Each county has a popularly elected Clerk of Court who serves a four-year term. The Clerk's Office is responsible for a wide variety of activities and duties governed by state law under the supervision of the SC Judicial Department, Court Administration.

 The Clerk 's Office supports the work of the Court of General Sessions (criminal court), Court of Common Pleas (civil court) and the Family Court. For example, lawyers must file all pleadings and motions with the Clerk's Office. Judges rely on the Clerk of Court to provide them with all these documents and filings for the cases that they hear. In General Sessions (criminal) and Common Pleas (civil) Court, the Clerk's office provides information and assistance to prospective jurors and active juries. Examples of other duties include: receiving criminal warrants and transmission of them to the Solicitor; receiving bail; compiling trial lists; managing dockets of cases to be heard; staffing the courtroom while the court is in session; receiving fees, fines and costs; maintaining all court records; and submitting reports to a variety of state and federal agencies.

Among the Clerk's duties in Family Court are: issuing Rules to Show Cause in cases where court orders have not been followed, and filing of Orders of Protection and transmittal of these orders to the appropriate local law enforcement agencies. The Clerk also collects and disburses court-ordered child support payments.
 

Public Portal And Attorney Access Portal Are Now Available

Public Portal: 
                   https://portal.fccms.dss.sc.gov/ 

Attorney Access (Requires Attorney Information System ID and Password):  
                   https://attorneyportal.fccms.dss.sc.gov/#/login

 

 

 IDENTITY THEFT ALERT!!!

JURY DUTY SCAM
The phone rings, you pick it up, and the caller identifies himself as an officer of the court. He says you failed to report for jury duty and a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he'll need some information for "verification purposes"-your birth date, social security number, maybe even a credit card number.This is when you should hang up the phone. It's a scam.  Read about this scam (and others) at the FBI website.

 Judicial Center Security Measures Notice

When entering the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center you will be required to pass through a screening station staffed by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office. As you enter, you will be required to walk through metal detection equipment.  The deputies will also check the contents of your belongings by X-ray machine and/or physical search. The deputies have full discretion as to what items may or may not be allowed into the building. If an item is deemed inappropriate, you will be asked to return the item to your vehicle before entering the building, as this facility does not have storage space available to keep your personal items. Once you have been cleared by the screening station, you will be permitted to enter the building.