Municipal Court

The mission of Lancaster Municipal Court is to provide courteous, efficient, fair, and impartial justice to all citizens within our jurisdiction and to preserve each citizen’s right to due process according to the laws of the United States, South Carolina, and the City of Lancaster.

Administrative functions include case docketing, case management, case load reporting, and collection of fines.

Judicial functions include conducting trials, issuing warrants, bond hearings, prisoner releases, and providing information to citizens and defendants regarding penalties, court rules, and available community resources/programs.

STAFF

Municipal Judge Robert W. Davis

Court Administrator and
Associate Municipal Judge Kathryn A. Hayes

Associate Municipal Judge Darlene H. Whitley
Associate Municipal Judge Cammie M. Heath
Associate Municipal Judge Darren C. Player (part-time)
Associate Municipal Judge Ronda H. Parker (part-time)
Associate Municipal Judge Sandra G. Nelson (part-time)

 

HOURS OF OPERATION

Monday – Friday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Scheduled Bond Hearings
9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Weekends and Holidays
9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

PAYMENTS

Bonds are usually set when a traffic ticket or parking ticket is issued or when a warrant is served. In most cases a bond can be paid in full prior to the court date if the defendant would prefer to do this rather than appear for a trial. After trial, a fine is set and is expected to be paid immediately unless indigency can be determined.

Bonds and fines for parking tickets, traffic tickets, or criminal offenses may be paid to the court office in the form of cash, or a money order or a certified check made payable to Lancaster Municipal Court. Personal checks are not accepted.

Payments in the form of money orders or certified checks may be mailed to Lancaster Municipal Court, Post Office Box 1149, Lancaster, SC 29721. Ticket or warrant numbers should be included so that the payment may be posted correctly. A receipt will be mailed to the return address on the payment envelope.

BENCH TRIALS

Regular traffic and criminal bench trials are held each Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. in the courtroom of the Municipal Justice Center located at 405 E. Arch Street. Both the ticket and bond form indicate the trial date and time. If the case must be continued, a subpoena will be mailed to the last address provided by the defendant or witness.

Failure to appear for any trial or pay the fine imposed may result in a bench warrant.

If a defendant or victim wishes to have witnesses subpoenaed for a case, names and complete mailing addresses must be provided at least ten days before the trial date to allow adequate time for delivery of the notice.

JURY TRIALS

Jury trials are held approximately six weeks during the year. A jury trial must either be requested in writing or requested in court on the initial court appearance date. A jury pool is chosen by computer from the updated voter registration listing that is obtained each year from S. C. Voter Registration and S. C. Department of Motor Vehicles.  Subpoenas are sent to the last address provided by the defendant.

PRELIMINARY HEARINGS

Preliminary hearings can be requested by any defendant charged with an offense beyond the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court. Preliminary hearings are held in the courtroom at the Lancaster Municipal Justice Center at 9:00 a.m. on the Wednesday before the first day of all terms of General Sessions Court. Defendants charged with a crime in General Sessions Court will receive a written notification during their bond hearing. Preliminary hearings must be requested in writing.

Preliminary hearings are an opportunity for a municipal judge to review and determine the existence of probable cause that the defendant committed the crime with which he has been charged. If the judge finds there is no probable cause, the case may be dismissed. If the judge finds probable cause, the case will be tried at the Lancaster County Courthouse. Appearance for a General Sessions Court offense is mandatory for the time set and stated on the bond form at the time of release from jail and for such other future dates as determined by that Court.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Always give the correct mailing address and report any address changes promptly. Otherwise important mail may not be received.

If traffic tickets are not paid in a timely manner, NRVC forms will be issued and mailed to the Driver Records Division of the SC Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend driving privileges. Additional expenses will be incurred to reinstate driving privileges once the fine has been paid to the court.

Continuance of a trial date may be granted by court staff when sufficient proof is provided as to the necessity for such change in scheduling. Reasonable attempts will be made to contact all parties regarding the change.

Witnesses living more than 20 miles from Lancaster cannot be compelled to attend. However, in some cases complainants may find it in their best interest to appear anyway. Defendants are required to appear regardless of where they reside.