South Carolina Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in South Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can a South Carolina city pass its own hate crimes ordinance when the state legislature has not enacted a hate crimes law?
Probably not, if the ordinance creates a criminal penalty. The AG concluded that a Greenwood-style hate crimes ordinance is at strong risk of being struck down as preempted by Article VIII, § 14(5) of…
Can South Carolina police still charge students who fight at school under a city disorderly conduct ordinance?
Probably yes for the 'fighting' part, in the AG's view. Federal courts struck down South Carolina's disorderly conduct statute (§ 16-17-530) as unconstitutionally vague as applied to students, but Roc…
Can a city council get legal advice outside a public meeting and bind future councils to a city attorney's term?
On the open-meetings question, yes; on binding future councils, no. The Attorney General concluded the Freedom of Information Act does not restrict a city council or its members to requesting legal ad…
Can a South Carolina city make its nuisance ordinance enforceable only when three 'responsible citizens' report a violation to the municipal judge?
The AG raised serious doubts but stopped short of striking it down. A city can choose whether to enforce its ordinances, but the office flagged that conditioning a nuisance ordinance on a report by th…
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Attorney general opinions in South Carolina are written by the South Carolina Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.