MADD SOUTH CAROLINA - 2021 CM Report

MADD South Carolina counts a DUAC as “guilty” just like a DUI in our court monitoring reports because the penalties are equivalent.

• Technology In the Courtroom. Another result of court closures was that

technology in the courtroom became a big topic. After extended court closures, Chief Justice Beatty signed an executive order on August 27, 2021 granting the use of remote communication technology and enhanced remote communication technology in the courtroom. This technology would include the use of conference calls, Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Team or any other form of technology that allows audio or both audio and video to be shared. This was a significant initiative, as the backlog of court cases had only been growing since the start of COVID. During this time, prosecutors were under heavy pressure to move cases, but their hands were tied due to ongoing COVD rules, regulations, and restrictions. Allowing the use of technology in the courtroom relieved a lot of this pressure and allowed for a way to move some cases. However, the order did allow for judges to use their own discretion, so while many judges took advantage of the opportunity to still hold court and move cases, some judges did not. MADD is hopeful that even post-COVID technology will still be allowed to be used.

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