A DUI arrest happens fast. One traffic stop on Woodruff Road, a few questions, and you are holding a court date and a notice about your driver’s license.
A charge is not a conviction. The State still has to prove its case, and much of your stop is open to challenge. Legal help early protects your case and your license.
Touma Law Group is a criminal defense law firm that defends people charged with driving under the influence across the Upstate of South Carolina. Our office sits right on Main St. in downtown Greenville, so come in for a free consultation today.
What Your First Two Weeks After A Greenville DUI Arrest Look Like
A South Carolina DUI puts you in two systems at once, and most people learn about the second one too late. The first is the criminal case: the charge on your ticket, with a court date, possible jail time, and a criminal record attached.
The second runs through the DMV. If you refused the breath test, or blew 0.15 percent or higher, your license faces an administrative suspension that starts on its own. It does not wait for the court system.
What matters in those first two weeks:
- Write down what you remember about the stop while it is fresh.
- Check your paperwork for a notice of suspension.
- Request an administrative hearing within 30 days if that notice is there.
- Ask a criminal defense attorney to pull the roadside and breath test video before it is overwritten.
- Say nothing more to police officers about that night.
How South Carolina Defines Driving Under The Influence
South Carolina charges this offense as DUI, not DWI. Under the South Carolina Code of Laws, a driver commits DUI when alcohol, drugs, or both materially and appreciably impair the ability to drive (S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-2930).
The number most people know is 0.08 percent. That is the limit for drivers 21 and older, and a blood alcohol content at or above it supports a separate charge of driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration.
Impairment and alcohol level are not the same thing. Police officers can arrest a driver with a blood alcohol level under 0.08 if they believe impaired driving occurred. Prescription medication and marijuana stops work the same way, and drug possession charges often follow.
Did you know?
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in South Carolina.
What A DUI Conviction Carries In South Carolina
Penalties rise with your blood alcohol concentration and any prior criminal history. A first-time DUI offense is a misdemeanor in magistrate or municipal court:
- Under 0.10 percent: a $400 fine, or 48 hours to 30 days in jail.
- 0.10 to 0.15 percent: a $500 fine, or 72 hours to 30 days in jail.
- 0.16 percent and above: a $1,000 fine, or 30 to 90 days in jail.
Court assessments add to every fine above. A conviction also brings an Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program referral, a license suspension, higher insurance rates, and community service in many sentences.
Since May 19, 2024, South Carolina requires an ignition interlock device after every DUI conviction, including a first offense. That runs six months for a first offense and two years for a second-time DUI. Prior convictions count for ten years when a court decides how to charge a new one.
A conviction stays on your criminal record, and South Carolina does not allow DUI convictions to be expunged.
The 30 Day Clock On Your Driver’s License
Under South Carolina’s implied consent law, driving on state roads means you already agreed to breath, blood, or urine testing after a lawful DUI arrest.
Refusing the test triggers a license suspension on its own, separate from criminal court. A first refusal generally brings six months. A BAC test result of 0.15 percent or higher triggers a suspension even without a conviction.
You have 30 days from the notice of suspension to request a contested case hearing with the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings. Miss it and the right to challenge the suspension goes away. Once the request is filed, you can apply at the DMV for a Temporary Alcohol Driver’s License that keeps you on the road while the administrative proceedings play out.
Field Sobriety Tests, Breathalyzer Results, And What The Video Shows
South Carolina law requires officers to video record both the incident site and the breath test site in most DUI arrests (S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-2953). The recording has to capture any field sobriety test, show you being advised of your Miranda rights, and cover the breath test procedure. Appellate court decisions keep shaping what counts as compliance.
Three Standardized Field Sobriety Tests show up in almost every case:
- Horizontal Gaze and Nystagmus- where an officer watches your eyes track a stimulus.
- Walk and Turn- scored on specific clues as you walk a line.
- One-Leg Stand- scored on balance, swaying, and counting.
None of these are pass or fail. Officers score them against training standards, and weather, uneven pavement, injuries, nerves, and footwear all affect the score.
The Datamaster DMT breath test carries its own rules. Operators must be certified, the machine needs current calibration records, and a 20-minute observation period comes first. Blood cases turn on the blood collection report and the chain of custody behind it.
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Where A DUI Defense Strategy Usually Starts
Every case turns on its own facts, so no honest lawyer promises an outcome. Here is where we look.
- The reason for the stop, and whether law enforcement had a lawful basis for it.
- Whether the implied consent warnings were read and recorded correctly.
- Whether the video matches the officer’s written account of your speech, balance, and driving.
- How each field sobriety test was administered and scored.
- Calibration, operator certification, and the observation period behind any BAC test.
- Your legal rights during questioning, including Miranda rights.
That work sometimes supports a motion to suppress evidence, sometimes a better negotiation, and sometimes a trial.
Greenville Courts And Who Brings These Charges
Most first offense DUI cases here go through Greenville Municipal Court or Greenville County Magistrate Court. A felony DUI offense involving great bodily injury or death moves to General Sessions Court, prosecuted by the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Arrests come from Greenville Police Department officers, Greenville County Sheriff’s Office deputies, and South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers. Each agency handles reports, video, and breath testing differently, and that knowledge is courtroom experience you only get by working these courts. We also take cases in Greer, Simpsonville, Mauldin, Easley, and Spartanburg.
Talk To Someone Before Your First Court Date
Adam Touma founded Touma Law Group after clerking for a 13th Circuit judge and serving as an Assistant Public Defender in Greenville County. He is also a Judge Advocate General officer in the U.S. Army. That background shapes how we build a case: early, organized, and grounded in the record.
We are a veteran-owned firm with a Spanish-speaking paralegal on staff, and our client reviews speak to how we treat people. Contact the Touma Law Group today at (864) 618-2323.
FAQs
Not in every case. A refusal or a reading of 0.15 percent or higher starts a suspension right away, and you have 30 days to request a hearing and apply for a Temporary Alcohol Driver’s License.
You can decline, but refusal carries a license suspension, and the State can tell the jury you refused. Whether that helps or hurts depends on your facts.
These roadside tests are voluntary in South Carolina, and declining one is not disobeying a police command.
No. A first offense is a misdemeanor. DUI becomes a felony when great bodily injury or death results.
A conviction is permanent in the criminal justice system here and cannot be expunged.
