For any Charleston DUI lawyer, defending a felony DUI is very challenging, and the stakes are much higher than defending a municipal or magistrate-level DUI, such as a DUI 1st. In South Carolina, felony DUI involves the great bodily injury or death of another person.
A felony DUI differs from a DUI in both the evidence required to prove the offense and the penalties for conviction. The lawyers at Futeral and Nelson answer the questions you should be asking about South Carolina’s Felony DUI laws, and this article will help you prepare for your attorney interviews. So what is a felony DUI in South Carolina, and what happens if you are charged with one?
Quick Answer: A felony DUI in South Carolina is driving under the influence and, while driving, doing an act forbidden by law or neglecting a duty imposed by law, which proximately causes great bodily injury or death to someone other than the driver. A conviction carries mandatory prison time: 30 days to 15 years for great bodily injury and 1 to 25 years for death, plus fines, a license suspension, and years of ignition interlock.
Table of Contents
- What is Felony DUI in South Carolina?
- How Do We Defend a Felony DUI Case in South Carolina?
- What are the Penalties for a Felony DUI in South Carolina?
- What Sentences Have Charleston-Area Felony DUI Defendants Received?
- Can a Felony DUI Be Reduced to Reckless Homicide?
- Will You Lose Your License After a Felony DUI?
- How Much Will Bail Be in a Felony DUI?
- How Can a Charleston Felony DUI Lawyer Help?
What is Felony DUI in South Carolina?
Felony DUI is defined in S.C. Code Section 56-5-2945. For a felony DUI, the prosecution must prove: (1) a person was driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both; (2) while driving, the person did “any act forbidden by law or neglects any duty imposed by law in the driving of the motor vehicle;” and (3) the act or neglect proximately caused great bodily injury or death to a person other than the driver.
Great bodily injury means an injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious, permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a body part or organ. Whether an injury meets that definition is often disputed, and the answer determines whether the charge qualifies as felony DUI.
How Do We Defend a Felony DUI Case in South Carolina?
Some misdemeanor and felony DUI defenses overlap. However, many other issues in felony DUI cases require specialized attention. A few examples:
- In a death case, the police investigation will be substantially more detailed, and we will need to closely analyze forensic evidence, such as Vehicle Examination Reports and the MAIT report.
- We may recommend you hire an accident reconstructionist to review all aspects of the car wreck and potentially serve as a testifying expert in your case. Evidence at the scene, such as skid marks or debris, can disappear, so ideally we have our reconstructionist act quickly.
- Most felony DUI cases involve the taking of the defendant’s blood. We will need to review the blood extraction procedure, the chain of custody, and the toxicology report. In many cases, we recommend hiring a medical expert to assess whether the blood results are tainted or inaccurate.
- Police may have performed Drug Recognition Exams (DREs). They are subjective and subject to scrutiny. We need to review these exams to identify any police errors that may have affected the results.
- In a felony DUI case, our experience with medical records will help us assess the victim’s injuries or cause of death. We may need to hire a nurse practitioner or medical doctor to review the case and possibly testify.
- Prosecutors are more likely to spend resources finding additional evidence in a felony DUI case than in a standard DUI. They may have an investigator seek witnesses who can testify to drinking or impaired driving. They may subpoena your credit card statement to look for charges made at bars or restaurants. Law enforcement may search your vehicle for bar receipts or other evidence of drinking. They may obtain warrants to get surveillance video from bars or on the road.
- Felony DUI cases involve a person who has suffered great bodily injury or died, and the victim and/or the victim’s family may want justice, which can make it more difficult for a prosecutor or judge to show leniency. We will help you develop a strategy to mitigate this pressure. These victims receive the utmost sympathy. For our plan to be effective, you must be genuinely remorseful and diligent in rehabilitation.
- The victim and/or family may sue the accused driver. Your insurance company may provide a litigation defense, depending on the policy and the claims, and our experience handling dram shop and car accident cases can help protect your family’s finances and your interests in the criminal case.
What are the Penalties for a Felony DUI in South Carolina?
The penalties depend on whether the victim suffered great bodily injury or died. After release from prison, the driver must enroll in the ignition interlock device (IID) program. The following table summarizes the penalties:
| Penalty | Great Bodily Injury | Death |
|---|---|---|
| Prison | 30 days to 15 years | 1 to 25 years |
| Fine | $5,100 to $10,100 statutory fine | $10,100 to $25,100 statutory fine |
| Ignition interlock after release | 3 years | 5 years |
| Can the prison sentence be suspended? | The mandatory minimum cannot be suspended; probation cannot be granted for any portion of the sentence | The mandatory minimum cannot be suspended; probation cannot be granted for any portion of the sentence |
The mandatory imprisonment requirements cannot be replaced with probation.
What Sentences Have Charleston-Area Felony DUI Defendants Received?
The stakes in Felony DUIs are life-changing. Many of these cases make local headlines, and we watch what judges do during sentencing. Here are some examples from reported cases:
- In December 2024, a young woman received 25 years after excessively speeding on a dimly lit road, hitting a golf cart with occupants, killing one and badly injuring two.
- In January 2023, a man with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.22 crossed the center line and injured two people in the other car and killed the unborn son of one as well as his own passenger. He was sentenced to 8 years, and the sentence received significant public criticism.
- In June 2014, a woman was sentenced in Charleston County to 17 years after her car crossed the center line, hit oncoming traffic, and killed the other driver.
- In April 2013, an 85-year-old man in Charleston County received a one-year sentence after he ran into a motorcycle and caused multiple pelvic fractures to the motorcycle driver. The man’s blood alcohol content (“BAC”) was 0.13. The man assisted the other driver financially during his recovery.
- In November 2013, a man was sentenced to 10 years, suspended on service of 3 years in jail and 5 years’ probation, after he killed a man on a moped. His BAC was 0.12. He was charged with felony DUI but pleaded to reckless homicide instead.
- In March 2014, a man was sentenced to 10 years after he ran into the back of a car on the Cooper River Bridge and killed the other driver. He was charged with felony DUI but pleaded to reckless homicide.
- In August 2012, a 20-year-old woman was sentenced to 8 years after killing a man on a motorcycle who was not wearing his helmet.
These are just a few examples of how drinking and driving can turn someone’s life upside down in a matter of seconds.
Can a Felony DUI Be Reduced to Reckless Homicide?
Sometimes. As two of the examples above show, a felony DUI involving a death is sometimes resolved by a plea to reckless homicide. Reckless homicide is still a felony, but it requires proof that the person drove in reckless disregard of the safety of others, not proof of impairment, and it does not carry the mandatory minimum prison sentence that applies to felony DUI.
A reckless homicide conviction carries a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both, and a five-year license revocation. Whether a reduction is possible depends on the strength of the evidence, including the blood test results, the accident reconstruction, and any problems with the investigation.
Will You Lose Your License After a Felony DUI?
Yes. A felony DUI conviction results in a driver’s license suspension in addition to the prison sentence. After release, the driver must enroll in the ignition interlock program, end the suspension, and obtain an ignition interlock restricted license before driving; the device is required for three years when great bodily injury results and five years when death results. For more on how DUI convictions affect your driving privileges, read our article on whether a DUI suspends your driver’s license in South Carolina.
How Much Will Bail Be in a Felony DUI?
It all depends on the facts of the case, the defendant’s character and history, and the bond judge. Bail can range from $50,000 to over $300,000. The amount you may have to pay a bondsman depends on the bond and the bondsman’s terms, so it is essential to have your lawyer on board as soon as possible. For more information, please read our article on bond hearings in South Carolina.
For quick answers to other common questions, read our article on what you should know about a DUI in South Carolina.
For the penalties that apply to a misdemeanor DUI, read our article on the penalties for a DUI in South Carolina.
How Can a Charleston Felony DUI Lawyer Help?
No experienced DUI lawyer can truthfully promise to keep you out of jail in these serious cases. What we can promise is that we will fight the case early on from any angle we can. The more we can challenge the prosecution’s case, the better deal we may be able to bring to our client.
For example, in one of our felony DUI cases, the officer failed to give our client his Miranda warnings after our client was arrested. The case ultimately resulted in a plea offer to reckless driving; whether a failure to give Miranda warnings affects a case depends on whether officers obtained statements during custodial interrogation that the prosecution seeks to use. Ultimately, you will decide whether to accept any plea offer or take the case to trial.
Thomas Nelson is the author of the primary authority on South Carolina’s breath and blood testing procedures. He is on a legislative committee for the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He completed the certification course that enables law enforcement officers to administer Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, giving him a strong advantage when evaluating DUI cases and cross-examining testifying police officers.
Mr. Nelson is a regular speaker at the annual Reese I. Joye Memorial DUI Defense Seminar, educating defense lawyers on defending DUI and DUAC cases, breath-testing procedures, DUI laws, and defending CDL holders charged with DUI. He has trained several times with the country’s leading expert on breath-testing technology.
Stephan Futeral has been a DUI defense attorney for over 30 years. He served as Thomas Nelson’s mentor and has tried numerous cases to not-guilty verdicts. His experience with technology and artificial intelligence can uncover evidence, strategies, or arguments that were previously unattainable.
The attorneys at Futeral & Nelson have defended DUI cases in Charleston, Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville, and throughout the Lowcountry since 2003. Call us at 843-284-5500 to discuss your case and your options.
