For The Sake Of The Children

The South Carolina Advisory Committee on Standards of Judicial Conduct opines on a question of disqualification

OPINION NO. 5 – 2024

RE: Propriety of a circuit court judge presiding over cases where the judge’s child is member of the law firms representing a party.

FACTS

A circuit court judge has two children who are attorneys in private practice in separate firms. The law firms are small to mid-sized firms and their offices are limited to South Carolina locations. Both firms have appeared before the judge before. The judge inquires if automatic disqualification is required if other members of the children’s law firms appear before the judge.

CONCLUSION

A circuit court judge must generally disqualify himself/herself when the law firms employing the judge’s children appear as counsel of record, but the judge can utilize the remittal procedure in Canon 3F to allow the parties to waive disqualification.

(Mike Frisch)