On of the state's better blogs on politics and government, The Nerve, is a must-read article up that highlights how the state's judicial system remains in thrall to the state legislature.
It's bad enough that the Uniparty System in Columbia claims general jurisdiction judges- what in most states would be called superior court- are "elected"- by the legislature.
What's astonishing is The Nerve's finding and publishing that about a quarter of all the state's magistrate judges- the ones you're most likely to deal with in misdemeanors and other smaller matters (in many states they were historically known as justices of the peace; most now call them district courts)- continue in office years after their terms have expired: as much as a decade in a number of instances.
How this came about, and the astonishing arrogance of one state senator who doesn't want to do anything about it because it might diminish his "influence," you have to read the article to try and follow.
What's even more astonishing is that as we see instances of incredibly wealthy men trying to buy control of the North and South Carolina legislature, The Palmetto State's judiciary may end up being a corporate asset somewhere out of state.
It's bad enough that the Uniparty System in Columbia claims general jurisdiction judges- what in most states would be called superior court- are "elected"- by the legislature.
What's astonishing is The Nerve's finding and publishing that about a quarter of all the state's magistrate judges- the ones you're most likely to deal with in misdemeanors and other smaller matters (in many states they were historically known as justices of the peace; most now call them district courts)- continue in office years after their terms have expired: as much as a decade in a number of instances.
How this came about, and the astonishing arrogance of one state senator who doesn't want to do anything about it because it might diminish his "influence," you have to read the article to try and follow.
What's even more astonishing is that as we see instances of incredibly wealthy men trying to buy control of the North and South Carolina legislature, The Palmetto State's judiciary may end up being a corporate asset somewhere out of state.
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