In any criminal prosecution under any of the provisions of this chapter a defendant who relies for his justification upon a license of any kind shall have the burden of proving that he is properly licensed or is the possessor of a proper license, as the case may be, and the fact of nonissuance of such license may be evidenced by a certificate signed by the official having power of issuance, or his deputy, under seal of office, stating that he has made diligent search in the records of his office and that from the records it appears that no such license was issued up to the date of the making of such certificate. HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 2-59; 1952 Code Section 2-59; 1942 Code Section 7112-3; 1935 (39) 447; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1289, eff July 1, 1993; 2012 Act No. 270, Section 3, eff June 18, 2012.
South Carolina Legal Code