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2009 South Carolina Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2009)

handle is hein.sag/sagsc0027 and id is 1 raw text is: HENRY MCMASTER '-V()yfl1 Cr ATTORNEY GENERAL January 2, 2009 The Honorable W. Glenn Campbell Sheriff, Darlington County P.O. Box 783 1621 Harry Byrd Highway Darlington, South Carolina 29532 Dear Sheriff Campbell: We received your letter requesting an opinion of this Office concerning the forfeiture of seized gambling money. You stated as follows: Our agency seized money in a recent gambling arrest. According to a letter we received from a private attorney hired by the defendant, the solicitor's office entered into a verbal agreement to forfeit part of the seized money and return the balance of the funds to the defendant through his attorney. It is our position that state law, 16- 19-80, does not allow for money seized to be returned. It clearly states the money is forfeited. We request an opinion on this from your office. The second issue for us is how is the money to be forfeited. A previous opinion from your office refers to state law, 20-7-1510, as a guide on how the money seized in this manner is to be forfeited. According to the law books this statute was repealed on January 01, 1995. Could your office advise us on how to properly forfeit these funds. Law/ Analysis S. C. Code Section 16-19-80 provides as follows: All and every sum or sums of money staked, betted or pending on the event of any such game or games as aforesaid are hereby declared to be forfeited. In a prior opinion of this Office, we addressed the issue of forfeiture of property seized as part of the betting operations at a cockfight. Referencing the case of State v. Petty, 270 S.C. 206, 241 S.E.2d 561 (1978), we opined that if the money or property seized at a cockfight can be shown to be an 'integral part of or the 'fruits of gambling' it is subject to seizure and forfeiture pursuant to Section 16-19-80. Op. S.C. Atty Gen., September 22, 1997. In Petty, the Court adopted the standard applied by other jurisdictions in construing similar forfeiture statutes: that the object seized must REMBERT C. DENNIS BUILDING * PosT OFFICE Box 11549 * COLUMBIA, SC 29211-1549 * TELEPHONE 803-734-3970 * FACSIMILE 803-253-6283

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