South Carolina H 3306: Civil and Criminal Courts of Appeals Panels

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3306 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

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