Magistrate Misconduct

South Carolina seems to do a land office business in magistrate misconduct. Maybe they just do a particularly good job in policing it. In a recent case, a retired magistrate was publicly reprimanded for interceding on behalf of Lee County (because its a “poor county”)in connection with two tickets issued against county trucks. The magistrate caused the court records to falsely reflect that the driver appeared for trial and was found not guilty. The magistrate acknowledged that this information was incorrect “but maintained this had been a common practice in his court.” (Mike Frisch)