If the applicant is unable to pay court costs and expenses of counsel, these costs and expenses shall be made available to the applicant in amounts and to the extent provided pursuant to Section 17-27-60. The applicant must request counsel at the time he files his application. The court must appoint counsel for an indigent applicant after the court has determined that the application is sufficient to proceed to a hearing but prior to the actual hearing. If counsel has been appointed for the applicant in an ongoing post-conviction relief proceeding, then the counsel appointed in the post-conviction relief proceeding shall also serve as counsel for purposes of this article. The performance of counsel pursuant to this article shall not form the basis for relief in any post-conviction relief proceeding. HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 413, Section 1, eff January 1, 2009.
South Carolina Legal Code