H 3306

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 3306
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 14-8-10, RELATING TO THE COURT OF
APPEALS, SO AS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF JUDGES FROM NINE TO FIFTEEN; BY
AMENDING SECTION 14-8-20, RELATING TO THE TERMS OF OFFICE FOR JUDGES ON THE
COURT OF APPEALS, SO AS TO ESTABLISH STAGGERED TERMS; BY AMENDING SECTION
14-8-80, RELATING TO THE COURT SITTING IN PANELS OR AS A WHOLE, AND THE
ASSIGNMENT OF MEMBERS TO PANELS BY THE CHIEF JUDGE, AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF
CASES BETWEEN THE PANELS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE CHIEF JUDGE ESTABLISH TWO
PANELS TO PRESIDE OVER CRIMINAL MATTERS, TWO PANELS TO PRESIDE OVER CIVIL
MATTERS, AND A FIFTH PANEL TO MAINTAIN APPROXIMATELY EQUAL CASELOADS BETWEEN
THE PANELS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 14-8-90, RELATING TO WHEN THE COURT MAY SIT
EN BANC, SO AS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF JUDGES FOR A PETITION OR MOTION FOR
THE COURT TO SIT EN BANC FROM SIX TO TEN, AND TO PROVIDE THAT TEN JUSTICES
CONSTITUTE A QUORUM.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 14-8-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
14-8-10. There is hereby created the Court of Appeals (the Court), which shall
be a part of the unified judicial system.  The Court shall consist of a Chief
Judge and eightfourteen
associate judges.
SECTION 2.  Section 14-8-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
14-8-20. (a) The members of the Court
shall be elected by joint public vote of the General Assembly for a term of six
years and until their successors are elected and qualify;.  provided, however, that However of those judges initially elected to begin the term of office on July 1, 1985, the Chief
Judge (Seat 5) and the judge elected to Seat 6 shall be elected for terms of
six years each, the judges elected to Seats 3 and 4 shall be elected for terms
of four years each, and the judges elected to Seats 1 and 2 shall be elected
for terms of two years each.  The terms of office of the
judges of the Court shall begin on July 1, 1985.  For
the judges initially elected to begin the term of office for Seats 10 through
15 on July 1, 2026, the judges elected to Seats 10 and 11 shall be elected for
terms of two years each, the judges elected to Seats 12 and 13 shall be elected
for terms of four years each, and the judges elected to Seats 14 and 15 shall
be elected for terms of six years each. Prior to such date, the General
Assembly shall have authority to take such measures as necessary to secure
accommodations, personnel, supplies, and equipment and such other matters as
may be necessary to effect full implementation of the Court for operation by
such date.
    (b)
Each seat on the Court shall be numbered.  Candidates shall be required to file
for a specific seat.  Seat five shall be designated as the office of Chief
Judge and shall be a separate and distinct office for the purpose of an
election.
    (c) In
any contested election, the vote of each member of the General Assembly present
and voting shall be recorded;  provided, that the provisions of Chapter 19, of Title 2 shall be
followed in the course of electing the members of the Court.
SECTION 3.  Section 14-8-80 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
14-8-80. (a) The Court shall sit in threefive panels of three
judges each.  However, nothing in this section may be construed to prevent the
Court from sitting as a whole.
    (b)
The Chief Judge is responsible for the administration of the Court, subject to
the provisions of Article V, Section 4 of the Constitution of this State.  The
Chief Judge shall assign the members of the panels and shall systematically
rotate and interchange the members of the panels in accordance with rules
promulgated by the Supreme Court.  The Chief Judge shall preside over the panel
of which he is a member and in his absence the judge senior in service and
present shall preside.  The judge senior in service and present on the other
panel shall preside over the other panel.  For the five associate judges whose
terms begin on July 1, 1985, the determination of their length of service shall
be based on their order of election, with the associate judge who is elected
first being the associate judge senior in service;  provided, however, that
seniority among the judges on an interim Court of Appeals shall continue on the
permanent Court of Appeals established by the provisions of this chapter and
service on that Court shall be included in determining the length of service on
the Court herein established.
    (c)
Cases must be distributed between the three panels
by the Chief Judge in accordance with rules promulgated by the Supreme Court;
however, the Chief Judge may transfer cases from one panel
to the other in order to maintain approximately equal caseloads for the three
panelsmust establish two panels to preside over
criminal matters and two panels to preside over civil matters. The Chief Judge
may utilize the fifth panel to maintain approximately equal caseloads between
the panels that preside over the criminal matters and panels that preside over
civil matters.
    (d) On
a panel, three judges shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence of a
majority of the judges is necessary for the reversal of the judgment below.
SECTION 4.  Section 14-8-90 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
14-8-90. (a) The Court may sit en
banc to hear cases upon:
       (1)
petition by a party filed in accordance with rules promulgated by the Supreme
Court if the petition is granted by sixten judges of the Court; or
       (2)
its own motion agreed to by sixten judges of the Court.
    (b)
When the Court sits en banc, sixten of the judges constitute a quorum and a concurrence
of sixten of the judges
is necessary for a reversal of the judgment below. The Chief Judge shall
preside, and in his absence the judge senior in service and present shall
preside.
SECTION 5.  This act takes effect on July 1,
2026.
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