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2000 South Carolina Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2000)

handle is hein.sag/sagsc0084 and id is 1 raw text is: The State of South Carolina OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CHARLES M. CONDON ATTORNEY GENERAL January 4, 2000 The Honorable Kay Patterson Senator, District No. 19 602 Gressette Building Columbia, South Carolina 29202 Dear Senator Patterson: Your recent opinion request has been forwarded to me for reply. In your request, you state: I am writing to request that your Office render an opinion on an issue of importance to the Joint Committee. Several years ago our State approved a constitutional amendment which outlines a victims' bill of rights. The amendment requires that victims be kept informed as their cases are processed and states that the rights created in this section may be subject to a writ of mandamus. The amendment further states that a willful failure to comply with a writ of mandamus is punishable as contempt. Subsequent to the adoption of this constitutional amendment, the General Assembly passed legislation that channeled certain court fine and fee revenues to local entities for the purpose of implementing the victims' bill of rights. S.C. Code Ann. 14-1-206 through 208 (assessment statutes) and 14-1- 211 (surcharge statute) detail the manner in which court assessments and surcharges are to be collected and appropriated to victims' assistance programs. The issue I am requesting your opinion on is whether the language of the constitutional amendment allows a local appropriation authority (i.e., county council or municipal council) to set up and fund a central victims' assistance office or whether the language of the constitutional amendment effectively requires the local appropriation authority to fund victims' services programs located within those local entities that have direct responsibilities for handling the victims' case (law enforcement, solicitor, courtsj ails). In particular the Joint Committee wants to know RFMHEM tT G, D EI l S *BIJI)N( - Po'sr 0FFtFi BOx 11549 • Cot xi m.\. SrC. 29211-1,549 - Tvti I'-iO\ 8I1I3-74-3970 - F - s t-mi : 803- t25 -2S3 67, Z