Kershaw County DUI Guide

South Carolina doesn't generally allow a standard DUI conviction to be expunged — but Kershaw County, through the Fifth Judicial Circuit's DUI Treatment Court, offers a real exception. Plead guilty to enter the 12-month program, and that plea gets held in abeyance while treatment runs its course. Finish successfully, and the state can dismiss the charge entirely, protecting a criminal record that would otherwise carry that conviction for life.

Which Building Made the Arrest Determines the Bond Hearing Schedule

Kershaw County splits bond hearings by arresting agency, and getting this wrong costs real time. If Camden Police Department made the arrest, city judges hold hearings daily from 7:30 to 8 a.m. and again 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. If it was the Sheriff's Office or the Highway Patrol instead, county magistrates sit Monday through Friday at 8 a.m., plus every day of the week from 4 to 5 p.m. Miss the applicable window and the wait is for the next one, full stop.

The Kershaw County Detention Center itself runs a genuinely tighter operation than some of its larger neighbors — recent pretrial data shows 75.4% of low-risk defendants here get released within 24 hours, notably better than the bottlenecks seen at bigger facilities like Richland County's. Shift changes at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. still pause movement and processing for 60 to 120 minutes, so anyone whose bond gets set at the 4 p.m. hearing needs to move fast to finish paperwork before the 7 p.m. lockdown.

Locating a Towed Vehicle

Kershaw County has no central impound lot — a DUI tow goes to whichever private wrecker is next on the rotation, with Wateree Trailer & Supply in Lugoff and Camden Towing among the regular participants. The specific tow slip from the arresting officer names the lot; without it, the detention center's booking desk or the arresting agency's dispatch line can identify which vendor was called.

State regulation caps fees precisely by vehicle class: a standard Class A tow runs $251 with $40 daily storage, up to $511 and $66 respectively for heavier Class C vehicles, and any complex recovery work is billed at $150 an hour in 30-minute increments — worth checking the itemized invoice against, since a company billing a full hour for ten minutes of winching is overcharging. If the arrested driver isn't the registered owner, the actual owner has to show up in person with matching ID; an out-of-state owner needs a notarized authorization letter naming whoever's picking the car up instead. And since a refusal or high BAC means the physical license was confiscated on the spot, whoever retrieves the vehicle needs a second licensed driver along, since the lot won't release a car to someone who can't legally drive it away.

Court and the Jury Trial Delay Tactic

First-offense DUI cases fall under the Kershaw County Magistrate Court's jurisdiction, since the maximum penalty (a $500 fine, 30 days) lines up with what magistrates handle. A magistrate-level charge is normally a bench trial, but any defendant retains the absolute right to demand a jury trial instead — and because the county runs a single countywide jury area, requesting one shifts the case onto a much slower docket. Defense attorneys use this deliberately: as months pass, evidence can weaken (an arresting officer transfers agencies, a civilian witness moves away), and the circuit's Special DUI Prosecutors, dealing with their own backlog, sometimes offer a plea to a lesser charge just to keep the docket moving.

South Carolina's mandatory video-recording requirements for DUI stops are strict enough that many cases in this county end up resolved as a DUAC plea instead of a straight DUI conviction — same practical penalties, but for someone navigating certain employment background checks or professional licensing questions, being able to say they weren't convicted of "DUI" specifically can matter. Courtroom rules are otherwise standard for the state: a strict, conservative dress code, phones that have to be silenced or off inside the courtroom itself (not just on the way in), and a ringing phone risking confiscation or a contempt citation with potential added jail time.

The License Fight Has Its Own Deadline and Its Own Rules

A refusal or a BAC of 0.15% or higher triggers an on-the-spot license suspension, entirely separate from whatever happens in the criminal case — winning the criminal trial does not automatically protect the license. Contesting the suspension means requesting a Contested Case Hearing from the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings within exactly 30 calendar days of the notice, with a non-refundable $200 filing fee. The OMVH hearing officer isn't deciding guilt at all — just whether the stop had probable cause, whether implied consent rights were read on video as required, and whether the breath-testing equipment was properly calibrated and administered.

Filing that hearing request doesn't restore driving privileges by itself. The OMVH receipt has to be taken to a local SCDMV branch to apply for a Temporary Alcohol Restricted License, for an additional $100, which allows legal driving while the hearing (which can take months to schedule) is pending. Attorneys have to file OMVH cases through the state's mandatory e-filing system as of August 2025; a defendant representing themselves can still use traditional mail. One detail worth knowing: even a defendant who ultimately loses the OMVH hearing may still qualify for a Route Restricted License on a first offense, allowing driving strictly to work, school, or court-mandated treatment — but only if that person has never used a route-restricted license before in their lifetime.

ADSAP, Interlock, and Monitoring

Completing the state's Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program is required for any DUI or DUAC conviction, or any administrative suspension, and Kershaw County residents are served locally by ALPHA Behavioral Health Center in Camden using the "Prime for Life" curriculum. Enrollment requires a specific document packet — photo ID, arrest paperwork, a current 10-year driving record, the SCDMV reinstatement letter, a medication list — and missing even one piece gets the intake appointment rejected outright. ALPHA also runs a sliding-fee scale tied to federal poverty guidelines and accepts Medicaid, a real help given how quickly towing, bail, legal fees, OMVH costs, and interlock leases can add up.

Ignition interlock installation is available locally through an Intoxalock center in the Lugoff/Elgin corridor, sparing residents a tow to Columbia if the device malfunctions, plus regional Sens-O-Lock and Smart Start options. For continuous alcohol monitoring, ordered as a bond condition or as part of the DUI Treatment Court program, the area is served by regional SCRAM-authorized providers based in Lancaster, Columbia, and Rock Hill.