Cherokee County DUI Court Process

Cherokee County Magistrate Court runs five distinct dockets, and which judge a defendant draws shapes the experience considerably. Ted Suppiger presides over Night Court out of the detention center itself, handling evening arraignments and initial bond settings. John B. Cook covers weekends and holidays. Cynthia Montgomery handles standard traffic violations, Redel Frazier oversees misdemeanor criminal dockets, and Megan Sorrels runs a blended traffic-and-criminal docket that frequently takes on the more complex DUI litigation. Filing hours run 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the courthouse on East Frederick Street.

Pretrial Intervention is available for first-time offenders, but DUI charges sit in a discretionary gray zone rather than a guaranteed eligibility. Solicitor Barry J. Barnette's Seventh Judicial Circuit office decides acceptance case by case, weighing BAC level and whether anything aggravating, a collision, a child in the car, entered the picture. The application deadline is unforgiving: 75 days from when the warrant was issued, or 10 days from when an attorney is appointed, whichever applies. Applicants show up in person at the county PTI office, open only Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a warrant or ticket copy, photo ID, a physical Social Security card, and a $100 non-refundable fee that has to be a money order — cash, personal checks, and credit cards are all turned away. Once accepted, the program runs long and demanding: random drug and alcohol screening, community service, counseling, and educational components that can include a tour of a state prison. Complete it, and the charge is dismissed outright, though expungement itself doesn't happen automatically — a defendant has to file for it separately to get the arrest scrubbed from the public record.

That public record shows up fast. South Carolina's judicial portal makes a filed charge searchable the moment it's entered, though state law keeps Social Security numbers and banking details out of what's publicly visible.

Phones are subject to a genuinely zero-tolerance policy here. A device that isn't powered off or silenced before entering the courtroom, and makes any noise during a hearing, gets confiscated on the judge's order, with the owner risking contempt on top of it. Dress is treated as a signal of respect for the process: professional business attire is the expectation, no jeans, t-shirts, sneakers, or shorts. Pressed slacks, a long-sleeve button-down, and a tie for men, and equivalent business wear for women, is the safe baseline.

Sources

• Cherokee County Magistrate's Office
• SC Judicial Branch Public Index