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. ************************** END **************************