Prohibiting Legislators from becoming Judges within 20 Years of Leaving Office

S.104 would extend the prohibition on former legislators holding judicial office from one to twenty years after they leave legislative office. This reform is made vital in South Carolina due to the fact that South Carolina is one of only two states where the legislature has sole discretion over the screening and selection of judges. It’s easy to see how a former legislator seeking election to judgeship by colleagues he worked with just 2 years before creates a conflict of interest. True reform would mean having the Governor appoint judges with the advice and consent of the Senate. But as long as judges are chosen by the legislature, former legislatures should not be able to use influence with their former colleagues to attain judgeships.