CITY OF CAMDEN v. BRASSELL
4/21/1997
ust, equitable, and beneficial operation of the law. Bennett v. Sullivan's Island Bd. of Adjustment, 313 S.C. 455, 438 S.E.2d 273 (Ct. App. 1993).
APPLICABLE STATUTES
South Carolina Code Ann. § 20-7-400(A)(1)(d) (1985 and Supp. 1996) grants exclusive original jurisdiction to the family court in pertinent part as follows:
(A) Except as otherwise provided herein, the court
shall have exclusive original jurisdiction and shall
be the sole court for initiating action:
(1) Concerning any child living or found within the
geographical limits of its jurisdiction:
(d) Who is alleged to have violated or attempted to
violate any state or local law or municipal ordinance,
regardless of where the violation occurred except as
provided in § 20-7-410.
Further, South Carolina Code Ann. § 20-7-410 (Supp. 1996) provides:
The magistrate courts and municipal courts of this
State have concurrent jurisdiction with the family
courts for the trial of persons under seventeen years
of age charged with traffic violations or violations
of the provisions of Title 50 relating to fish, game,
and watercraft when these courts would have
jurisdiction of the offense charged if committed by
an adult. (emphasis added).
The family court shall report to the Department of
Public Safety all adjudications of a juvenile for
moving traffic violations and other violations that
affect the juvenile's privilege to operate a motor
vehicle including, but not limited to, controlled
substance and alcohol violations as required by other
courts of this State pursuant to Section 56-1-330 and
shall report to the Department of Natural Resources
adjudications of the provisions of Title 50.
SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION
Subject matter jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear and determine cases of the general class to which the proceedings in question belong. Dove v. Gold Kist, Inc., 314 S.C. 235, 442 S.E.2d 598 (1994). Under § 56-5-2930, it is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of intoxicating liquors to drive any vehicle within the state. For a first offense
Therefore, the magistrate and municipal courts would have subject matter jurisdiction over a first offense
IS
The South Carolina Supreme Court has not had occasion previously to address the issue of whether
In Robinson v. Sutterfield, 786 S.W.2d 572 (Ark. 1990), the Arkansas Supreme Court considered statutes with major similarities to our statutory provisions. The Robinson court discussed the applicable statutes:
The Juvenile Code of 1989, Ark. Code Ann. §§
9-27-301 to 9-27-368 (Supp. 1989), provides that the
juvenile court shall have exclusive original
jurisdiction of proceedings in which a juvenile is
alleged to be delinquent. Ark. Code Ann. §
9-27-306(a)(1) (Supp. 1989). A delinquent juvenile is
defined by the code as "any juvenile ten (10) years or
older who has committed an act other than a traffic
offense or game and fish violation, which, if such act
had been committed by an adult, would subject such
adult to prosecution. . . ." (Emphasis added). Ark.
Code Ann. § 9-27-303(11) (Supp. 1989). Thus,
traffic offenses are excluded from the jurisdiction of
the juvenile court, and generally are within the
jurisdiction of municipal courts.
Robinson, 786 S.W.2d at 572. (emphasis in original). The Robinson court defined "traffic offense":
The term "traffic offense" refers to a violation of
a law regulating the operation of
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