the case (step 4). The county jail is the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, run by the Sheriff's Office. If you are trying to find someone, call the arresting agency or the detention center.

If you were asked to take a breath test, the officer also gave you paperwork about it. If you refused or blew 0.15 or more, one of those papers is a Notice of Suspension, and its 30-day clock is already running (step 3).

2. The bond hearing

South Carolina law requires a bond hearing within 24 hours of the arrest for any bailable offense, and release within a reasonable time, no more than four hours, after the bond is delivered to the jail.

The starting point under state law is release on your own recognizance, with no money up front. A judge can instead require a bond with a surety, place you in someone's custody, or set travel or other conditions if the judge decides that is needed to make sure you return to court or to protect the public. In deciding, the court can consider your ties to the area, employment, financial resources, record, and history of missing court dates.

County bond hearings are held at the detention center. The Sheriff's Office says they typically happen at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., subject to the magistrate's schedule, and asks people to call the Magistrate's Office at 843-915-5145 to confirm. Cash and surety bonds are posted at the Magistrate's Office there, which takes cash (in the exact amount), money orders, and major credit cards, but not personal checks.

Myrtle Beach Municipal Court runs its own bond court, which the city lists at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekends, and 9 a.m. on holidays, all subject to change. Call the court before you go.

If a money bond is set that you cannot cover, a licensed bondsman can post it for a fee. The bail guide explains what state law allows a bondsman to charge.

3. The DMV deadline

If you received a Notice of Suspension, you have 30 days from the date it was issued to request a contested case hearing with the S.C. Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings and get a temporary alcohol license. This happens on a separate track from your court case and does not wait for it. The DMV hearing guide explains how to file.

4. Which court will hear the case

Your ticket or warrant lists the court and the first date. As a rule of thumb:

State law lets a first-offense DUI be tried in magistrate court. Higher offenses carry penalties beyond what magistrate and municipal courts can impose, so they start in General Sessions. The solicitor can ask to move a case carrying up to $5,500 or a year to a lower court, but must tell the defendant, who can object.

If the arrest was in Georgetown County

Most of Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, Pawleys Island, and the city of Georgetown are in Georgetown County, and a case that starts there stays in that county. Bond is set at Georgetown County Bond Court at the detention center on Browns Ferry Road in Georgetown. First-offense cases are usually heard by the Georgetown County magistrates, either at the central traffic court on Cleland Street in Georgetown or the Waccamaw Neck office in Pawleys Island, or by a city court for a city arrest; your ticket shows which. Second and later offenses and felony DUI go to General Sessions at the Georgetown County Courthouse, 401 Cleland Street. Georgetown County is in the same Fifteenth Judicial Circuit as Horry County. The DMV deadline and everything after a conviction are the same, because those rules are state law. Addresses and phone numbers are under Georgetown County on the local resources page.

5. A lawyer, or a public defender

You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, you can apply for a public defender. The 15th Circuit Public Defender, which covers Horry and Georgetown counties, says:

• a $40 fee is paid to the Clerk of Court
• it takes about three weeks after your application is received to get a letter naming your attorney
• you will meet a representative of the office at your first court appearance
• you must still go to court on the dates in your bond paperwork, or a bench warrant will be issued

Myrtle Beach Municipal Court also notes that it can appoint a public defender if you cannot afford an attorney, and that failing to appear can result in waiving your right to one. For choosing a private attorney, see the DUI lawyer guide.

6. Trial, plea, or dismissal

A DUI case ends in a dismissal, a plea, or a trial. Pretrial intervention is not available for DUI or DUAC charges under state law.

You have a right to a jury trial. In magistrate court the jury is six people. Myrtle Beach Municipal Court says a jury trial must be requested in writing before your bench trial begins, and that entering a plea before the judge waives the right to a jury. You can request a jury trial in person, by mail, or through the court's online document upload, and the court then mails notice of a jury trial roster meeting.

The possible penalties by offense and BAC level are in the penalties guide.

7. After a conviction

A conviction sets off several requirements, roughly in this order:

1. ADSAP enrollment, the state's alcohol and drug program, through Shoreline Behavioral Health in Conway (ADSAP guide)
2. The ignition interlock program, which is how every offender ends the license suspension (interlock guide)
3. SR-22 proof of insurance, filed by your insurer with the DMV (SR-22 guide)
4. License reinstatement through the DMV once the requirements are met

If you live outside South Carolina, the out-of-state guide explains how these steps reach your home state.