S.C. Code Ann. § 23-31-1010: Definitions.

As used in this article:

(1) "Adjudicated as a mental defective" means a determination by a court of competent jurisdiction that a person, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, mental illness, mental incompetency, mental condition, or mental disease:

(a) is a danger to himself or to others; or

(b) lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage the person's own affairs.

The term includes:

(a) a finding of insanity by a court in a criminal case; and

(b) those persons found incompetent to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of lack of mental responsibility pursuant to Articles 50a and 72b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. Sections 850(a) and 876(b).

(2) "Committed to a mental institution" means a formal commitment of a person to a mental institution by a court of competent jurisdiction. The term includes a commitment to a mental institution involuntarily, and a commitment to a mental institution for mental defectiveness, mental illness, and other reasons, such as drug use. The term does not include a person in a mental institution for observation or a voluntary admission to a mental institution.

(3) "Mental institution" includes mental health facilities, mental hospitals, sanitariums, psychiatric facilities, and other facilities that provide diagnoses by licensed professionals of mental retardation or mental illness, including a psychiatric ward in a general hospital.