The South Carolina Legislature passed South Carolina Code § 17-3-510 which created a statewide Circuit Public Defender system. The Circuit Public Defender nominee is selected by a Circuit Public Defender Selection Panel, composed of attorneys residing in the counties in the circuit.
Our county must nominate and elect four (4) members for that panel.
In order to serve as a panel member, to nominate someone to serve, and to vote for the panel members, you must (1) reside in this county, (2) be an active licensed attorney in South Carolina and (3) comply with the prohibitions concerning pledges. You cannot be nominated to serve on the panel if you are a solicitor, assistant solicitor, an employee of a solicitor’s office, an employee of the South Carolina Prosecution Coordination Commission, a member of the judiciary or a member of the Commission on Indigent Defense. Each voter shall be entitled to vote for as many candidates as there are open seats available for that county.
Although I am sending this notice to you as President of the Lexington County Bar Association, your membership in the LCBA is NOT a criterion for eligibility to be nominated as a panel member, to nominate someone to serve as a panel member, or to vote. Rather, you must meet the three eligibility criteria listed above. For this reason, another email is going out to non-LCBA members who we believe may fit the criteria above, per a list from the SC Bar. At the June 25th meeting, I will be asking all attendees to verify verbally that they meet with three criteria above.
A meeting will be held to accept nominations for our panel members on June 25, 2020 at 12:30 p.m. via the WebEx online meetings platform provided and coordinated by the Commission on Indigent Defense.
Meeting Link: | https://oid.webex.com/oid/j.php?MTID=m9fcc85542bbacc7e03c8bc667515347d |
Meeting Number: | 129 317 3837 |
Password: | xaFMgJSJ357 |
WEBEX SETUP: If you are not already familiar with WebEx, when you click to join the meeting, you should be prompted to install the correct app or to join from your browser. You can click the meeting link in advance to go ahead and get set up to attend.
If you have any WebEx questions or need assistance with your WebEx setup, please contact Lawrence Brown at LBrown@sccid.sc.gov . The Commission on Indigent Defense has graciously offered to help any of us with WebEx prior to the June 25th, meeting.
ELECTION OFFICIAL
s/Katherine G. Gettys June 15, 2020
Katherine G. Gettys Date
President, Lexington County Bar