South Carolina sorts criminal cases by how much punishment the charge can bring:

• Magistrate Court handles offenses punishable by a $500 fine, 30 days behind bars, or both (S.C. Code 22-3-550). It also holds bond hearings and preliminary hearings for the whole county.
• Municipal Court in the towns of Allendale and Fairfax has the same limits for charges inside town lines (S.C. Code 14-25-65).
• Court of General Sessions hears the county's felonies and its more serious misdemeanors as part of the circuit court.
• Family Court hears most cases against children under 18.

Shoplifting of $2,000 or less is a special case. A summary court can hear it and fine up to $1,000 (S.C. Code 16-13-110).

Here is each criminal court office, with how to reach it:

• Clerk of Court (General Sessions and Family Court records), county courthouse, Court House Square, 292 Barnwell Highway, Allendale, SC 29810, 803-584-2737. Mail goes to PO Box 126, Allendale, SC 29810. The office keeps business hours.
• Magistrate Court, Post Office Box 516, Fairfax, SC 29827, 803-584-3755. Call for the street address and the bond hearing times.
• Federal court: U.S. District Court in Columbia, 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5816.

The county sits in the 14th Judicial Circuit with Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper (S.C. Code 14-5-610). General Sessions sits in terms, and the clerk can tell you when the next term opens.

Yes. Both towns run a municipal court for charges written by their own police:

• Town of Allendale Municipal Court, Town Hall, 1296 Main Street South, Allendale, SC 29810, 803-584-4619. Its last posted schedule set criminal court on the first Wednesday and traffic court on the third Tuesday of each month, at 5:30 p.m. Dates can change, so call. Town Hall is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fines can be paid there or online through NCourt.
• Fairfax Municipal Court, Post Office Drawer 8, Fairfax, SC 29827, 803-632-3111. Call for court days and the street location.

Sycamore, Ulmer and rural cases belong to the magistrate, reached at 803-584-3755.

The first hearing is the bond hearing. It must happen within 24 hours of the arrest, before a magistrate or one of the town judges (S.C. Code 22-5-510). Call the magistrate at 803-584-3755 to ask when and where it will be held.

• The charges are read aloud. The judge sets bond and any release conditions.
• The police agency gives the judge the person's record, other charges and any other bonds (S.C. Code 22-5-510(E)).
• A victim has the right to be told about the hearing and to speak at it.
• The person can ask for a free lawyer.

For a charge too big for the magistrate, a preliminary hearing can be requested in the 10 days following the bond hearing (Rule 2(a), SCRCrimP). There, the magistrate tests whether the proof is strong enough for the case to move up.

Minor cases mostly remain in summary court. Pleading guilty wraps things up fast. Denying the charge sets up a trial, and in magistrate court six jurors decide (S.C. Code 22-3-545).

Maximum penalties for charges seen often:

• Assault and battery in the third degree, the lowest level: no more than a $500 fine or 30 days (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2))
• Shoplifting of $2,000 or less: up to $1,000 and 30 days (S.C. Code 16-13-110(B))
• Class C misdemeanor: up to one year
• Class A misdemeanor: up to three years (S.C. Code 16-1-20)

Misdemeanors above the summary court limits go to General Sessions. Young adults with certain alcohol charges may qualify for the Solicitor's Alcohol Education Program, and minor traffic tickets may fit the Traffic Education Program.

A felony starts with a bond hearing in front of the magistrate and then moves up:

1. Bond hearing inside 24 hours, or later before a circuit judge on the gravest charges.
2. Preliminary hearing, when requested in time. The magistrate weighs the proof.
3. General Sessions. The 14th Circuit Solicitor takes the case to the circuit court.
4. Plea or trial in front of a circuit judge.
5. Sentence after a guilty verdict or plea.

Felonies run from Class F, up to five years, to Class A, up to 30 years (S.C. Code 16-1-20). Shoplifting over $2,000 but under $10,000 can bring five years. For murder the floor is 30 years; the ceiling is life or execution (S.C. Code 16-3-20(A)).

The law gives violent charges stricter treatment from the start:

• Bond. Murder and other charges carrying possible life terms go to a circuit judge for bond. On other listed violent crimes, the magistrate decides whether to grant bond at all (S.C. Code 16-1-60).
• No 10 percent deposit. That cheaper bond choice is closed for violent charges (S.C. Code 17-15-15).
• Repeat offenses. Committing a violent crime during a bond for an earlier one adds its own felony charge, worth as much as five years (S.C. Code 17-15-270).
• No Pretrial Intervention. Violent charges disqualify a person from this program (S.C. Code 17-22-50).

The 14th Circuit Solicitor prosecutes General Sessions cases. Its local office is at 292 Barnwell Highway, Allendale, SC 29810, 843-779-8665. Call for hours. The main office is at 108 Traders Cross, Okatie, SC 29909.

The Solicitor runs Pretrial Intervention for some first-time, nonviolent charges. Graduates have the charge dismissed and can later seek expungement (S.C. Code 17-22-150). The fees are a $100 application and a $250 participation fee, paid by cashier's check or money order. Program questions go to 843-779-8477.

The public defender's office is in the Annex Building, Court House Square, 292 Barnwell Highway, Allendale, SC 29810, 803-914-2242. A $40 application fee applies, and the clerk can waive it (S.C. Code 17-3-30).

Court staff can look up a case by name and birth date. Call the office that has the charge:

• General Sessions and Family Court: Clerk of Court, 803-584-2737
• Bond and magistrate cases: 803-584-3755
• Town of Allendale cases: 803-584-4619
• Fairfax town cases: 803-632-3111

The lawyer on the case will also get every notice. Write each date down and arrive early.

In the county, the Sheriff's Office serves arrest and bench warrants. Call 803-584-7067 and ask for Records. Town police serve warrants inside Allendale and Fairfax. Wanted lists are kept by the state parole agency (most wanted offenders) and by the federal Marshals Service (15 Most Wanted). Settling a warrant starts with a lawyer. Counsel can set up a walk-in surrender or get the hearing reset. For General Sessions, the Clerk of Court is at Court House Square, 292 Barnwell Highway, Allendale, SC 29810, 803-584-2737.

This county belongs to the Aiken Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Its criminal cases are heard in Columbia, at 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5816. The clerk is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• The opening federal hearing decides pretrial detention (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Deputy U.S. Marshals keep federal detainees and transport them to court. Office: 901 Richland Street, Suite 1300, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5821.
• After sentencing, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows where the person is.

The state charge proceeds as usual. The detainer kicks in on the day state custody would end.

1. ICE's request comes on Form I-247A.
2. The hold may last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Jails in this state must check within 72 hours whether a person booked on a charge is in the country unlawfully. If so, the jail tells the Department of Homeland Security (S.C. Code 23-3-1100).
4. At the bond hearing, the judge looks at unlawful presence together with any risk of fleeing (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).
5. ICE's office for the state is at 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.
6. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by name and country of birth.

Sentences of three months or less usually stay in the county jail (S.C. Code 24-3-30). Longer sentences go to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, which chooses the prison (S.C. Code 24-3-20).

• Every new state prisoner goes through intake and evaluation before a prison is picked.
• Track them on the SCDC inmate search, updated each night.
• SCDC headquarters: 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500.
• Profiles of every prison are on our South Carolina prison list.

The state prison near Fairfax, Allendale Correctional Institution, 1057 Revolutionary Trail, Fairfax, SC 29827, 803-632-2561, is separate from the county jail.

Family Court hears most cases for people under 18. Seventeen-year-olds facing the gravest felonies start out in adult court (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)). When a child of 14, 15 or 16 faces a serious felony, a waiver hearing decides whether it moves up to General Sessions (S.C. Code 63-19-1210).

• Any child kept in detention gets a hearing within two business days, which means 48 hours minus weekends and holidays (S.C. Code 63-19-830).
• Youths are usually held at the Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440.
• The county's juvenile justice office is at 603 Barnwell Highway, Allendale, SC 29810, 803-584-4751.

Victims have rights under the state constitution (S.C. Const. art. I, § 24). Officers must make a fair effort to notify them about both the arrest and the bond hearing, where they can be heard. A judge postpones a hearing when the victim got notice too late (S.C. Code 16-3-1525).

• VINE sends free release notices (English or Spanish): register at VINELink South Carolina or 866-727-2846.
• The Attorney General's Victim Advocacy Division, 1000 Assembly Street, Room 519, Columbia, SC 29201, can help at 803-737-3739.

Defendants' families must not approach the victim or act as go-betweens. Contact like that may break bond conditions and lead to added charges.