Georgetown County DUI Court Process

DUI traffic charges in Georgetown County are heard at Central Traffic Court, part of the county's Magistrate system, at 333 Cleland Street. The filing window runs 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, closed for lunch like most magistrate offices in the state.

Three magistrates rotate through the docket: Chief Magistrate John A. "Tony" Love, David Roper, and Steven C. Pop, who handles the Northwest Regional territory for cases arising outside the county seat. Which one hears a given case can change the morning of, since Central Traffic Court reassigns courtrooms without much notice — check the bailiff or the posted digital display once past security rather than assuming the assignment printed on an earlier notice still holds.

Pretrial Intervention, run through the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office, offers first-time non-violent offenders a path to dismissal, but it isn't automatic. Acceptance is up to the solicitor's discretion. Applicants pay a $100 non-refundable application fee plus a $250 participation fee, complete 30 to 50 hours of community service, and often sit through the "Alive at 25" defensive driving course. Random drug testing is part of the program, billed to the defendant. The minimum program length is 90 days. Finish it, and the charge is dismissed outright, opening the door to expungement, which carries its own separate costs: a $250 PTI office fee and a $35 Clerk of Court filing fee.

Every defendant retains the constitutional right to a jury trial, even for a magistrate-level charge. Declining a bench trial sends the case to the Central Jury Court docket instead, which stretches the timeline from a matter of weeks to several months.

Arrive 30 to 45 minutes ahead of a scheduled appearance, especially on a Monday morning or the first business day after a holiday, when Central Traffic Court works through a backlog of weekend arrests. Security screens for weapons at the door. Phones must be off or silent before entering the courtroom or even the lobby; an active call or a phone that rings during a hearing means confiscation and a $100 contempt fine, and there's no locker to check one in beforehand, so leaving it in the car is the safer bet. The dress code rules out hats, wave caps, bandanas, shorts, rompers, muscle shirts, tank tops, flip-flops, and anything with an offensive slogan. Business or church-appropriate clothing is the standard; visible tattoos should be covered and jewelry kept minimal.

Street parking and a handful of small municipal lots serve the Cleland Street courthouse. Both fill up fast on a heavy docket day, though neither charges a fee.

Sources

• Georgetown County Magistrate Court
• Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office