South Carolina v. Henkel
Annotate this CaseA witness observed a vehicle being driven erratically on I-385 and ultimately wrecking. Police responded to the wreck and organized a search after learning from a witness that the driver had fled the scene. Officers were unable to locate the driver and cleared the scene. Several hours later, police responded to a call indicating an individual had been found walking down I-385. When police arrived, respondent was receiving medical care in an ambulance. The responding officer read respondent his Miranda rights and conducted a horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test while respondent was in the ambulance. The officer initiated his audio recording device by a switch on his belt during the HGN test. After the HGN test, respondent did not go to the hospital, so the officer conducted a few more tests. Respondent failed both the HGN and ABC tests. The ABC test and the officer's admonitions while administering the HGN test were captured by audio recording. Neither test was captured by video recording. Respondent was arrested for DUI, and placed in a patrol vehicle. Facing the in-car camera towards respondent, the officer read respondent his Miranda rights again. Respondent sought dismissal of the DUI charge, alleging the videotape of his conduct at the scene failed to comply with the statutory videotaping requirements, because the statute governing the recording mandated inclusion of the individual being advised of his Miranda rights prior to the administration of field sobriety tests. The trial court denied respondent's motion to dismiss. The trial court recognized this incident was not a typical DUI stop because the officer's investigation began hours after respondent's wreck. The South Carolina Supreme Court granted the State's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' opinion that found the trial court should have dismissed respondent's DUI charge because the videotape did not comply with the statutory requirements for videotaping respondent's conduct at the scene of his DUI arrest. After review, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated respondent's conviction because the videotape satisfied the requirements of the applicable statute once videotaping became practicable.
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