If you go to Furman University or Clemson University and you get arrested, the police report is only the first problem. A single student arrest can open two cases at once: one in the South Carolina criminal justice system, and one inside your school’s own conduct process. They do not run on the same rules, and one does not control the other.
We are Touma Law Group, a South Carolina criminal defense lawyer firm with an office in Greenville. This page is general information. A licensed South Carolina attorney at our firm must review the facts of a case before anyone relies on it.
University Responses to Student Arrests
A charge is not a conviction. But a university does not have to wait for a court verdict before it looks at a student’s conduct. Clemson’s Office of Community and Ethical Standards says that students who are alleged to have violated public law may also have violated a student regulation, that the university can process a case separately from the criminal justice system, and that if criminal charges are dropped, the office will continue with its process (Clemson OCES FAQs). Furman says student conduct action may be taken on the basis of any conduct, on or off campus, that would violate its Student Conduct Code or local, state, or federal laws, and that criminal or civil acts may also be referred to the appropriate court or police (Furman Student Conduct Procedures).
That matters because the two systems use different rules. In a criminal case, the State must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Both schools describe a lower standard for conduct cases, called preponderance of the evidence, which means it is more likely than not that the student violated the conduct code (Clemson OCES Student Conduct; Furman Student Conduct Procedures). A student can therefore face a school process even when a criminal case ends in a dismissal or a not guilty finding.
Clemson says its conduct process can include a one-on-one conference with a hearing officer, a Student Judicial Board presentation, or an Administrative Hearing, and that it sends notices through the student’s Clemson email (Clemson OCES Student Conduct). At Furman, the Dean of Students Office resolves alleged conduct violations through processes that include an informal Remediation and a formal Accountability Hearing (Furman Student Conduct Procedures). A student facing a school case should read the school’s current notice and procedures, confirm the process with the school, and treat it as seriously as the court date.
Related: Have you been arrested for an
? Contact Touma Law today!
Legal Procedures and Campus Policies
Here is the short version of what can happen after a student arrest:
- Campus police or local police or sheriff’s deputies, depending on where the incident happened, make the arrest and file a report.
- The case moves into the South Carolina criminal justice system, where a criminal defense lawyer handles the criminal side.
- Separately, the school’s conduct office can open its own review of the same incident.
- The two cases move on their own timelines. A dismissal in one does not automatically end the other.
Common Campus Charges
Charges can come from campus police or from the local police or sheriff’s office, depending on where an incident takes place. Charges students may face include:
- Underage alcohol possession or consumption, which is a misdemeanor for a person under 21 (S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-2440), and public intoxication paired with disorderly conduct.
- Simple possession of marijuana or other drugs, which can lead to drug tests, drug counseling, or a drug rehabilitation program referral as part of a plea agreement.
- Criminal trespass tied to a no trespass notice.
- Assault and battery from off-campus altercations (S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-600).
- Weapon possession, which a school may also address under its own conduct code. Furman’s Student Conduct Code, for example, has a separate section on weapons (Furman Student Conduct Code).
- DUI, which can also lead to a separate driver’s license suspension process. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-2951, the Department of Motor Vehicles suspends a license after a test refusal or a high alcohol concentration, and the driver can request a hearing before the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings within 30 days of the notice of suspension.
South Carolina’s public disorderly conduct law covers being found in a public place in a grossly intoxicated condition or otherwise conducting yourself in a disorderly or boisterous manner. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 16-17-530, it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days. The statute does not define “disorderly” or “boisterous,” so what counts can depend on the facts.
Why a Criminal Record Hits a College Student Differently
For most adults, a criminal record is a background check problem down the road. For a college student, it can also affect school itself. The federal rules on student aid have changed. The U.S. Department of Education says that having a drug conviction while receiving federal student aid no longer affects a student’s eligibility for federal Title IV aid (U.S. Department of Education). State aid is different. Furman’s Student Conduct Code notes that eligibility for certain South Carolina state-funded scholarships may be affected by felony convictions or by second or later alcohol- or drug-related misdemeanor convictions, as provided under South Carolina law (Furman Student Conduct Code). A student should ask the school’s financial aid office about the specific aid they receive.
A school conduct finding can lead to consequences. Furman’s procedures list possible outcomes such as disciplinary probation, restrictions on campus access, loss of campus housing privileges, suspension, expulsion, and withholding of a degree, and say the right outcome depends on the case (Furman Student Conduct Procedures). Clemson’s possible outcomes are described in its Student Code of Conduct, which a student should read.
Conduct records are also an education-records question. Federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, generally limits what a school may disclose from a student’s education records (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R. part 99). Furman says a Remediation does not create a conduct record to be shared externally, while an Accountability Hearing does, in accordance with FERPA (Furman Student Conduct Procedures). Applications for graduate programs, licenses, and jobs may ask about arrests or convictions, so read each question carefully and ask an attorney how to answer if you are unsure.
None of this means a single charge ends a student’s path. It means the stakes are wider than the courtroom, and the decisions made in the first few days after an arrest tend to matter most.
USC student arrest? Learn more about how our
Columbia college student defense lawyer
can help you.
Possible Penalties and Why They Vary
Penalties depend on the specific charge, the student’s prior record, and how the case is handled early on. Public disorderly conduct carries a fine of up to $100 or up to 30 days in jail. A first-time offender may be eligible for a conditional discharge with approval of the circuit solicitor, where the court defers the case, places the person on probation, and dismisses the proceedings when the conditions are met. A conditional discharge under that statute can happen only once for any person (S.C. Code Ann. § 16-17-530).
For simple possession, a person with no earlier drug or marijuana offense may be eligible for a conditional discharge under S.C. Code Ann. § 44-53-450. After a first offense simple possession conviction, a person may apply to the circuit court for expungement three years after completing the sentence, and the court may issue an order if the person has had no other convictions in that period (S.C. Code Ann. § 22-5-930). A negotiated plea agreement can sometimes change a charge or lead to a program, but no result can be promised. These rules can change, so any specific penalty or expungement timeline should be confirmed with an attorney. This is general information, not legal advice for a specific case.
Legal Defense Considerations For a Student Facing Charges
There is no single approach that fits every case, but a few things matter across most student arrests. Talk with a lawyer before you discuss the incident with campus police, local police, roommates, or on social media, and before you make a statement in a school conduct process, because what you say in one process can come up in the other. You have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney when questioned in custody (Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)).
The two schools handle outside help differently. Clemson’s FAQ says students do not need an attorney present during its discipline process. Furman allows a support person from its faculty, staff, or student body at an Accountability Hearing, but says that parents, guardians, and attorneys may not serve in that role. Ask the school about its current rules before a meeting or hearing.
Depending on the charge and record, pretrial intervention or conditional discharge may be options in some cases. Pretrial intervention is run by the circuit solicitor and certain charges are excluded (S.C. Code Ann. § 17-22-50); when a person successfully completes the program, the solicitor effects a noncriminal disposition of the charge (S.C. Code Ann. § 17-22-150). A student facing both a court date and a conduct process should coordinate the two and note every deadline in any notice from the school.
Most student arrest cases also turn on a narrow set of evidence: the police report, any dashcam or body camera footage, and, in alcohol or drug stops, field sobriety tests and chemical tests measuring blood alcohol content. A lawyer can ask for and review this evidence early.
An attorney can review the facts of a specific arrest and lay out the options. No outcome can be promised in advance, and every case depends on its own facts. Contact a criminal defense lawyer before the first hearing or court date.
Did you know? Touma Law Group offers
.
Talk With Touma Law Group
A single arrest near a college campus can lead to a court case and a school case at the same time. If you or your student was arrested near Furman or Clemson, contact our Greenville office at (864) 618-2323 for a free case review.
An arrest record can appear on some background checks even without a conviction, depending on how the record is reported and whether it has been expunged. When a charge is dismissed, discharged, or ends in a not guilty finding, a person may be able to have the record expunged (S.C. Code Ann. § 17-1-40). Speak with an attorney about expungement eligibility for the specific charge and outcome.
It depends on the aid. The U.S. Department of Education says a drug conviction no longer affects eligibility for federal Title IV aid, but eligibility for certain South Carolina state-funded scholarships may be affected by some convictions, according to Furman’s Student Conduct Code. A student in this situation should talk to the school’s financial aid office and an attorney.
Some convictions can become eligible for expungement after a waiting period. For example, a conviction for a crime with a penalty of no more than 30 days or a $1,000 fine may be eligible after three years if the person has no other conviction in that period (S.C. Code Ann. § 22-5-910), although that statute does not apply to an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle, such as DUI, and a first offense simple possession conviction may be eligible three years after the sentence is completed (S.C. Code Ann. § 22-5-930). Eligibility depends on the exact charge and outcome, so this should be confirmed with an attorney.
