• Jury Trials: “The best tool has been taken from us”. One of the main DUI prosecution issues caused by the COVID pandemic is the massive backlog of pending cases. Courts were closed in South Carolina for multiple periods throughout 2020 and 2021 due to COVID restrictions and lockdowns. Some courts in South Carolina did not resume normal traffic court until early in 2022. This led to a backlog of thousands of cases and a jury trial roster nightmare. Prosecutors emphasized that jury trials or the threat of a jury trial is their best tool when it comes to prosecuting DUI cases. With all of the COVID-related court closures, the prosecutor’s tool of a jury trial was largely taken away for large stretches of time, especially in a county like Richland County where they suspended regular court proceedings the longest. Taking away the option of jury trials caused major backlogs in cases in most counties. One Upstate county reported that they had more than 2,100 pending jury trial cases at one point. • Backlogs: “Feeling the Pressure”. We heard multiple accounts that some judges were uncomfortable with the massive backlog of cases and were pressuring prosecutors to move cases as quickly as possible. When cases need to move fast, plea deals are very likely. Sometimes cases are just dismissed completely to keep the pipeline moving. • Continuing to Move Cases. While COVID created all sorts of challenges, attorneys, prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement were sometimes able to find ways to move cases despite court closures. During the closures, some prosecutors spent a lot of time watching videos, evaluating them, and determining what, if anything, would be picked apart by the defense. This moved a lot of cases because prosecution was able to weed out weak cases that would best be handled via some sort of plea versus a trial. Very strong cases could be communicated to the defense as such in hopes of getting a guilty plea. Another method used were status conferences. During these conferences the prosecution and defense would meet, sometimes virtually and sometimes in person, to discuss cases and what would be the best plan of action to adjudicate certain pending cases. Having these conferences cut down on the number of continuances needing to be granted and was especially helpful on prosecution friendly cases. A third method that was used to move cases was to have defendants submit guilty pleas via affidavit. Courts even waived the requirement to have the affidavits notarized, which increased convenience and ensured COVID health and safety precautions were being maintained. Several counties also accepted a high amount of Driving with an Unlawful Alcohol Concentration (DUAC) pleas. This benefited the prosecution because the charge carries equivalent consequences to a DUI, while also sometimes being perceived as a benefit by the offender because they can say they did not get a DUI. Note:
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