The War for Justice in South Carolina: Three Critical Fronts To Follow
- SCCLR Newsletter
- Jan 2
- 6 min read
By: Will Folks
Where the battle lines are being drawn…
The upcoming year will go a long way in determining whether South Carolina becomes safer, freer and more prosperous – or whether the Palmetto State’s powerful trial lawyer lobby cements its stranglehold over the corrupt uni-party establishment that runs the “GOP-controlled” S.C. General Assembly.
You know, the same legislative establishment that keeps running South Carolina into the ground on virtually every metric that matters…
In 2025, left-of-center trial lawyers won big before the legislature – defeating a comprehensive tort reform bill, staving off meaningful changes to the state’s corrupt judicial selection process (again), preserving a secretive docket that enriches the most powerful politician in the state and positioning one of their own (a former legislative leader) to become the next associate justice of the supreme court.
How did they achieve so many decisive victories? Easy… they purchased them. And they’re continuing to dole out quid pro quos heading into the next legislative session, which kicks off on January 13, 2026 at the state capital in Columbia, S.C.
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As lawmakers – and the lawyer-legislators who control their votes – prepare to return to the people’s house, the disconnect between what citizens expect of them and what they intend to do on behalf of their special interest puppeteers could not be more pronounced. At a time when citizens are clamoring for sweeping changes to a system that enables institutional graft, erodes competitiveness, accommodates violent criminals, re-victimizes victims and defies constitutional separation of powers – the trial lawyer lobby is digging in its heels to protect the status quo.
And make no mistake: trial lawyers’ efforts have nothing to do with “justice” and everything to do with safeguarding badly broken systems – and the ill-gotten gains they continue to derive from preserving those systems.
The war ahead – which coincides with partisan primary elections for statewide offices and all 124 seats in the S.C. House of Representatives – will be waged on three critical fronts over the coming months.
Here are those unfolding battle lines…
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JUDICIAL REFORM
Two major proposals are currently being considered which would take direct aim at the corrupt judicial establishment in South Carolina. First is the comprehensive judicial selection reform legislation being championed by the pro-citizen DOGE SC movement.
While not as aggressive as constitutional changes advanced for years by FITSNews, DOGE SC’s proposal is easily the most substantive judicial reform bill ever introduced in the S.C. General Assembly. Its passage would not only mark a major step forward in restoring public faith in our courts – it would embolden a constitutionally anemic executive branch and enhance judicial independence.
The DOGE SC bill would fundamentally overhaul the scandal-ravaged S.C. Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) – the legislatively controlled, 12-member panel which screens judicial candidates and determines which ones advance to a vote by the whole General Assembly.
Last week, DOGE SC leader Rom Reddy touted the “unprecedented momentum behind restoring constitutional balance and judicial integrity” – citing growing legislative support for the bill being pushed by his movement.
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“When nearly sixty House members and a growing group of Senators step forward, it means the people of South Carolina are demanding change,” Reddy said. “The Senate cannot pretend this issue does not exist. Silence is no longer an option.”
DOGE SC is also advancing an equal parenting act which targets another cash cow for South Carolina’s litigious special interests – Palmetto State’s badly broken family court system.
Billed as “a landmark reform” aimed at “ensuring children maintain meaningful relationships with both parents after separation or divorce,” DOGE SC’s proposed family court legislation would establish a rebuttable presumption that equal parenting time is in the best interests of the child “when both parents are fit and willing.”
This legislation has drawn criticism, but it would go along way toward disrupting what amounts to another state-sanctioned racket for the trial lawyer lobby…
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TORT REFORM
Last year’s debate over tort reform highlighted the ubiquitous power of the Palmetto State’s trial lawyer lobby – but it also exposed just how desperate this entrenched special interest is to maintain its vice grip over “justice” in the Palmetto State.
South Carolina’s tort climate has been the subject of significant debate ever since a high-profile case tied to the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga exposed the fundamental unfairness of the Palmetto State’s current law. Ironically, that case also exposed the corruption of the plaintiffs’ lawyer lobby – which was briefly led by convicted killer Alex Murdaugh.
Despite such nefarious associations, trial lawyers were successful in killing S. 244 – a comprehensive lawsuit reform bill introduced by S.C. Senate majority leader Shane Massey. While Massey was confident he had the votes to pass this bill, so-called “Republicans” Tom Fernandez, Jason Elliott, Billy Garrett, Mike Gambrell, Stephen Goldfinch, Carlisle Kennedy, Josh Kimbrell, Matt Leber, Luke Rankin and Everett Stubbs sold him out – and consistently voted with Democrats on key tallies.
Fernandez, Elliott, Garrett, Goldfinch, Kennedy, Rankin and Stubbs are all trial lawyers, incidentally. Unfortunately, none of these “sellout senators” are on the ballot again until 2028 – but Goldfinch is a statewide candidate for attorney general during the current election cycle.
The cost of their betrayal is immense…
Recent studies have shown South Carolina’s notoriously litigious tort climate imposes a weighty “tort tax” – or “lawsuit tax” – on Palmetto families which ranges anywhere from $3,200 to $3,600 annually, per family.
Lawmakers will have multiple opportunities again in 2026 to address this undue burden, whether by restoring S. 244 – which is currently before the S.C. House judiciary committee – or by taking up its companion, H. 3497. They could also look to H. 4544, a medical malpractice bill currently awaiting a hearing before the same committee.
Any one of these three pieces of legislation could serve as the vehicle for the sort of lawsuit reform legislators failed to pass in 2025… assuming rank-and-file “Republicans” summon the courage to stand for the citizens instead of their lawyer-legislator overlords (and the powerful lobby pulling their strings).
THE SUPREME COURT
In years past, “Republican” lawmakers have installed far left Democrats to key positions within the judiciary – including former S.C. chief justices Jean Toal and Donald Beatty. Both Toal and Beatty were Democrat lawmakers prior to becoming judges, and both predictably ran the judicial branch in a manner befitting those ideological moorings – materially eroding competitiveness, liberty and public safety in the process.
All of which was subservient to the will of lawyer-legislators, of course…
Now, one of the “Republicans” who elected these liberal judges – former House speaker Jay Lucas – is set to follow them onto the bench. Lucas, of course, is one of the GOP legislative leaders who has also steered South Carolina’s ship of state to the left – presiding over the “most liberal GOP legislature” in the entire nation during his tenure as House speaker.
Have things improved since he departed? No… not at all.
Yet not only is Lucas the runaway favorite to win election to the supreme court in two months time, he is publicly defying the mandatory retirement age for judges as he campaigns for this seat – insisting he will stay on the supreme court for as long as he chooses.
Are “Republicans” really going to install a crony of theirs who has such little respect for the rule of law?
Lawmakers are enabling this overt coup because they are upset at associate supreme court justice John Few. Three years ago, Few forced them to rewrite a controversial abortion statute – and it was his insistence on sending them back to the drawing board which resulted in the passage of a constitutional law.
Rather than thank Few, however, they want to take him out…
This is an opportunity to settle scores, in other words – not to mention a chance to replace an independent jurist with one who will do lawyer-legislators’ bidding. More ominously, Lucas’ election would send an unambiguous message to any judicial candidate who dares defy the legislature on any issue: dissent will not be tolerated.
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FOLLOW THE VOTES
In the upcoming 2026 legislative session, every single member of the S.C. House of Representatives and State Senate – and every candidate running for statewide office – will have the opportunity to address these key issues.
Starting this month, it will be critical to watch the bills they sponsor, track their votes, keep an eye on their campaign finance contributions and follow their public statements… and decide for yourself whether they are part of the problem or part of the solution.
If they are part of the problem, it’s time to replace them with lawmakers who will be part of the solution… lawmakers who will stand for the citizens and against the entrenched cabal.
Make no mistake, we will be tracking each one of these unfolding fronts closer than ever in 2026 – continuing our ongoing crusade to fix a broken system and hold those who profit from its dysfunction and corruption accountable.
