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McGuire Law

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How to Deal With Cops in South Carolina

The officer who stops you has been trained for that conversation. He has had it a thousand times. You get about four seconds, no training, and every word you say goes in a report. This free app gives you the words.

  • Free
  • 56 languages
  • No app store
  • No account
  • Works offline after installation

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Remain Silent
Know Your Rights
REMAIN SILENT

Law Enforcement Encounters in South Carolina

  • I am going to remain silent
  • I want a lawyer
  • I do not consent to a search
  • Am I free to leave?
  • I would rather not answer questions

The hardest time to remember your rights is usually the exact moment you need them.

Blue lights are in the mirror. Someone is asking questions. You are trying to stay calm and decide what to say.

That is why McGuire Law created this free app.

Put it on your phone before you need it. Once installed it opens straight to what you need, even when you have no cell signal and no data connection.

It also carries a printable Red Card in 56 languages, so somebody who does not read English can still show what they need to say.

No app store. No account. No cost.

Police are allowed to lie to you. That is not a loophole, it is settled law.

An officer can tell you your friend already confessed when nobody confessed. He can tell you the search is happening either way when it is not. He can tell you that cooperating will help you when he has no authority to make that true. Courts have upheld all of it.

None of that makes him a bad person. It makes him someone doing a job you are not equipped for, in a conversation he controls and you do not.

You are not going to out-talk that. Nobody does. What works is knowing the handful of sentences that end the conversation, and having them in front of you instead of somewhere in your memory behind the adrenaline.

You cannot download this from the back of a patrol car.

Every section in the app

Twenty-six of them, written for the moment it actually matters rather than for a law library.

The Most Important Rule

The one thing to do before you say anything else.

Introduction

What this app is, and how to find what you need in a hurry.

Non-English Speakers

Rights information and a printable Red Card in 56 languages.

Encounters on the Street

What to say when you are stopped on foot, and when you are free to walk away.

Encounters in a Vehicle

Hands, documents, and what happens when they ask to search the car.

DUI

Field sobriety tests, the breath test, and what refusing costs your license in South Carolina.

Encounters at Home

Who has to open the door, and what a warrant actually has to say on it.

If You Are Arrested

What happens next, and the sentences that still matter in handcuffs.

After a Police Encounter

What to write down while you still remember it clearly.

Trespassing and Loitering

Two South Carolina charges that often start with a conversation you did not have to have.

Additional Info for Non-Citizens

What changes when your immigration status becomes part of the stop.

Special Rules for Juveniles

Your kid does not have the same rules you do.

Encounters at School

Searches, questioning, and who gets called.

Police Can Lie to You

What officers are legally permitted to tell you that is not true.

If Your Rights Are Violated

What to do about it, and where it actually gets fixed.

Common Police Tactics

The moves officers are trained to use. It is not personal.

Phone and Digital Rights

Your phone holds more against you than your mouth ever will.

Special Situations

Protests, recording, and the encounters that do not fit the usual script.

Building Your Support Team

Who to call, and having the number before the night you need it.

Teaching Your Family

How to have this conversation at your own kitchen table.

Red Card in 56 Languages

A printable card to hand over when speaking is the risk.

Immigrants

The ACLU Know Your Rights guide for immigrants, carried in full.

Derechos de los Inmigrantes

La misma guia completa, en espanol.

Immigration Legal Services Directory

Organizations that help, stored on your phone and readable offline.

Resources

Where to go next once the encounter is over.

Legal Definitions

Plain English for the words that show up in the report.

Record

Start your camera in one tap — it captures sound too — and what the law says about doing it.

Put it on your phone

Tell us where to send it and we will send you your own install link, along with directions for your phone. Nothing to buy, no app store, and no account to create.

QR code that opens mcguirelawsc.com/knowyourrights

On a computer? Scan this with your phone.

The app belongs on the phone you carry, so point your camera here and it will open this page there.

Thirty years of watching people talk themselves into a conviction

30 Years of Legal Experience

Matt McGuire has defended South Carolinians since 1993, in every one of our 46 counties. The most common thing he hears in a first meeting is some version of the same sentence, which is that the client wishes they had shut up sooner.

That is what this app is. It is the conversation he has already had thousands of times, moved to the point where it still helps.

McGuire Law answers the phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, out of the firm's office in the heart of Columbia.

The person who needs this is not the one reading a landing page

Send it to your kid before they get their license. Send it to somebody who drives home late. It costs them nothing and it takes thirty seconds, which is thirty seconds more than they will have later.

You do not want to be searching for a rights guide after the blue lights come on. Put it on your phone now, and share it with someone you care about.

Call McGuire Law

Questions South Carolinians ask

Do I have to answer where I am coming from or where I am going?

No. You must identify yourself when the law requires it, but you are not required to narrate your evening. “I would rather not answer questions” is a complete response.

Can I refuse a search of my car in South Carolina?

You can refuse consent, and you should say so out loud. Refusing consent is not evidence of guilt and it is not resisting. If officers search anyway, the place to challenge that search is in court, with a lawyer, not on the roadside.

Do I have to take field sobriety tests?

These are the walk and turn, the one leg stand, and the eye test. They are voluntary, and they are scored by the officer who already suspects you.

What happens if I refuse a breath test in South Carolina?

Refusing carries automatic consequences for your license under South Carolina’s implied consent law, separate from the criminal case itself. It is a real decision with real costs, which is why the app walks through both sides of it.

Can I record a police officer?

Yes, in public, as long as you are not physically interfering. Keep your hands visible and say that you are recording.

Does the app work without cell service?

Yes. Once the app is installed and its content has been cached on your phone, it is designed to remain available without an active cell signal or data connection.

Does it work for people who do not speak English?

The app includes a printable Red Card in 56 languages, and a section for non-English speakers. The rest of the app is in English.

What does it cost?

Nothing. The app is free.

It does not ask you to create an account, and it does not ask for an email address or a card. The app itself contains no analytics or tracking, and once installed it loads its content from your own phone. This page you are reading now does use Google Analytics and an online chat widget, as most websites do.

I have already been arrested. Is the app what I need?

If you have already been arrested or charged, call McGuire Law at (888) 499-5738 to speak with the firm about your situation. The app provides general information; it is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer about your specific case.

Thirty seconds now, or nothing at all later

Nobody installs this while it is happening. Install it while nothing is happening. If something is already happening, put the phone to your ear instead.

Fighting for Families, Freedom, and Financial Recovery

Already facing a charge?

If you have been stopped, questioned, searched, or charged and need legal help, call for 24/7/365 representation:

Call (888) 499-5738