McMaster slams judicial reforms, vetoes $2.3 million in legislator ‘pet projects’
Originally published by Nick Reynolds for the Post and Courier
Gov. Henry McMaster has two words for state lawmakers after they approved numerous changes to the way the Legislature selects judges: Do more.
In a July 3 letter to Senate President Thomas Alexander, the governor said that while the changes bring long-overdue reforms — like term limits for the judge selection committee and an expanded pool of bench candidates — it does little to address other longstanding concerns.
He particularly mentioned the prominent role that lawyer-legislators continue to play in selecting judges they may one day appear in front of.
“No good argument can justify maintaining or merely tinkering with the status quo,” McMaster wrote. “Continued resistance to meaningful change will only further elevate the current perception and exacerbate the actual imbalance of power.”
The letter and subsequent signing of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission reform legislation came amid a flurry of final-day activity for the 2024 legislative session, including the governor’s issuance of nearly two-dozen vetoes to the state budget.
While the governor now has a greater say in appointing members of the commission, their selections are still vastly outnumbered by members of the state General Assembly, with legislative appointees outgunning the governor’s picks to the body by a ratio of 2 to 1.
The new legislation also fails to provide meaningful reforms to the screening process for judicial candidates, McMaster contended, leaving judges subject to what he termed a “demeaning” reality of repeatedly traveling to the Statehouse to campaign for lawmakers’ favor.
And, unlike a version proposed by the S.C. House of Representatives, the Senate version of the bill and the subsequent compromise agreement passed by both chambers failed to address lingering concerns about the way South Carolina appoints local magistrates who hear the vast majority of cases in state courts.