Under South Carolina law, anyone age 17 or older will be charged as an adult. Anyone under the age of 17 will first be brought before a Family Court Judge (in South Carolina, the Family Courts handle juvenile offenders). At this point, the judge will consider if the juvenile should be tried as an adult. When deciding this, the judge must consider the best interests of the child and the community.

The more serious the offense and the older the juvenile, the more likely that the juvenile will be tried as an adult. Also, if the juvenile has a criminal history, it is not likely that a repeat offender will benefit from the juvenile justice system. In that case, it is likely that the juvenile may be tried as an adult.

Additionally, the judge must provide a sufficient statement of the reasons for the transfer of a juvenile to adult court. Once the juvenile is transferred to adult court, he/she will be treated as an adult.

There are several differences between a juvenile proceeding and the court of general sessions. In a juvenile proceeding, the juvenile is entitled to a lawyer, but there is no jury trial. The judge will determine if the juvenile is guilty and what the punishment should be. The judge has a few choices as far as punishment goes, he or she can order probation, community service, house arrest, and can even put the juvenile in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice until the juvenile reaches the age of 21. If sent to the court of general sessions, the juvenile will have the right to a trial by jury and also will have a lawyer. The sentence for a conviction would depend on the crime committed.