South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 8 - Court Of Appeals
Section 14-8-80. Court to sit in panels or as a whole; administration by Chief Justice; assignment of members to panels; distribution of cases; quorum; concurrence required for reversals.

(a) The Court shall sit in three panels of three judges each. However, nothing in this section may be construed to prevent the Court from sitting as a whole.
(b) The Chief Judge is responsible for the administration of the Court, subject to the provisions of Article V, Section 4 of the Constitution of this State. The Chief Judge shall assign the members of the panels and shall systematically rotate and interchange the members of the panels in accordance with rules promulgated by the Supreme Court. The Chief Judge shall preside over the panel of which he is a member and in his absence the judge senior in service and present shall preside. The judge senior in service and present on the other panel shall preside over the other panel. For the five associate judges whose terms begin on July 1, 1985, the determination of their length of service shall be based on their order of election, with the associate judge who is elected first being the associate judge senior in service; provided, however, that seniority among the judges on an interim Court of Appeals shall continue on the permanent Court of Appeals established by the provisions of this chapter and service on that Court shall be included in determining the length of service on the Court herein established.
(c) Cases must be distributed between the three panels by the Chief Judge in accordance with rules promulgated by the Supreme Court; however, the Chief Judge may transfer cases from one panel to the other in order to maintain approximately equal caseloads for the three panels.
(d) On a panel, three judges shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence of a majority of the judges is necessary for the reversal of the judgment below.
HISTORY: 1979 Act No. 164 Part IV-A Section 1, eff July 1, 1979; 1983 Act No. 89 Section 1, eff June 2, 1983; 1983 Act No. 90 Section 2, eff July 1, 1985; 1995 Act No. 145, Part II, Section 85C, eff June 29, 1995.

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