South Carolina — Judges — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Judges

Defendants are regularly condemned to years, decades, or life in prison for minor infractions because of minimum sentencing statutes. If judges had more discretion in sentencing, then sentences could be more proportional to the crime, more specific to the individual defendant, and minimize the negative impact of minimum sentencing laws without inherently needing those laws repealed.

These Judges Can Have Less Training Than Barbers but Still Decide Thousands of Cases Each Year

“They are overseen by political appointees, selected through a process that often places connections over qualifications. It’s a system that’s unlike any other in the country, and one that has provided fertile ground for incompetence, corruption and other abuse, an investigation by The Post and Courier and ProPublica found. Over the past two decades, magistrates have accepted bribes, stolen money, forced themselves on women and sprung their friends from jail. They’ve flubbed trials, trampled over constitutional protections and mishandled even the most basic elements of criminal cases.“

ProPublica

November 27, 2019

JudgesPhillip ReevesNovember 27, 2019ProPublica, South Carolina, Magistrate JudgesComment

904 York Co. grand jury indictments in 1 day: Judge taking time to decide if it’s legal

"'Constitutional due process is all that protects the people from the government. We must always oppose the systematic sacrifice of due process in the name of efficiency,' said lead defense lawyer Leland Greeley after court in a statement to The Herald."

The Herald

August 10, 2018

Mass IncarcerationAnthony BradleyAugust 14, 2018The Herald, South Carolina, York County

Judges

Galsworthy CJR Program

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