JUD 4-2021, 020821 SCJEO, 4-2021

• Case Date: February 08, 2021
• Court: South Carolina

JUD 4-2021 OPINION NO. 4-2021 South Carolina Judicial Ethics Opinion Advisory Committee On Standards Of Judicial Conduct February 8, 2021          RE: Propriety of a part-time magistrate continuing to represent criminal defendants in various courts.          ORDER          FACTS          This opinion serves to clarify Opinion 8-2017, which addressed several questions presented. One question was whether a part-time magistrate could represent criminal defendants seeking expungements and/or pardons where the charges originated in the county in which the judge served. We concluded that a part-time magistrate should not represent such clients, stating:

…we find that a part-time magistrate should not… represent clients who are seeking expungements and/or pardons where the charges originated in the county in which the judge serves. However, the judge may represent, in the courts of appeal, clients who are seeking post-conviction relief or who are directly appealing convictions where the convictions were in General Sessions Court in the county in which the judge serves. Because the judge does not serve in General Sessions Court and has no jurisdiction over the matters in General Sessions Court, there is no violation of Section C(2).1

Id.          Notably, in the previous opinion we stated that the judge should not represent clients seeking expungements or pardons from charges originating in the same county in which the judge serves, but we did not specifically discuss whether there was any difference if the expungement or pardon sought was for charges originating in magistrate court, municipal court, or General Sessions court.          The inquiring magistrate seeks clarification or reconsideration, specifically asking the following questions:

1. Would it be a violation of Section C (2) for the judge to represent clients who are seeking expungements where the charges arise from the General Sessions Court in the same county where the judge serves as part-time magistrate? 2. Would it be a violation of Section C (2) for the judge to represent clients who

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