Magistrates to discuss Housing Court possibility

The state’s chief justice has opened the way for a Charleston housing court pilot project to all 46 South Carolina counties, and Oconee’s magistrates will consider the possibility.  An order by Chief Justice Donald Beatty noted that the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission recognized the Charleston program for securing additional funds through the Eviction Protection Grant Program of Housing and Urban Development to be used for “direct representation to clients facing eviction, expand the Housing Court Pilot Project to other counties, and implement a court navigation program.”  The commission urges the state’s Supreme Court to authorize expansion to better access to justice by ensuring that evictions are lawful, defenses are effectively asserted, and ensure that court users connect with financial resources to achieve housing stability and avoid homelessness.  Chief Magistrate Blake Norton says he and the county’s other magistrates judges, Will Derrick and Erin McKinney, will talk at a meeting this month about the potential for an Oconee housing court.