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Contact Information
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Beth Carrigg
Clerk of Court
205 East Main Street
Lexington, SC 29072
(803) 785-8212
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*Link to an external site.
†See 11th Judicial Circuit
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| Jury Information |
:: IMPORTANT :: Message(s) for current Jury Panel(s) |
| The Jury System |
The
jury system is governed by state law as found in
Chapter 7, Title 14, of the South Carolina Code of Laws*, 1976.
The jury system in South Carolina involves both grand juries and petit juries.
The Clerk of Court is responsible for summoning prospective jurors, preparing
and managing venires, and compensating jurors for the General Sessions, Common
Pleas and Probate Courts.
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| Jury Commission |
The County Auditor, the County Treasurer, and the Clerk of Court of Common
Pleas serve as jury commissioners. The jury commission prepares the jury list
from lists of qualified voters and persons holding a valid S.C. Driver's
license or a State issued identification card.
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| Jury Orientation |
The Clerk's Office gives prospective jurors information about what to expect
during their time of service. The
Uniform Juror Information Pamphlet*, is used to help
accomplish this. Jurors also are given a copy or informed of the substance of
the
Supreme Court order dated August 25, 2000*, pertaining to pagers, cell
phones, and other personal communication devices in the courtroom. This order
also requires that a copy of the same must be posted on courtroom doors.
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| Jury Management and Update |
All jurors must be "qualified" before they become members of the jury pool. The
judge makes the decisions as to who does and does not qualify based on state
law. To assist with this, each summons contains a Juror Information Form
and Juror Response Form that the prospective juror must complete and
return to the Clerk of Court within two days after receipt. If a prospective
juror believes he or she should be disqualified, exempted, or excused from jury
duty this should be reflected on the Juror Response Form. The Clerk of
Court collects these forms for use by the court in the "qualifying" process.
Between summons issuance and the reporting date, the Clerk's Office monitors
responses to the summonses so that the Clerk and the Judge know whom to expect
on the first day of the term.
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