Tag: judicial reform

Rankin Defends Current Process for Selecting SC Judges

Horry County Senator Luke Rankin spoke for approximately one hour on the SC Senate floor last week defending the current process for electing judges in the state.
Rankin, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and current Vice Chairman of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC), spoke during debate on the Senate floor about possible changes to the way in which judges are elected in South Carolina.
A major point of contention is that lawyer/legislators in the General Assembly have too much influence in the process. A change currently being considered is to not allow attorneys to serve on the JMSC, a point Rankin ridiculed during his speech. Candidates who pass screening are then voted on by a joint session of the General Assembly or the county legislative delegation, depending on the judicial position. South Carolina and Virginia are the only two states in the nation in which the legislatures play the primary roles in electing judges.
A member of JMSC since 2017, Rankin, several times during his speech, likened the current process of electing judges to “kicking the tires of a car” when considering purchase of a new vehicle. Rankin spoke of the several “touch points” during the process which include inputs from appointed citizens committee, the SC Bar review and what is known as the ballot box technique of collecting anonymous comments about judicial candidates, all of which are available to the JMSC when it considers judicial candidates. Candidates are reported out of the JMSC as qualified or not qualified for consideration for the judicial position they are seeking.

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American Conservative Voices Hears of Need for Judicial Reform

The American Conservative Voices group hosted 1st Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, 16th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett and York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson Tuesday night to hear recommendations on judicial reform in South Carolina.
South Carolina is one of only two states in the Union (Virginia being the other) where judicial appointments are controlled by the legislature. In the remaining 48 states, judges are popularly elected by the people.
Consequently, the judicial branch in South Carolina is in reality not a separate and equal branch of government, but one, at least indirectly, controlled by the General Assembly. Judges’ rulings can, and often are, second guessed by legislators, which can directly affect whether a judge will remain on the bench.
Pascoe gave examples of two different judges who were up for reappointment with no other candidates for their position, but, because each had made a ruling against a legislator-lawyer before them in a case, failed to get through the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) part of the judicial appointment process. These were sitting judges, up for reappointment, who failed to be reappointed just because they had made a legislator-lawyer mad at them. That is not an independent judiciary.
The JMSC is composed of 10 members, three members of the House and three members of the Senate along with four non-legislators. The three House members and two of the non-legislators are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the three Senate members and two of the non-legislators are appointed by the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman. This makeup of the commission makes it easy to see how making just one House member or Senator mad at you can tank a candidate’s appointment or reappointment to the bench.

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