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South Carolina’s 4.3 million residents are served by an extensive and diverse court system that includes numerous trial courts of very specific or quite general jurisdictions, an intermediate appellate court, and a Supreme Court that is the state legal system’s venue of last resort. 

South Carolina Supreme Court

The five-member South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. It is composed of a chief justice, presently Jean Hoefer Toal, and four associate justices, all of whom are elected to 10-year terms by the General Assembly. The terms of justices are staggered and a justice may be re-elected to any number of terms.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has both appellate and original jurisdictions. In its appellate role, the court has exclusive jurisdiction to hear Circuit Court cases in which a death sentence has been handed down, orders setting public utility rates, judgments involving public bonded indebtedness, a judgment pertaining to elections, or court decisions related to abortions sought by minors. The Supreme Court also can, on its own or by motion of an involved party or the Court of Appeals itself, certify appeals pending before the Court of Appeals to instead be decided by the Supreme Court. 

In reaching its decisions, the Supreme Court considers the transcript of prior proceedings in lower courts, receives relevant documents and exhibits, reads briefs filed by the parties’ lawyers, and hears oral arguments. The court can affirm, reverse or modify Court of Appeals decisions. 

The Supreme Court reviews judgments by Circuit Court and Family Court judges relating to post-conviction relief actions by writ of certiorari. Under its original jurisdiction, the court may allow actions to be commenced at the Supreme Court level and may issue mandamus, certiorari and other extraordinary writes, though normally this occurs only when the case bears significant public interest. And, the court has the authority to consider and agree to answer questions post by the highest courts of another state or by federal courts. 

Aside from its courtroom responsibilities, the Supreme Court is also responsible for making rules for, and serving as the administration of, the state’s court system as a whole. This includes admitting attorneys to the state bar, and policing the conduct of lawyers, judges and court personnel. Finally, the chief justice is the administrative leader of the judicial branch, setting the terms of court and assigning judges to preside over courtrooms. 

The court convenes at 1231 Gervais S. in Columbia. Its roster of cases, court calendar, links to court forms, and information about the court’s released opinions and orders. 

South Carolina Court of Appeals

The South Carolina Court of Appeals is a very young court considering the history of the state as one of America’s original roster of 13 states. The court commenced operations on Sept. 1, 1983.

The Court of Appeals was created to hear most types of appeals arising from Circuit Court and Family Court. Exceptions include the seven classes of exclusive jurisdiction for the Supreme Court, such as death penalty cases.

The court consists of a chief judge, presently Kaye G. Hearn, and eight associate judges who are elected by the General Assembly to staggered terms of six years each.

Judges in the Court of Appeals either sit as three-member panels, or as a whole, which is known as “en banc.” Appeals court judges are empowered to hear oral arguments and motions in any county of South Carolina. 

The court’s roster of cases, its calendar, and its opinions and orders, are among the resources available online. 

South Carolina Circuit Courts 

South Carolina Circuit Court is the state’s court of general jurisdiction. It has a civil court division, a Court of Common Pleas, and a criminal court, known as the Court of General Sessions. 

In addition to general trial jurisdiction, the Circuit Court has limited appellate jurisdiction over appeals arising from Probate Court, Magistrate’s Court, and Municipal Court, and from the Administrative Law Judge Division, which hears matters relating to the state’s administrative and regulatory agencies. 

The state is divided into 16 judicial circuits. Each has at least one resident circuit judge who maintains an office in the judge’s home county. There are 46 Circuit Court judges who serve the 16 circuits on a rotating basis (see the state’s searchable map), with court terms and assignments determined by the chief justice of the Supreme Court based on recommendations by court administration. 

Circuit Court judges are elected by the General Assembly to serve six-year terms.  

South Carolina Family Courts

South Carolina Family Court was established in 1976 to have exclusive jurisdiction over all matters involving domestic or family relationships. It is the sole forum for hearing all cases concerning marriage, divorce, legal separation, child custody, visitation rights, termination of parental rights, adoption, child support and alimony, division of marital property and change of name.

The court also generally has exclusive jurisdiction over minors under age 17 who are alleged to have violated state law or municipal ordinance. But most traffic, fish and game law violations are to be tried in Magistrate Court or Municipal Court. Serious criminal matters will be transferred to Circuit Court.

In each circuit, at least two Family Court judges are elected to six-year terms. They rotate primarily from county to county within their resident circuit. Occasionally, they are assigned to other circuits based upon caseload. 

South Carolina Probate Court

Each county has a Probate Court judge who is elected by popular vote to a four-year term. This individual has jurisdiction over marriage licenses, the estates of deceased persons, guardianships of incompetent individuals, conservatorships of estates of minors and incompetent adults, minor settlements under $25,000 and involuntary commitment to institutions for the mentally ill or the addicted.

Probate Courts also has exclusive jurisdiction over trusts, and concurrent jurisdiction with the Circuit Court over powers of attorney.

South Carolina Magistrate’s Courts

There are about 300 magistrates in South Carolina, each serving the county for which he or she is appointed. They are appointed to four-year terms by the governor upon the advice and consent of the Senate.

The officials who serve Magistrate’s Court are appointed to four-year terms by the governor upon the advice of the Senate. Magistrates must also pass a certification exam within one year of being appointed. They generally have criminal trial jurisdiction over all offenses that are subject to a fine, as set by statute, but generally the penalty cannot exceed $500 nor imprisonment beyond 30 days.

The state’s magistrates can be searched by name or location. 

South Carolina Municipal Courts

The council of each town or city may establish, by ordinance, a Municipal Court to hear and determine all cases within its jurisdiction. These courts are part of the unified judicial system of South Carolina. Some towns and cities prosecute violators in Magistrate’s Court rather than maintaining a viable Municipal Court.

Municipal Court has jurisdiction over cases arising under ordinances of the municipality in which they serve.

They also are responsible for all offenses taking place within the municipality for which the fine is $500 or less and imprisonment does not exceed 30 days. The powers and duties of a municipal judge are the same as those of the magistrate. The term of a municipal judge is set by the town or city, but cannot exceed four years. Presently, there are about 200 Municipal Court systems in the state.

Charleston County Courts

Judicial Branch

Opinions of the Supreme Court - Published orders and Opinions are available in HTML format and PDF format.

United States Bankruptcy Court - District of South Carolina

United States District Court - District of South Carolina

South Carolina Case Records Search - Map of the South Carolina counties with counties offering court records searches in red and clickable on the map.

South Carolina Trial Courts - Map of trial court locations in South Carolina.

South Carolina Probate Courts - General overview of the courts as well as judges by map, name, roster and rules of probate court.

South Carolina Magistrates - There are about 300 magistrates in South Carolina.  Information on the magistrates as well as the bench book and judge information.

South Carolina Supreme Court Library - The Supreme Court library features over 40,000 volumes regarding the law and related resources.  Second largest public legal research collection in the state.

South Carolina Judicial Department - Search the forms library by court type, title and ID number.

South Carolina Courts - Court calendar for all state courts online with links to their individual events.