Resisting Arrest in SC: What the Charge Really Means and How It’s Fought

Quick Summary: Resisting arrest in South Carolina is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to a year in jail, or both. In a resisting arrest SC case under the base statute, the state must prove you acted knowingly and wilfully. The case generally begins in General Sessions Court, although South Carolina law allows qualifying cases to be transferred to a summary court.

Key Takeaways:

• Three levels, not one: South Carolina separates the base misdemeanor from felony charges involving assault on an officer or a deadly weapon.
• Intent matters: Under the base statute, the state has to prove you acted knowingly and wilfully, not simply that an officer considered you uncooperative.
• Not a magistrate case by default: The penalty exceeds ordinary magistrate jurisdiction, although a qualifying case can be transferred from General Sessions.
• Video can be decisive: Body camera, dash camera and third-party footage can show details that competing accounts miss.
• A conviction is difficult to clear: The ordinary expungement provision does not reach an offense carrying up to one year in jail.

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The stop was about something else. A tail light, a call to the house, a warrant you did not know existed. Then an officer’s hand was on your arm, and you pulled away or turned or asked why. Now you are facing a charge nobody mentioned when the night started.

The FBI’s Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty report counted 90,178 assaults on officers reported by participating agencies in 2025. That is a rate of 13.8 assaults for every 100 officers.

That safety context helps explain why officers react quickly to sudden movement. It does not decide your case. South Carolina law asks narrower questions about what you did, what you knew and whether the required mental state can be proved.

Four things are worth knowing before your first court date:

• Which two words the state has to prove under the base resisting arrest SC statute
• Where a Clarendon County case begins and when it can be transferred
• Why body camera and other video evidence should be preserved early
• What pretrial intervention can do for your record and when to apply

What Counts as Resisting Arrest in SC?

Under South Carolina’s base statute, resisting arrest means knowingly and wilfully resisting an arrest being made by someone you know, or reasonably should know, is a law enforcement officer. The same statute covers knowingly and wilfully opposing an officer who is serving, executing or attempting to serve the legal process.

A movement an officer interprets as resistance does not, by itself, answer whether those elements can be proved. The statute applies whether the arrest is being made under legal process or not.

South Carolina’s resisting arrest statute, S.C. Code § 16-9-320, covers those two situations people often blur together: resisting an arrest and opposing an officer serving or attempting to serve legal process.

The words “knowingly and wilfully” matter. The state has to prove them beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. Evidence of pain, panic, confusion, conflicting commands or a command you could not hear may matter if it undercuts the claim that you deliberately resisted.

A resisting charge can also be filed alongside the offense that led to the arrest. The conduct during the arrest is then a separate charge with its own elements and evidence.

The Three Levels of a Resisting Arrest Charge in South Carolina

South Carolina separates the base misdemeanor from felony provisions involving assault on an officer or the use or threat of a deadly weapon.

Charge	Classification	Penalty	Where it generally begins
Resisting or opposing an officer	Misdemeanor	$500 to $1,000 fine, up to 1 year, or both	General Sessions Court
Assaulting, beating or wounding an officer while resisting	Felony	$1,000 to $10,000 fine, up to 10 years, or both	General Sessions Court
Resisting arrest with a deadly weapon	Felony	2 to 10 years	General Sessions Court

The charging documents identify the provision alleged, but the evidence still has to support it.

Resisting arrest, the misdemeanor

Under Section 16-9-320(A), the fine is $500 to $1,000 and the court may impose up to one year in jail, or both. That one-year maximum also matters for court jurisdiction and expungement, even if the sentence ultimately imposed is much shorter.

Assaulting an officer while resisting

Section 16-9-320(B) makes it a felony to knowingly and wilfully assault, beat or wound an officer while resisting an arrest or while the officer is serving a legal process. The statute states no minimum injury threshold, but the state must still prove the prohibited conduct and mental state. Video can matter when the parties dispute how physical contact happened.

Resisting arrest with a deadly weapon

S.C. Code § 16-3-625 carries two to ten years. It applies when a person resists lawful arrest efforts by using or threatening a deadly weapon against the officer while possessing or claiming to possess one. A first-offense sentence cannot be suspended below six months. The statute defines a deadly weapon as an instrument that can inflict deadly force.

Where Your Case Goes If You’re Charged in Clarendon County

The base misdemeanor exceeds ordinary magistrate criminal jurisdiction because it carries up to a year in jail. A 2007 South Carolina Attorney General opinion reached the same conclusion, so the charge generally begins on the General Sessions docket.

South Carolina law does allow a case carrying no more than $5,500 or one year to be transferred to magistrate or municipal court. The solicitor gives written notice and petitions for transfer, and the defendant may object before trial or a guilty plea.

If you were arrested in Manning, your case is in Clarendon County, part of South Carolina’s Third Judicial Circuit with Lee, Sumter and Williamsburg counties. The Third Circuit Solicitor’s Office prosecutes General Sessions cases in those counties, so speaking with a Manning criminal defense lawyer early gives you time to address evidence and court strategy.

How Resisting Arrest Charges in SC Are Defended

A resisting arrest SC case can come down to seconds of movement, commands and physical contact. The question is whether the state can prove each element when the report is tested against objective evidence.

What the video decides

Body camera and dash camera footage should be identified early, along with bystander, doorbell or nearby business video. A recording may expose differences in timing, commands, positioning and what a person was physically able to do.

Video does not automatically defeat a charge, but it can help distinguish deliberate resistance from movement caused by pain, balance, restraint or conflicting instructions. It can also show whether commands were audible and whether officers gave conflicting directions.

When the arrest itself is the problem

South Carolina case law recognizes a limited right to resist an unlawful arrest, not a general right to fight with an officer. In State v. McGowan, 347 S.C. 618, 557 S.E.2d 657 (2001), the Supreme Court reaffirmed State v. Bethune and held that only reasonably necessary force may be used. McGowan also held that Section 16-3-625 requires a lawful underlying arrest.

Treat that as a courtroom issue, not a roadside decision. Section 16-9-320(A) does not expressly use the word “lawful” when describing the arrest, while Section 16-3-625 does. Whether an arrest was unlawful and what that means for a particular charge is a fact-specific legal question.

Will a Resisting Arrest Charge Stay on Your Record?

A conviction under the base resisting statute generally does not qualify for ordinary expungement because the offense carries up to one year in jail. That makes dismissal, acquittal and, when available, pretrial intervention important to discuss before conviction.

Why a conviction usually can’t be expunged

South Carolina’s expungement statute, Section 22-5-910, generally covers low-level convictions within its stated penalty limits. In a 2025 decision, the South Carolina Court of Appeals held that a crime carrying up to one year was outside that provision even when the actual sentence was shorter.

Pretrial intervention and the clock you can miss

Pretrial intervention is one diversion option to ask about early. Successful completion produces a noncriminal disposition, after which the person may apply to address the arrest record as provided by law.

The ordinary deadline is 75 days after warrant service or 10 days after counsel is appointed, although the statute permits a discretionary waiver. Fees are $100 to apply and $250 to participate if accepted and may be reduced or waived for indigency.

What to Do Now If You’ve Been Charged With Resisting Arrest in SC

The days after the arrest matter because video, witness information and your own memory are easier to preserve early. Four steps can help protect the evidence.

1. Stop describing the incident publicly. Do not post about it, argue the facts in group chats or keep explaining yourself to people who may become witnesses.
2. Write down what you remember. Note the time, location, patrol units, people nearby, commands you heard and anything that affected your ability to comply.
3. Map every camera that may have caught it. Include body cameras, dash cameras, doorbells, nearby businesses and phones, then get preservation requests sent.
4. Ask about pretrial intervention early. The statute sets a 75-day application rule after service of the warrant, subject to discretionary waiver.

Talk to a Manning Lawyer About Your Resisting Arrest Charge in SC

The officer’s report may already describe the encounter as deliberate resistance. The defense question is whether the evidence proves the statutory elements, including what the video shows, what commands were given and whether the required mental state can be established.

Kent Law Firm handles criminal defense matters from its Manning office. Shaun Kent previously served as a Public Defender in Aiken and an Assistant Solicitor in Charleston. Schedule a free consultation to discuss what a resisting arrest SC charge requires the state to prove and what evidence needs to be preserved.

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This post is general information about South Carolina law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Penalties, fees and deadlines are current as of August 2026. Outcomes depend on the specific charge and the facts of the case.