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What the Court Does
Q: I've seen the terms "Summary Court" and "Magistrates' Courts". What's the difference?
These terms are used interchangeably to refer to courts which are presided over by a Magistrate.
The administrative support staff for the Magistrates' Courts is always referred to as "Summary Courts Administration".
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Q: What kinds of civil cases are heard in Magistrates' Courts?
Magistrates hear several types of civil cases. The most familiar is probably the Small Claims case.
Small Claims cases are disputes involving $7,500 or less (in money or value of property). Magistrates' Courts also
handle Evictions, Pre-Distress Warrants, Claim and Delivery, Landlord/Tenant disputes,
Public Sales on Abandoned Property, and issue restraining orders.
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Q: Can I get a jury trial in Magistrates' Courts?
Yes, you are legally entitled to a jury trial IF YOU REQUEST ONE. If you wish to make such a request, you should speak to the
clerk in charge at the Magistrates' Court where your case is being heard. The judge will arrange for a trial date, and
a six-member jury will be selected for this purpose.
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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 local police, sheriff's department, FBI, or other appropriate law enforcement agency.
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What the Court Does Not
Q: Does your office provide information pertaining to any of the following?
- Federal and State tax leins
- Records of land transactions
- Filing general partnership forms
The Magistrates' Courts in Charleston County do not handle any of these records. For information regarding any of these items, you should contact the RMC (Registrar of Mesne Conveyance) Office located in the O.T. Wallace County Office Building in downtown Charleston. Their phone number is (843) 958-4800.
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Q: Can I make my child support payments at a Magistrates' Court?
No. Child Support payments are accepted at Family Court, located in the
Judicial Center behind the Historic Courthouse near the corner
of Meeting and Broad streets in downtown Charleston.
Payments may be mailed in to the Family Court address. Please remember that a payment stub must accompany all payments.
You may also make payments at the Treasurer's Office at any of the
county's Service Centers.
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Q: Do I go to Magistrates' Courts for a marriage license?
Marriage licenses are not issued by Magistrates' Courts.
You may obtain a marriage license or receive information pertaining to marriage licenses by contacting
the Marriage License Division of the Charleston County Probate Court, located at the
Charleston County Judicial Center, 100 Broad Street, Suite 469, in
downtown Charleston. The phone number is (843) 958-5183.
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Q: Can I register to vote at your office?
No. Voter registration in Charleston County is handled by the office of Voter Registration which
may be reached at (843) 744-8683.
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Q: Can I pay my traffic ticket at your office?
Instructions telling you in which court you must appear are on the copy of the ticket you received.
If you have lost or misplaced your ticket, you should contact Summary Court Administration for assistance. Summary Court Administration does not have access to Municipal Court records. Therefore, please contact the appropriate Municipal Court if your ticket was written by the police department of a local municipality.
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Small Claims
Q: When is a case a matter for "Small Claims," and when is it "Common Pleas"?
Generally speaking, when the amount or value of property in dispute is less than $7,500 the matter is filed and heard
in Small Claims Court.
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Q: How do I file a Small Claims case? Is there a charge?
A Small Claims action is commenced by the filing and service of a summons and complaint, together with the appropriate filing fees. Parties
instituting a Small Claims action are required to pay the filing fee at the time the case is filed. The current fee is $80.
Complaints may be accompanied by an application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning that the plaintiff is incapable of paying the filing fee.
Summons and complaint forms are available at either of the two Small Claims Courts in Charleston
County. You must bring a current Charleston County address for the person against whom you wish to file the case so
that the summons may be properly served. If you are attempting to collect from a person who lives outside Charleston County, or from a
business located in another county, you must file your case in the county in which the person resides, or in which the business is
located.
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Q: Where Do I file a Small Claims Case?
Small Claims cases (civil claims under $7,500) are filed with one of the two Small Claims Magistrates' Courts in Charleston County. The Small Claims Court
in Charleston is located at 995 Morrison Drive, and is open Monday through
Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The North Charleston Small Claims Court is located at 4045 Bridgeview Drive, Room B146, and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to
4:30 PM.
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Q: I have a judgment from Small Claims Court. How do I have it executed?
Transcripts of Judgment are filed with the Clerk of Court; executions against property are performed by the County Sheriff.
Simply bring in your transcript of judgment and file it with the clerk, along with an execution form that must be filled out by
you or your attorney. The clerk will sign and seal the execution. Because cases from a lower court may be appealed for 30 days following
the judgment, you must wait 30 days before you can have the judgment executed. After the 30-day waiting period, take your transcript of judgment
and execution against property to the County Sheriff's office.
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Rental and Property
Q: What is a Landlord/Tenant dispute?
A landlord/tenant dispute is generally filed by the tenant against the landlord, for such issues
as failure to maintain the rental property, unlawful eviction, or other such complaint. There is a $40 filing
fee for Landlord/tenant disputes.
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Q: How do I go about evicting a renter for non-payment of rent?
A landlord may file for eviction in Magistrates' Courts. You should contact the Magistrates' Court nearest you for information
regarding jurisdiction; the court staff will help you in determining which Magistrates' Court is the one in which you should file
your case. You may also obtain the proper forms from the Court. The entire process is in two parts, and may take from 15 to 20 days to complete.
Application for eviction may only be made for one of three reasons:
- The tenant fails or refuses to pay rent when due or demanded.
- A term or condition of the lease has been violated. In such an instance, the landlord
must be able to provide the section of the lease which has been violated.
- The term of tenancy or occupancy has ended.
It is important to note that you may not file for an Eviction until the
tenant is more than five days delinquent in paying their rent (that is, on the sixth day following the
day the rent was due). In South Carolina, a verbal rental agreement is as
valid as a written contract, so it is not necessary to have a written lease agreement.
However, in situations where there is a written agreement, the terms of the lease take precedence
over the Landlord/Tenant act. In other words, if you have a written agreement that gives your tenant
fifteen days in which to pay, you cannot file for eviction until the fifteen days have passed.
A $40 filing fee is attached to the first application, which is the Affidavit and Application of Ejectment and
Rule To Show Cause. This paper gives the tenant 10 days from the date of service to settle with the landlord, move, or request a hearing
to show cause why s/he should not be evicted. If the tenant does not settle, move, or request the Show Cause
hearing at the end of this period, the landlord should make the application for the second paper of the eviction
process, which is titled a Writ (or Warrant) Of Ejectment. There is a second $10 filing fee required with this paper.
The Court prepares the paperwork and a constable will serve the tenant. This second notice gives the
tenant 5 days to settle or vacate. If the tenant fails to respond after 5 days, the landlord may call
the court's office to schedule an eviction (put-out) date with the Constable.
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Q: What is a Claim and Delivery case?
A Claim and Delivery suit is filed when you wish to repossess certain kinds of property. For example,
a furniture rental company may wish to repossess a sofa when the renter fails to make his/her rental payments.
Claim and Delivery suits are also commonly filed by finance companies. There is a $65 filing fee for this type
of case. You may obtain the proper forms and pay the filing fee in the Magistrates' Court for the area
in which the property is located. If you are unsure about which Magistrates' Court serves your area,
call any Magistrates' Court for information.
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Q: What is a Pre-Distress Warrant?
A Pre-Distress Warrant is generally filed when the plaintiff wishes to seize property belonging to
the defendant, in situations where the defendant is the plaintiff's tenant. There is a $40 filing fee for
a Pre-Distress Warrant. If a warrant is granted by the judge, any monies collected from the
sale of the defendant's property can ONLY be used to cover the amount of rent which is overdue. Pre-Distress
warrants are usually (though not always) filed in conjunction with an Eviction.
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Q: What is a Sale on Abandoned Property?
This type of case is generally filed by towing companies or storage facilities in situations
where property such as a vehicle, boat, furniture or other personal property has been abandoned by the
person named as the defendant. The property must be abandoned for a period of 30 days before
the case can be filed. The purpose of such a case is to receive permission from the court to sell the
property and keep the proceeds to cover the storage charges. There is a filing fee of $35 payable upon
the filing of the case.
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Appeals & Expungements
Q: How does a person file an appeal on a civil case?
The Court of Common Pleas handles appeals from Small Claims and other
Magistrate civil cases. You have 30 days in which to file an appeal on a
civil case. Appeals on civil cases are automatically scheduled as non-jury
matters, but you can always ask for a jury trial if you wish. Civil
appeals are placed on the court's roster and will come before a judge based on
the date the appeal was filed. Civil appeals do not take precedence over
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You have ten days from the date of your trial to file your appeal with
the Magistrates' Court where your case was heard. The Magistrate must then
issue his Return and submit it along with your appeal to the Clerk of Court
within thirty days. A Circuit Judge will then review the appeal along with
the Magistrates Return and render his/her decision.
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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 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.)
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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, "nol 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
filing fee. The amount of the filing will be provided by the Clerk of
Court at (843) 958-5000. Finally, you should distribute certified copies of the order to appropriate agencies and departments
in which the charge was recorded: Sheriff's Office, SC Department of Public Safety, Office of the Solicitor,
the Circuit or Magistrates' Courts, or SLED.
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Legal Counsel
Q: Can you give me advice about my lawsuit?
Summary Court staff is not permitted to give legal advice, nor can they
give you an opinion regarding your legal questions. Persons seeking advice or acting as their own
attorneys should consult the most recent edition of South Carolina Rules of Court, or contact the
S.C. Senate for Equal Justice at (803) 720-7044.
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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) 958-1850. There is no right to free legal assistance in civil proceedings.
Some litigants proceed pro se; that is, they represent themselves before the court. It is common
for litigants in Magistrates' Civil and Small Claims cases to act as their own attorneys.
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Q: Can you recommend an attorney or law firm to me?
Personnel in the Magistrates' Courts are prohibited from referring you to an attorney.
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Q: Can I act as my own attorney when filing a case?
Yes, you have the right to act as your own attorney. Magistrates' Court office staff cannot give you any advice regarding
the law, however they can explain court procedures to you so that you may make a more informed decision.
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Case Inquiries
Q: How can I check on the status of my case? Can I review case files?
Your lawyer, who likely is familiar with local court practice, is your best resource. If you are
acting as your own attorney, you may call or visit the Magistrates' Court where your case is filed.
Generally, all documents filed in Magistrates' Courts are public records and are available at the court in which
they were filed. Many of the Magistrates' Courts case records are available at this Web site through
the Interactive Search for Public Access Cases.
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Q: How can I find out when my case is coming up for trial (or another scheduled event such as a hearing?)
You can check on the events for which your case has been scheduled by linking to our Interactive Search for Public Access Cases and
inquiring on your case number (if known) or by your name. You may also wish to contact the clerk at the Magistrates' Court at which your
case is scheduled to be heard.
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Q: Do you provide case and judgment information to companies such as credit bureaus?
The clerks are unable to look up and give out case information to credit bureaus and other companies. While this information
is available to the public, companies with an interest in obtaining such information must perform the research themselves. All the information is available
via public access computer terminals in the Charleston County Clerk of Court's office or through Public Access Case Inquiry features available at this web site.
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