Our Top 10 Recommendations for 2024 Judicial Reform

Download our full legislative analysis of the House and Senate’s 2024 judicial reform bills.

It is the spring of judicial reform in the South Carolina Statehouse. We have analyzed the major bills being considered by the House and the Senate, and, drawing on our previous judicial reform reports like 2021’s Judging the Judges, our team has compiled our top 10 priorities we think the General Assembly ought to include in any judicial reform bill that passes this spring.

1. Add executive appointments to the JMSC.

2. Limit lawyer-legislators’ power on the JMSC with rotating terms and clear ethical guidelines.

3. Establish the JMSC as an independent state agency.

4. Livestream JMSC hearings.

5. Streamline the screening process of the Citizens Committee and Bar Committee.

6. Raise (or even remove) the cap on the number of candidates advanced by the JMSC.

7. Adopt mid-term reviews of judges and ensure disciplinary action and complaints are taken into consideration during reappointment.

8. Disclose to the General Assembly and the public why certain judicial candidates were found unqualified.

9. Establish clear campaign and ethics rules for judicial candidates.

10. Limit magistrates’ holdover status and bring more voices into their appointment process.

To read Palmetto Promise’s previous reports on judicial reform, please visit our landing page: palmettopromise.org/judicialreform