Court of General Sessions
Frequently Asked Questions
P.O. Box 70219
2144 Melbourne Avenue - Room 117
North Charleston, SC 29418
Phone: (843) 740-5700 Fax: (843) 740-5887
Legal Advice
Q: Can you give me legal advice?
No; the Clerk of Court's office staff is not permitted to give legal advice.
Persons seeking advice or acting as their own
attorneys should consult the most recent edition of South Carolina Rules of Court and follow
the Rules of Criminal Procedure, or contact the Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program at (843) 722-0107.
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Hiring an Attorney
Q: Can you recommend an attorney or law firm to me?
No; the Clerk of Court's office staff are prohibited from referring you to an attorney.
Q: Can I act as my own attorney and defend myself?
Yes; You have the right to act as your own attorney, but our office cannot give you any advice as to
the law or procedures.
Q: How can I find a lawyer?
For information on attorney referrals you may contact the S.C. Lawyers Referral Service at (800) 868-2284.
Defendants in criminal proceedings have a right to a lawyer, and are entitled to have counsel appointed at government expense if they are financially
unable to obtain adequate representation by private counsel. For more information, contact the Charleston County Public Defender's Office at (843) 740-5750. Some litigants proceed pro se; that is, they represent themselves before the court.
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Criminal Case Process
Q: How do I file a criminal case?
Individuals do not file criminal charges. A criminal proceeding is initiated by the government, usually through the Charleston County Solicitor's Office in coordination with a law enforcement agency.
Allegations of criminal behavior should be brought to an appropriate law enforcement agency.
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Expungements
Q: What is an "expungement"?
An expungement of record is a process by which the records of a criminal conviction
are destroyed or sealed after a certain length of time. This includes records in files, on computer, or in
any other depositories. Following an expungement, it is as if the criminal case never existed in so far as
the defendant is concerned.
When a case is expunged in Charleston County, the court's computer records are modified so that all references to the
defendant's name are removed from the record. Typically, an expunged case record will contain a reference such as
"June 1998 Expungement" in place of the name of the defendant, and will contain no references to the defendant's name,
address, or any other personal information such as driver's license number, age, etc. The case number is left on the system
in order to provide an accounting of all case numbers, and so that caseload statistics can be properly gathered. (For example,
the court would still need to know how many criminal cases of a certain nature were disposed in a given year, so the case number is left on
the computer database. But because the case is expunged, it will not be possible to tell who the defendant
was in the case.)
Because an expungement is the destruction or sealing of the criminal case records,
an expungement does not pertain to the records of the original arrest.
Q: How do I know if I'm eligible for an expungement?
You may be eligible to have a criminal case record expunged IF:
- You have never had a charge expunged before, AND
- The charges against you were dismissed, "nolle prossed", or you were found "not guilty", OR
- The charges were dismissed by the Solicitor because the defendant successfully completed
a Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) program, OR
- You were convicted of a Fraudulent Check Law violation, and no criminal activity
has taken place for three years following the date of the conviction, OR
- You were convicted of a first offense simple possession of marijuana, received a
conditional discharge, and has successfully complied with the terms of that sentence, OR
- You were convicted of a first offense in a Magistrates or Municipal Court and no other
criminal activity has taken place within three years following the date of conviction.
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Q: How do I get my criminal record expunged?
You may ask for a criminal charge to be expunged from your record
under a variety of conditions, but you are only entitled to one expungement during your lifetime.
In order to obtain an expungement you must first meet the eligibility requirements listed above, and you must
obtain and complete a form known as an Expungement Order. You will also need to obtain certain signatures on the Expungement Order.
- If the case was heard by a Magistrate, obtain the Magistrate's signature on the expungement order.
- If the case was heard in Circuit Court, obtain the signature of a Circuit Court Judge.
- If the you went through a Pre-Trial Intervention program, obtain the signature of the Pre-Trial Intervention Director.
- Obtain a signature from an authorized person in the Solicitor's Office.
Once the form contains all required signatures, you must file the Expungement Order with the Clerk
of Court. In order for the expungement to be processed, you must pay a $35 filing fee. This fee may
be waived if the criminal charges against you were dismissed, or "nolle prossed", or if you were found "not guilty". Finally, you must distribute certified copies of the order to appropriate agencies and departments
in which the charge was recorded: arresting agency, SC Department of Public Safety, Office of the Solicitor,
and the Circuit or Magistrate's Court.
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Case Inquiries
Q: How can I check on the status of my case? Can I review case files?
You should contact the Solicitor's Office for the status of a criminal case. Case documents filed with the court are public records and are available through the clerk's office. Some documents
are sealed by special court order, and some documents are confidential by operation of law,
such as grand jury materials and criminal files relating to juveniles.
As the keeper of court records, the clerk's office responds to most inquiries once given the specific case number or a party name. Inquiries for information and requests to examine dockets, case files, exhibits, and other records are made at the clerk's office in room 117 at 2144 Melbourne Ave. in North Charleston.
Family Court records are retained in the clerk's office on the 2nd floor of the O.T. Wallace County Office Building at 2 Courthouse Square, in downtown Charleston.
Inquiries often are made by phone.
A fee of $ .25 a page also is assessed for providing copies of court documents. Older case documents may only be available on microfilm.
The Clerk of Court also provides public access terminals which allow for the search and retrieval of case-related information.
This same information is available through our Interactive Search for Public Access Cases at this WEB site. Automated access to case-related information is available free of charge, seven days a week.
Q: How can I find out when my case is coming up for trial (or another scheduled event such as a motion hearing?)
You should contact the Solicitor's Office to obtain information pertaining to the key events in your case.
Does the Clerk of Court have a complete schedule of all Criminal cases coming up for trial?
No; the function of scheduling Criminal cases for trial is a function of the Solicitor's Office.
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Traffic Tickets
Q: Where do I go to pay my traffic ticket?
Traffic tickets are handled by Magistrate's Court (also called Summary Courts) in Charleston County.
There are 18 magistrates courts in Charleston County. All but four of these courts handle traffic citations. Instructions telling
you which court you must appear in are on the copy of the ticket you received. For more information you may link
to the Magistrates' Court Page at this site.
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Appeals
Q: What if I don't like the outcome of my General Sessions case; what if I want to appeal it?
Cases tried or otherwise disposed in the Court of General Sessions in Charleston County are appealed to the South Carolina State Supreme Court.
Appeals are filed with the Clerk of the State Supreme Court.
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Jury Service
Q: I received a summons for jury duty in the Court of General Sessions. Where can I get more information?
For additional information regarding jury service, click here to visit our Jury Service Information page.
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Restraining Orders
Q: Is this where I come to get a restraining order?
Restraining Orders are generally obtained through a Magistrate's Court. You should contact the Magistrate for
the area in which the offender lives. For a complete list of Magistrate's Courts and their locations,
click here to link to the Magistrate's Court Page. If you are in immediate distress or danger, or if the offender is either a member of
your family or someone with whom you cohabitate, click here for information and a list of agency contacts
which may be able to assist you.
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Domestic Abuse
Q: Is this where I come to report Domestic Abuse?
No, cases involving Domestic Abuse are handled by Family Court in Charleston County.
If you are in immediate distress or danger you should always dial 911. Click here for further information
on Domestic Abuse and restraining orders.
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