(Published October 29‚ 2003)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Chief Justice Jean Toal has sharply restricted pretrial intervention programs not run by prosecutors.

The written order came after prosecutors said they were concerned magistrate or municipal judges were allowing charges to be dropped against defendants who normally would not be accepted into similar prosecutor-run programs, Toal said.

Most pretrial intervention programs allow first-time offenders that commit minor crimes to perform community service, and other steps, like counseling or paying restitution, in exchange for clearing the offender's record.

Toal's order doesn't end the programs created by judges or magistrates, but it does require those programs to get approval from prosecutors. It also does not affect anyone who has completed a judge-run program.

The proliferation and abuse of pretrial intervention programs has been a problem around South Carolina for several years, said Richland County prosecutor Barney Giese, who also is president of the South Carolina Solicitors Association.

Most county-level prosecutors worry pretrial programs run by magistrates or municipal judges might not give defendants the help they need, Giese said.

For example, a judge might order offenders to do community service without requiring them to complete alcohol or drug counseling, he said.

Also, a lack of record keeping in pretrial programs that are not run by prosecutors might allow some defendants to participate in those programs in more than one county, Giese said.

State law allows a defendant to participate in a diversion program only one time, no matter where they are charged, he said.

About 10,700 offenders statewide apply annually for the prosecutor-run programs, according to the state Prosecution Coordination Commission. Of those, about 9,300 are accepted, and about 7,500 complete the programs, records show.

People accused of underage drinking and shoplifting are typical defendants in those programs, said William Bilton, the commission's executive director.

About half of the charges handled through the programs carry maximum 30-day jail sentences, Bilton said. The other half are more serious crimes, such as second-degree burglary, he said.

Anyone accused of DUI or a violent crime cannot get into a pretrial intervention program.

Information from: The State