S 426

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 426
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 17-3-510, RELATING TO THE CIRCUIT PUBLIC DEFENDER SELECTION PANEL, SO
AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNOR SHALL APPOINT CIRCUIT PUBLIC DEFENDERS WITH THE
ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE SENATE.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 17-3-510 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
17-3-510.  (A) There
is created in each judicial circuit in the State a Circuit Public Defender
Selection Panel, the membership of which is composed of, and must be elected
by, the active, licensed attorneys who reside within the counties of each
judicial circuit. Each county in each judicial circuit must be represented by at
least one member and the remaining members must be determined by equal
weighting of county population based on the most recent decennial census and
the most recent annual county appropriations to public defender operations
according to the following formula:The Governor, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint a circuit public
defender for each judicial circuit for a term of four years beginning on July
first of the appropriate year.
       (1) percentage of
distribution of population plus the percentage of distribution of
appropriations for public defender operations divided by two and rounded to the
nearest whole number;
       (2) the weighted values
of each county multiplied by the number of remaining members in each Circuit
Public Defender Selection Panel determines the number of additional members
each county must have on the panel.
    Judicial circuits with
three or less counties must have five members. Judicial circuits with four
counties must have seven members. Judicial circuits with five counties must
have nine members.
    (B) A solicitor, assistant
solicitor, an employee of a solicitor's office, or an employee of the South
Carolina Prosecution Coordination Commission may not serve as a member of a
Circuit Public Defender Selection Panel. Members of a Circuit Public Defender
Selection Panel must reside in the judicial circuit in which they serve.
Circuit Public Defender Selection Panel members shall serve for a term of five
years. A vacancy for an appointed member must be in the same manner of the
original appointment filled by the appointing authority.
    (C)(B) By a weighted majority
vote of its membership, the Senatorial
delegation representing the judicial circuit Circuit
Public Defender Selection Panel shall nominate a
person recommend to the Governor three candidates to
serve as the circuit public defender in the judicial circuit. The Governor shall appoint one of the three recommended
candidates as provided in this article. The commission shall, by majority vote of its members, accept or
reject the nomination, but may not substitute the name of another person.
Initial appointments of circuit public defenders must be made in order for the
first appointees to take office no later than one year from the effective date
of this act, for a term of four years. A circuit public defender may be
reappointed by the commission Governor
to serve successive terms following the same manner of the original
appointment. The circuit public defender for each judicial circuit must be a
full-time employee of the State and must be compensated and have the same
benefits as the circuit solicitor. A circuit public defender may not engage in
the private practice of law or another full-time business for profit.
    (D)(C) A circuit public defender may be removed from office by the Governor in the manner provided in Section
1-3-240(A)(3) for cause by a majority vote of the
commission.
    (E)(D) If a vacancy occurs, by death, resignation, or
otherwise, in the position of circuit public defender, then
the commission Governor
shall appoint an interima successor to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. circuit public defender to serve until a replacement has been
selected by the commission. The Circuit Public Defender Selection Panel shall
nominate a replacement circuit public defender within three months of the
occurrence of the vacancy. Selection of a replacement must be in the same
manner as the original appointment.
SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on March 05, 2025 at 02:54 PM