I’m a tourist visiting South Carolina? Do I have to come back for court?

Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places.

One of the most beautiful states in the union, South Carolina is home to visitors from around the globe all year long. From the Grand Strand of Myrtle Beach to historic Charleston to the beautiful beaches and golf courses of Bluffton, Beaufort and Hilton Head, the coast of South Carolina has much to offer tourists visiting this beautiful state. And while on vacation it has happened that someone enjoys themselves too much and operates a motor vehicle. Ultimately, they are charged with DUI and they need help. In this case I have been retained to help this person who is visiting. I had a client from Kentucky not too long ago. He was on vacation with his buddies on a golf trip. After a long day of golf my client was driving his friends back to the condo and was pulled for not turning on his blinker. The car smelled like a bunch of golfers who had been playing golf all day (like Budweiser). Therefore, the police officer asked the driver to step out of the car and perform field sobriety tests– just for good measure and then he could drive on back to the condo. Yeah right.

The gentleman "fails" the field sobriety test. He seem to do fine on it. He did not blow when offered the breath test. He was charged with DUI.

My client’s main concern was having to return to SC for court. I assured him once I was retained the only reason he would need to come back for court would be if the case went forward on a jury trial. I further assured him that most cases do not tend to make it that far and that we usually find a positive resolution to the case– all without him returning to South Carolina ever.

Long story short: If you live out of town from where you were charged with the DUI, your lawyer can keep you from having to come back for court, most likely ever.