South Carolina Circuit Court

The South Carolina Circuit Court is the state court of general jurisdiction of the U.S. state of South Carolina.

It consists of a civil division (the Court of Common Pleas) and a criminal division (the Court of General Sessions).

Circuit court judges are elected by the South Carolina General Assembly to staggered terms of six years.

[1] This began as a pilot program in a limited number of circuits, created by a South Carolina Supreme Court administrative order in 2007,[2] which the Supreme Court expanded statewide in 2014,[3] and later made permanent in 2019.

[4] Citizens of each circuit elect a circuit solicitor, a state prosecutor equivalent to a district attorney in many other states.