Senate subcommittee hears divided testimony on DUI reforms, blood draws and parole rules

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee heard hours of testimony on proposed DUI reforms Tuesday, focusing on Senate Bill 52’s push to authorize more routine blood draws in suspected drug- and alcohol-impaired-driving cases, to change recording and Miranda requirements for roadside and breath-room procedures, and to clarify parole and classification consequences for felony DUI convictions that result in death.

Proponents — including prosecutors and local law-enforcement officials — urged the panel to close what they described as technical “loopholes” that can lead to plea reductions or dismissals in mechanically complex DUI prosecutions. Matthew Shelton, senior solicitor for the Sixteenth Circuit, who helped draft the bill, told the committee that cases often hinge on narrow recording or procedural errors and said the proposal would allow juries to decide guilt more often by preserving evidence and limiting automatic dismissal of cases for technical recording failures. “These are awful, awful cases to work out,” Shelton said of fatal DUI prosecutions, and he urged lawmakers to remove statutory traps that can cause otherwise winnable prosecutions to collapse.

The subcommittee also heard corrections officials and prosecutors debate whether felony DUI resulting in death should be treated the same as other “violent” crimes for parole and placement purposes. Brian Sterling, director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, said…