Published Thursday, May 08, 2008 2:12 PM
Updated Thursday, May 08, 2008 2:20 PM

 

County Magistrate’s Office provides new services saving public time, money

While the population of Dorchester County continues to grow each year with the court personnel remaining static, the Magistrate’s Court is pleased to announce the implementation of many new services available to help streamline services to the public.

The Dorchester County Magistrate’s Office has a new integrated web page providing citizens with: Direct Public access to frequently asked questions; the option to pay traffic tickets online; and, the ability to obtain forms online.  

Paying traffic tickets online will remove the inconvenience of taxpayers having to mail or come into the office to pay their fines.

The webpage also provides useful links to other resources, such as: “Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Magistrate’s Court;” and driving directions to the St. George office and the Summerville office.

If a person has ever wondered what happens after the judge’s verdict in small claims court, it is explained using understandable language in the link, “Collections on Judgments from Small Claims Court.”

Also, with the implementation of the SC Judicial Department’s Case Management System (CMS), citizens can obtain “real time” information on every case.

For example, individuals will be able to see if their case has been served to a Defendant or to check on receipt of a payment.  This software program was designed and supported by the S. C. Judicial Department under the direction of Chief Justice Jean H. Toal and will eventually be used statewide, thereby, promoting uniformity of court business practices throughout South Carolina.  

Having this system in place allows court personnel to work smarter, not harder when serving the citizens of our county.  Senator Randy Scott, as well as the Dorchester County Council, was instrumental in helping our county be among the first to implement CMS-- which saves the taxpayers time and money.

The Magistrate’s Court is also using a Jury Management System allowing the court to mark jurors present by scanning barcodes on their summons.  This process quickly marks jurors present and enters all information needed to process jurors’ payments more efficiently.  Incidentally, a jurors pay has increased to a flat rate of $20.00 per day for their appearance regardless if the juror is selected to serve.

For access to these resources, simply go to: www.dorchestercounty.net. Information can be found under the heading of What’s New and also by clicking onto Departments, then Magistrate.