JUDICIAL REFORM: Attorney General aims to change the way judges in SC are appointed

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — How are judges appointed in this state?

That might be a question few people in South Carolina think about but it has a major impact on everyone in the state.

Monday morning, attorney General Alan Wilson hosted a panel discussion about judicial reform.

“This is an issue about reforming our way of governing ourselves. This is not a party fight or an attack on any group of people. This is about making South Carolina better,” said attorney general Alan Wilson.

Wilson spoke about changing the way judges are selected in South Carolina.

At the moment, the state constitution outlines that a Judicial Merit Selection Committee or JMSC selects candidates for judicial positions.

“Their three most qualified candidates go to a full vote by the General Assembly,” Wilson said. “The House and Senate votes until someone receives a majority of the vote. That person is selected to be the judge for that vacancy.”

The attorney general and those present at Monday’s discussion do not want to get rid of the JMSC, but rather change who is in it. Right now, 6 of the 10 members are legislators and all are selected by legislative leadership.

“Right now, the way the process works is that legislators select who they are going to vote on,” said Drew McKissick, chairman of the SC Republican Party. “They vote on them and then get a retention vote years later on who they voted on.  Right now the executive branch is not involved at all.”

Wilson says that the current system allows for potential abuse of power, conflict of interests and mistrust of judges.

“There is a perception, whether it is real or not doesn’t matter. There is a perception by people that based on who you are, you get different treatment in the criminal justice system,” the attorney general said.  “We want a system that can mitigate that. You can’t eliminate that. As long as human beings are part of the system, you’re not going to have a perfect way of selecting judges.”

However, the attorney general believes that reforming the system would increase accountability and transparency. He plans to continue to hold discussions across the state and push for reform ahead of January’s legislative session.

“Every single sheriff, solicitor and prosecutor I’ve spoken to in the state thinks we should have judicial reform,” Wilson said. “That says a lot when you can get that many people on the same page. We need to reform how we select judges in South Carolina.”