                             CONSTITUTION
                                OF THE
                       STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
                        (as revised to 1981)

                              ARTICLE I

                        DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

   Section 1.    All political power is vested in and derived from the people 
only,  therefore,  they  have the right at all times to modify their form  of 
government.

   Section  2.    The  General  Assembly  shall make  no  law  respecting  an 
establishment  of  religion  or prohibiting the  free  exercise  thereof,  or 
abridging  the freedom of speech or of the press;  or the right of the people 
to  peaceably  to  assemble  and petition the government  or  any  department 
thereof for a redress of grievances.

   Section  3.    The privileges and immunities of citizens of this State and 
of the United States under this Constitution shall not be abridged, nor shall 
any person be deprived of life,  liberty,  or property without due process of 
law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.

   Section 4.    No bill of attainder,  ex post facto law,  law impairing the 
obligation of contracts, nor law granting any title of nobility or hereditary 
emolument, shall be passed,  and no conviction shall work corruption of blood 
or forfeiture of estate.

   Section 5.   All elections shall be free and open, and every inhabitant of 
this  State  possessing the qualifications provided for in this  Constitution 
shall  have  an equal right to elect officers and be elected to  fill  public 
office.

   Section  6.    Temporary  absence  from  the state  shall  not  forfeit  a 
residence once obtained.

   Section 7.    The power to suspend the laws shall be exercised only by the 
General  Assembly or by its authority in particular cases expressly  provided 
for by it.

   Section 8.   In the government of this State, the legislative,  executive, 
and  judicial powers of the government shall be forever separate and distinct 
from each other,  and no person or persons exercising the functions of one of 
said departments shall assume or discharge the duties of any other.

   Section  9.    All  courts shall be public,  and every person  shall  have 
speedy remedy therein for wrongs sustained.

   Section  10.   The  right  of the people to be secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  effects against unreasonable searches and seizures and 
unreasonable  invasions  of privacy shall not be violated,  and  no  warrants 
shall  issue but upon probable cause,  supported by oath or affirmation,  and 
particularly  describing the place to be searched,  the person or thing to be 
seized, and the information to be obtained.

   Section  11.   No  person shall be held to answer for any crime where  the 
punishment  exceeds a fine of two hundred dollars or imprisonment for  thirty 
days,  unless  on  a presentment or indictment of a grand jury of the  county 
where  the  crime shall have been committed,  except in cases arising it  the 
land  or naval forces or in the militia when in actual service in time of war 
or  public  danger.  The  General Assembly may provide for the waiver  of  an 
indictment by the accused.

   Section  12.   No person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice 
put in jeopardy of life or liberty,  nor shall any person be compelled in any 
criminal case to be a witness against himself.

   Section  13.   Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution,  private 
property shall not be taken for private use without the consent of the owner, 
nor for public use without just compensation being first made therefor.

   Section 14.  The right of trial by jury shall be preserved inviolate.  Any 
person  charged with an offense shall enjoy the right to a speedy and  public 
trial  by an impartial jury;  to be fully informed of the nature and cause of 
the  accusation;  to  be confronted with the witnesses against him;  to  have 
compulsory  process  for obtaining witnesses in his favor,  and to  be  fully 
heard in his defense by himself or by his counsel or both.

   Section  15.   All  persons  shall,  before  conviction,  be  bailable  by 
sufficient  sureties,  but bail may be denied to persons charged with capital 
offenses  or offenses punishable by life imprisonment,  giving due weight  to 
the evidence and to the nature and circumstances of the event. Excessive bail 
shall not be required; nor shall excessive fines be imposed; nor shall cruel; 
nor  corporal,  nor unusual punishment be inflicted;  nor shall witnesses  be 
unreasonably detained.

   Section  16.   In all indictments or prosecutions for libel,  the truth of 
the alleged libel may be given in evidence,  and the jury shall be the judges 
of the law and facts.

   Section 17.   Treason against the State shall consist alone in levying war 
or in giving aid and comfort to enemies against the State. No person shall be 
held  guilty of treason,  except upon testimony of at least two witnesses  to 
the same overt act, or upon confession in open court

   Section  18.   The  privilege  of the writ of habeas corpus shall  not  be 
suspended unless when,  in case of insurrection,  rebellion or invasion,  the 
public safety may require it.

   Section  19.   No  person shall be imprisoned for debt except in cases  of 
fraud.

   Section 20.  A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a 
free  state,  the  right  of the people to keep and bear arms  shall  not  be 
infringed. As, in times of peace, armies are dangerous to liberty, they shall 
not  be maintained without the consent of the General Assembly.  The military 
power  of  the  State  shall always be held in  subordination  to  the  civil 
authority  and  be  governed  by it.  No soldier shall in time  of  peace  be 
quartered  in  any house without the consent of the owner nor in time of  war 
but in a manner prescribed by law.

   Section  21.   No person shall in any case be subject to martial law or to 
any  pains or penalties by virtue of that law,  except those employed in  the 
armed forces of the United States,  and except the militia in actual service, 
but by the authority of the General Assembly.

   Section  22.   No  person shall be finally bound by a judicial  or  quasi-
judicial decision of an administrative agency affecting private rights except 
on due notice and an opportunity to be heard;  nor shall he be subject to the 
same  person for both prosecution and adjudication;  nor shall he be deprived 
of  liberty  or  property  unless by a mode of procedure  prescribed  by  the 
General  Assembly,  and  he  shall have in all such instances  the  right  to 
judicial review.

   Section  23.   The provisions of the Constitution shall be taken,  deemed, 
and  construed  to be mandatory and prohibitory,  and not  merely  directory, 
except where expressly made directory or permissory by its own terms.

   Article XVII - Section 4.  No person who denies the existence of a Supreme 
Being shall hold any office under this Constitution.
