SC Circuit Court Judges: Qualifications, Terms, and Retirement

South Carolina circuit court judges are the state’s primary trial judges, with forty-nine seats spread across sixteen judicial circuits. They are elected by the General Assembly to six-year terms after being screened and found qualified by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission. To hold the office, a candidate must be at least 32 years old, licensed to practice law for eight years, and a South Carolina resident for the five years before election. Mandatory retirement comes at age 72.

How They Get on the Bench

Article V, Section 13 of the South Carolina Constitution requires circuit court judges to be elected by a joint public vote of the General Assembly.¹ Members of the House and Senate meet together, and each lawmaker casts a recorded vote. Voters play no direct role.

Before a name ever reaches that floor vote, the candidate has to clear the Judicial Merit Selection Commission. The twelve-member commission runs public hearings and background investigations, weighing each applicant’s integrity, legal ability, and judicial temperament.² Only candidates the commission finds qualified are reported out to the legislature.³ A candidate the commission rejects does not reach a vote at all, which gives the JMSC considerable influence over who sits on the bench.

Who Qualifies

Article V, Section 15 sets four requirements. A candidate must be a citizen of both the United States and South Carolina, must be at least 32 years old, must have been a licensed attorney for eight years, and must have lived in South Carolina for the five years immediately before the election.⁴ The same requirements apply to Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges.

Between the age floor and the eight-year practice requirement, every circuit judge arrives with substantial time already in the profession. A judge who was already serving when the age and experience minimums were adopted can continue serving and seeking reelection even if they do not technically meet those thresholds.

What Circuit Court Judges Handle

The circuit court works through two divisions. The Court of Common Pleas hears civil matters: contract disputes, personal injury suits, property claims, and equity cases such as foreclosures. The Court of General Sessions hears criminal cases, primarily felonies and serious misdemeanors. The split lets each division run on its own procedural rhythm.

Civil Cases

Civil disputes land in circuit court when they exceed the ceiling of the lower courts. Magistrate courts can hear civil matters up to $7,500, so anything above that generally belongs in Common Pleas.⁵ There is no upper dollar limit on circuit court jurisdiction, which makes it the default forum for significant litigation.

Criminal Cases

General Sessions has jurisdiction over all felonies and over misdemeanors beyond the reach of magistrate and municipal courts. The two divisions share courthouses and judges. A judge sitting in a criminal session can still transact Common Pleas business during that term, provided it does not interfere with the criminal docket.⁶

Appeals From Magistrate and Municipal Courts

Circuit judges also hear appeals from magistrate and municipal courts under South Carolina Code Section 14-5-340, in both civil and criminal matters.⁶ The circuit judge reviews the lower court record to decide whether the law was correctly applied. That review matters because South Carolina does not require magistrate or municipal judges to be attorneys.

The Sixteen Circuits

South Carolina’s forty-six counties are grouped into sixteen judicial circuits, each covering geographically connected counties.⁷ Some circuits take in two counties, others as many as five. The Ninth Circuit covers Berkeley and Charleston. The Fourteenth stretches across Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper.⁸

Resident Judges and At-Large Judges

Of the forty-nine circuit judges, forty-two are resident judges who must live within the circuit they serve.⁹ The remaining seven are at-large judges elected statewide with no circuit residency requirement. Each at-large seat is numbered individually, from Seat No. 1 through Seat No. 7, and carries the same six-year term as a resident judgeship.⁷ The at-large seats give the Chief Justice flexibility to send judges wherever caseloads run heaviest.

Rotation

Judges do not stay in one courthouse. They rotate across circuits, holding court outside their home base. A judge sitting in an unfamiliar circuit holds the same powers as the resident judge of that circuit, including the authority to hear motions and issue orders at chambers.⁶ The Chief Justice manages assignments.

Terms and Vacancies

Each term runs six years. At the end of a term, the judge has to go through the full process again: JMSC screening, a finding of qualification, and reelection by the General Assembly.⁹ There is no automatic renewal. The commission’s review of an incumbent is as rigorous as the initial screening, and a sitting judge the commission does not find qualified cannot stand for reelection.

When a judge leaves office before the term ends, the General Assembly elects a successor to fill only the unexpired portion. The replacement goes through the same JMSC screening and legislative vote. Once the unexpired portion ends, the seat returns to the regular six-year cycle. A vacancy can sit open for weeks or months while the commission screens candidates and the legislature schedules a vote.

Mandatory Retirement at 72

Under South Carolina Code Section 9-8-60, circuit court judges must retire no later than the end of the calendar year in which they turn 72.¹⁰ The limit applies across the state’s unified court system.

Retirement does not have to end judicial service. Section 14-1-215 lets the Chief Justice assign a retired circuit judge to preside over proceedings in any circuit court in the state. To stay eligible, a retired judge must be reviewed by the JMSC and found qualified within two years of each appointment.¹⁰

Ethics and Discipline

Sitting judges are bound by South Carolina’s Code of Judicial Conduct, which tracks the American Bar Association’s Model Code. The rules require independence and impartiality, competent performance of duties, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and restraint from political activity that could compromise neutrality. Because selection runs through the legislature rather than a public ballot, the campaign-conduct rules look different here than in states with contested judicial elections, but the core duties apply the same way.

Enforcement runs through the Commission on Judicial Conduct, which operates under the South Carolina Judicial Branch.¹¹ Anyone can file a complaint. The commission investigates, and serious cases can lead to sanctions ranging from private reprimand to removal, with the South Carolina Supreme Court handling final enforcement of the most severe penalties. The discipline process is independent of the legislative selection process, so political connections built during a judge’s election carry no weight against a well-founded ethics complaint.

1
South Carolina Legislature. Constitution of the State of South Carolina 1895
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Section 2-19-5 – South Carolina Judicial Merit Selection Commission Creation, Appointment, Terms
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 2 Chapter 19 – Judicial Merit Selection Commission
4
South Carolina Legislature. Judicial Qualifications Checklist
5
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Magistrate Court
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 14 Chapter 5 – Circuit Courts
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 14-5-610 – Division of State Into Sixteen Judicial Circuits
8
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Circuit Map
9
South Carolina Judicial Branch. About the SC Circuit Court
10
South Carolina Attorney General. Attorney General Opinion – Mandatory Retirement Age
11
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Commission on Judicial Conduct