Jail Project

Right to Counsel | Project Description | Jail Project Vignettes
Funding | Taxpayer Savings | Newspaper Articles

13th Circuit Court Order Grants Right to Counsel

When we started the Law in Action jail project with volunteers in 2002, at the Greenville County Detention Center magistrate court defendants facing 30 day maximum sentences if convicted frequently stayed in jail for months. Once a magistrate set bond, there was no monitoring system so a defendant who pleaded “not guilty” and could not afford a bondsman could be stranded until his court date months later.

With help from the South Carolina Bar Foundation, Hollingsworth Funds, Inc., Greenville County and private donations, Law in Action has accomplished many things. We now have part-time paid investigators who visit 1,000 magistrate and city court detainees each year. No defendant facing a thirty day maximum sentence stays in jail more than 24 days before release.

Until December 1, 2009 these magistrate court defendants did not have access to attorneys until after they were released from jail. Thanks to a standing order signed by all five of the 13th Circuit Court’s judges, these detainees will be screened for free lawyers. And if they qualify due to their lack of funds, they will be able to communicate with their court appointed attorneys from the Circuit Public Defender’s Office in Greenville within 48 hours of their arrests.

This standing court order recognizes the right to counsel for detained inmates in magistrate and city courts and may put an end to defendants who have legitimate, legal defenses pleading guilty just to get out of jail.

Law in Action had a major role in breathing life into the state and federal constitutional right to counsel and we congratulate the 13th Circuit Court judges for making it happen. We hope that circuit judges around the state will follow this example and guarantee the right to counsel for all magistrate and city court detainees in South Carolina as the United States Supreme Court requires.

To view the original court order, click here.

You can also read an article about the right to counsel in magistrate court by clicking here.

Project Description

This project, set up to reduce jail overcrowding, helps pretrial detainees at the Greenville County Detention Center, which now consists of four facilities located at McGee Street in Greenville. 

Lawyers are appointed to represent all indigent defendants charged with General Sessions (“high court”) charges, but defendants charged in city or magistrate court (“low court”) are rarely provided court appointed lawyers.  Without legal assistance these inmates being held until trial often do not know their rights, how to submit guilty pleas, how to get a lawyer or how to have their bonds lowered.  Many of these inmates spend days, weeks, or longer in jail, even when they are not guilty of the crime charged. The Jail Project helps with all of these issues and more.

The Jail Project does not provide direct legal services, however, we often help inmates learn about their rights and represent themselves.  We also do a lot of social work, help maintain family contacts, etc. To read specific cases in which we were involved, click here.

During 2007, the project was effective to the point that we reduced the burden on Greenville County taxpayers by an estimated $250,000 in jail housing costs. The project continued to be effective in 2008 by saving taxpayers more than $500,000. Considering that our total funding for 2007 and 2008 was $35,000 and $30,000 respectively, we feel this was a pretty good return on the investment.

As a long-range goal Law In Action would like to see the Greenville County Council assume responsibility for this work, either by taking over the project totally or providing full local funding.

Funding

In 2007 we used funding from the South Carolina Bar Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greenville (Hollingsworth Funds, Inc.) to greatly increase our effectiveness and scope.  The South Carolina Bar Foundation has continued to support the Jail Project in 2008-2009 by awarding Law in Action a $30,000 grant. We thank both organizations for their support.

Taxpayer Savings

In the first half of 2009, Jail Project investigators saved taxpayers over $160,000 by interviewing more than 500 inmates for eligibility to be released on bond. The calculations presented in this table are based on the daily costs of housing an inmate at the Greenville Detention Center ($48.76 per day per inmate).

Jail Project Savings, 2009

In 2008, Jail Project investigators have saved taxpayers more than $500,000. The calculations presented in this table are based on the daily costs of housing an inmate at the Greenville Detention Center ($48.76 per day per inmate).

Jail Project Savings, 2008

Newspaper Articles

For more information about the Jail Project, please see the following articles:

• "Equal time," The Greenville Journal, 6/6/08

• "Law in Action tackles a new issue," The Greenville Journal, 7/25/08