Opinion
2021-08-19-02
08-19-2021
RE: Waiver of Distance Learning Limitations for Magistrates and Municipal Judges
ORDER
Donald W. Beatty C. J.
The South Carolina Appellate Court Rules provide that magistrate and municipal judges may obtain no more than six credit hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) via online or telephonic courses in an annual reporting year. Rule 510(c)(8)(C), SCACR. After consultation with the Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, and based on the continued development of issues caused by COVID-19 and a potential lack of available in-person courses, this Court finds it appropriate to waive this restriction for the current annual reporting year.
Accordingly, magistrate and municipal judges may earn all or any portion of the CLE credit they are required to obtain for the 2021-2022 annual reporting year through online or telephonic programs.
This order does not waive the restriction on carrying forward credit in Rule 510(b)(5), SCACR, which provides, "A magistrate who completes more than eighteen (18) hours of CLE credit in any reporting year may carry a maximum of twelve (12) hours of excess credit, which may include up to six (6) hours of civil law issues, six (6) hours of criminal law issues, and two (2) hours of ethics credit, forward to the next reporting year. A municipal judge who completes more than fourteen (14) hours of CLE credit in any reporting year may carry a maximum of eight (8) hours of excess credit, which may include up to two (2) hours of ethics credit, forward to the next reporting year."