Tant v. South Carolina Department of Corrections

Summary

The South Carolina Supreme Court held that the Department of Corrections must provide formal notice and an opportunity for an inmate to use the grievance process when changing its recorded sentence. The court further held that the Department is generally limited to the sentencing sheets, but may consult the sentencing transcript when the sheets are ambiguous. Because both the sentencing sheets and transcript were ambiguous, the court construed Tant’s sentences concurrently and determined that his total sentence was fifteen years.

Holdings

1. Whenever the Department of Corrections alters an inmate's sentence in its records, it must provide formal notice of the change and advise the inmate of the right to file a grievance and obtain a hearing.
2. The Department is generally confined to the face of the sentencing sheets when determining an inmate's sentence, but may consult the sentencing transcript when the sentencing sheets are ambiguous. A later letter or other correspondence from a sentencing judge who no longer has jurisdiction may not be used to determine the sentence.
3. When both the sentencing sheets and the sentencing transcript are ambiguous as to whether sentences run concurrently or consecutively, the sentences must be construed in the defendant's favor as concurrent.

Questions Presented

1. What process must the Department of Corrections provide when it changes its initial recordation of an inmate's sentence?
2. What materials may the Department consider in determining the length and concurrency of an inmate's sentence?
3. How should ambiguous sentencing sheets and an ambiguous sentencing transcript be construed?

Disposition

affirmed