I recently arrived in S. Carolina. I made the mistake of going through this town on a couple of occasions. The very first time I got a ticket. I plead guilty because I did not have the time or resources to deal with it having just moved. The fees were reduced in half. The cop was mad, because I had the judge convinced to drop the charges and he protested. Come to find out this is a scam that the City of Mauldin Court system does. They charge you twice the amount allowed by law by the State of South Carolina, and then offer to reduce the charges in half if you plead guilty.
Anyhow the next time that cop saw me he pulled me over again and claimed I was doing 60 in a 40, which I was not. He issued me another ticket, and got me for an expired plate which I had been trying to get a S. Carolina plate issued. I explained to him that I was on the way back to the DMV at that very time, because S. Carolina refused to give me a plate without my Florida registration, and that Florida just kept telling me they were mailing it to me. He didn't care that I was doing everything in my power to comply with this law, or that the DMV was denying me a plate with no legal grounds to do so. Meanwhile, I am living 30 miles in the middle of no where with no other transportation.
Anyhow, the cop failed to show up for court on my trial date, great right, no! In Florida it would have been dismissed as you have a right to face your accuser in court.
By the way, in S.C. citizens have no rights. I was told that the magistrate or admin. judge would reschedule my court date, so I asked her why the officer failed to appear in court, she stated that she would not disclose this, just that she deemed it a valid reason.
Since then I have filed a motion of discovery, and requested a jury trial. Both the Clerk of the Court and the Mauldin Police Dept. have failed completely to provide the requested information. The Police Dept. even hiring a lawyer to fight me in court. I have contacted the Clerks office back several times, they refuse to assign me a trial date, when I tell them that I will have to file a motion to dismiss due to the incredible space of time, and that my right to a speedy trial is being violated they told me, and I quote, "we have no speedy trial here, do what you have to!" After this they hung up on me! Please someone help, I cannot afford to hire the necessary assistance to fight this corrupt municipality!