If (a) there be any defect in form in any indictments or (b) on the trial of any case there shall appear to be any variance between the allegations of the indictment and the evidence offered in proof thereof, the court before which the trial shall be had may amend the indictment (according to the proof, if the amendment be because of a variance) if such amendment does not change the nature of the offense charged. After such amendment the trial shall proceed in all respects and with the same consequences as if the indictment had originally been returned as so amended, unless such amendment shall operate as a surprise to the defendant, in which case the defendant shall be entitled, upon demand, to a continuance of the cause.
S.C. Code Ann. § 17-19-100
Amendments of indictments; proceedings after amendment
Applied in 18 court decisions — leading case Hope v. State (1997)
Most recently applied in Roberts v. State (April 2014)
1962 Code SECTION 17-410; 1952 Code SECTION 17-410; 1942 Code SECTION 1005; 1932 Code SECTION 1005; Cr
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: South Carolina Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.