Title 14, Courts

The clerk of the court shall keep the jury box in his custody. The jury box must be kept securely locked with three separate and strong locks, each lock being different and distinct from the other two and requiring one key peculiar to itself in order to be unlocked. The key to on…

The Supreme Court may promulgate rules as are necessary for the operation of the state grand jury system established herein.

If any part of this article is declared invalid, unenforceable, or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, it is hereby declared severable from the remaining portions of this article which portions shall remain in full force and effect as if the invalid, unenforcea…

This article applies to offenses committed both before and after its effective date.

Not less than fifteen days nor more than thirty-five days before the first day of any week in which more than one term of court requiring juries is scheduled in a county, the jury commissioners shall draw a number of petit jurors to serve as a jury pool, from which the courts sha…

(A) Grand jurors shall serve terms of six months and may be held over for one additional six-month term. (B) During the last term of the court of general sessions held in each county before December thirty-first of each year, the clerk of court shall randomly draw from the twelve…

Not less than fifteen days before the convening of the first term of the court of general sessions on or after January first and July first of each year, the jury commissioners shall proceed to draw from the jury box the number of grand jurors which the clerk of court or chief ad…

On the first day of the term of court on or after January first and July first of each year, the presiding judge shall ascertain the qualifications of those jurors as have appeared pursuant to the writs of venire facias. No juror may be excused or disqualified except in accordanc…

After the grand jury venire has been duly qualified by the presiding judge, the clerk of court shall place the names of all qualified grand jurors in a container from which twelve grand jurors must be chosen. The clerk of court shall randomly draw twelve jurors from the container…

Except for the alternative method of selecting and impaneling grand jurors as provided in this article, all other provisions of law relating to grand juries and grand jurors shall continue to apply.

A county governing body, by ordinance, may elect to use the provisions of this article as the method of selecting and impaneling grand juries and grand jurors in that county based on its determination that grand jury case loads, length of time persons must serve as grand jurors, …

A person completing service as a grand juror under the alternative method provided by this article, including any service as a holdover grand juror, is exempt from any further jury service in any court of this State for a period of five calendar years.

Wherever the word "male" or "men" is used in the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to jurors and jury service such words shall include "female" and "women".

Not less than fifteen nor more than thirty-five days before the first day of each week of any regular or special term of the circuit court the jury commissioners shall proceed to draw at least seventy-five petit jurors to serve for that week only. The chief administrative judge o…

Whenever a jury is charged with a case, it must not be discharged by reason of anything in Section 14-7-200 contained until a verdict is found or a mistrial ordered in such case.

The drawings must be made openly and publicly in the office of the clerk of court of common pleas and the jury commissioners shall give ten days' notice of the place, day, and hour of each of the drawings by posting in a conspicuous place on the courthouse door or by advertisemen…

The clerk of court must use one of the following methods for drawing the names of jurors for the purpose of impaneling a jury: (1) drawing of the names of jurors by a responsible and impartial person designated by the clerk of court, with the approval of the presiding judge; or (…

All jurors must be selected by drawing ballots from the jury box and, subject to the exceptions herein contained, the persons whose names are on the ballots so drawn must be returned to serve as jurors.

The names of those who are drawn and attend a session of court as a member of a jury pool must be placed in an envelope and must not be put back into the jury box until the first revision of the jury list provided for after they have been so drawn, to the end that no person is re…

Except as otherwise expressly provided, the jury commissioners shall draw and summon at least seventy-five persons to serve as petit jurors to attend at one and the same time at any court. The chief administrative judge or the presiding judge of that circuit may increase or decre…

Whenever the jury list of any county is destroyed by fire or other casualty or it is held by any court of competent jurisdiction that the jury list has been unlawfully prepared or is irregular or illegal, so as to render void the drawing of jurors therefrom, the jury commissioner…

When at any time it is determined by the circuit judge of any circuit, upon complaint made to him, that an irregularity has occurred in the drawing of the juries for any court within his circuit or that any act has been done whereby the validity of any jury drawn or to be drawn m…

Whenever at any term of the circuit court the array of grand and petit jurors summoned to attend is held to have been irregularly or illegally drawn or summoned, the presiding judge shall immediately order, in either case, that the jury commissioners of the county shall immediate…

The word "clerk," as used in this chapter signifies the clerk of the court where the action is pending, unless otherwise specified.

Whenever it is necessary to supply any deficiency in the number of grand or petit jurors duly drawn, whether caused by challenge or otherwise, the jury commissioners, under the direction of the court, shall draw from the jury box the number of jurors as the court considers necess…

Nothing contained in this article prevents the clerk of the court of common pleas from issuing venires for additional jurors in term time upon the order of the court whenever it is necessary for the convenient dispatch of its business. In any such case venires must be served and …

Whenever in the opinion of a presiding judge of a court of common pleas or general sessions of any county of this State about to enter upon the trial of a civil or criminal case the trial is likely to be protracted, the court may cause an entry to that effect to be made in the mi…

No motion to quash any panel of petit jurors may be made because of any relationship, connection, or other disqualification on the part of the jury commissioners, or any of them, who made up the jury box, unless notice of the motion in writing is given at least ten days before th…

If notice is given and the party upon whom it is served concedes or it is determined by the court that the relationship, connection, or disqualification exists, then the moving party shall apply to the resident circuit judge or the presiding judge of the circuit, either at chambe…

The extra or special panel may be discharged as soon as the need for it ceases.

When the name of a person is drawn from the jury box for jury service by the jury commissioners the person shall serve as a juror unless disqualified or excused by the court as may be provided by law.

When, by neglect of any of the duties required by this article to be performed by any of the officers or persons mentioned, the jurors to be returned from any place are not duly drawn and summoned to attend the court, every person guilty of neglect shall pay a fine not exceeding …

If any member of the board of jury commissioners is guilty of fraud, either (a) by practicing on the jury box previously to a draft, (b) in drawing a juror, (c) in returning into the jury box the name of any juror which has been lawfully drawn out and drawing or substituting anot…

The clerk of court of a county may serve a summons for jury duty by first class mail. In the alternative, the clerk of court of any county may contract with the State Election Commission to serve a summons for jury duty by first class mail. Should the clerk of court of any county…

Nothing contained in this chapter shall affect the power and duty of coroners, clerks or magistrates to summon and empanel jurors when authorized by other provisions of law.

The clerk of court of any county may serve a summons for jury duty by certified mail with return receipt requested. Should the clerk of court of any county not choose to use the procedure for summoning jurors provided by this section, the sheriff must continue to serve jurors as …

In cases where the law provides for the opening and holding of the court of common pleas during the week in which a term of the court of general sessions is or may be held in any county, the jurors summoned to attend and serve in the court of general sessions shall also attend an…

The method and procedure described by this article is the exclusive method for the preparation of the jury lists, jury box, and the drawing of jurors therefrom and for the service as jurors in the circuit courts of this State.

In addition to any other provision of law, no person is qualified to serve as a juror in any court in this State if: (1) He has been convicted in a state or federal court of record of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year and his civil rights have not been res…

No clerk or deputy clerk of the court, constable, sheriff, probate judge, county commissioner, magistrate or other county officer, or any person employed within the walls of any courthouse is eligible as a juryman in any civil or criminal case; provided, that no person may be dis…

No member of the grand jury which has found an indictment may be put upon the jury for the trial thereof.

No person is exempt from service as a juror in any court of this State except men and women sixty-five years of age or over. Notaries public are not considered state officers and are not exempt under this section. A person exempt under this section may be excused upon telephone c…

(A) If a student selected for jury service during the school term requests, his service must be postponed to a date that does not conflict with the school term. For purposes of this subsection, a student is a person enrolled in high school or an institution of higher learning, in…

No person is liable to be drawn and serve as a juror in any court more often than once every three calendar years and no person shall serve as a juror more than once every calendar year, but he is not exempt from serving on a jury in any other court in consequence of his having s…

(A) The presiding judge for cause shown may excuse any person from jury duty at any term of court if the judge considers it advisable. But no juror who has been drawn to serve at any term of the court may be excused except for good and sufficient cause, which, together with his a…

Whenever a juror is so excused, unless the cause of the excuse is permanent physical disability of the juror or the juror is a member of one of the classes of persons set forth in Section 14-7-840, the name of the juror must be placed by the jury commissioners on the succeeding p…