General Sessions

Criminal cases in South Carolina are heard in the Court of General Sessions. The principal parties in these cases are the solicitor, the defendant, and defendant's attorney, although the nature of the criminal justice process also may require the participation of a number of other agencies or offices between the time of arrest and disposition of a particular case. Depending on the nature of the offense, the magistrate; grand jury; law enforcement officers; Department of Corrections; Pretrial Intervention Program; Probation, Pardon and Parole Services, victims, and others may be involved.

The General Sessions department of the Office of the Clerk of Court is the official record custodian for all criminal court proceedings. Some of the duties the General Sessions department is responsible for include receipt and entry of criminal warrants, filing of all General Sessions documents, receipt of bail, court roster publishing, jury management, staffing the courtroom, indigent defense screenings, transmission of records to appropriate county, state, and federal agencies, and collection of circuit court fines, fees, and costs.

Contact General Sessions
Phone: (864)898-5864
Fax: (864)898-5863
Mailing Address: Attn General Sessions, P.O. Box 215, Pickens, SC 29671

If you have questions about General Sessions filings or records, please contact Amy Bergholm, Deputy Clerk, by phone at (864)898-5864 or email at amyb@pickenscountysc.gov.
If you have questions about a First or Second Appearance Roster, please contact Brittany Williamson by phone at (864)898-1875 or email at bwilliamson@pickenscountysc.gov.
If you have questions about a Plea or Trial roster, please contact Lauren Pilgrim, General Sessions Coordinator, by phone at (864)898-5651 or by email at laurenp@pickenscountysc.gov.

Please click the links below to learn more:
Bail/Bond
Case Records Search
Payments Fines, Fees, and Court Costs
First & Second Appearances
Magistrate & Municipal Court
Plea & Trial Rosters
Records Requests

Payments of Fines, Fees, and Court Costs
Fines, fees, and court costs imposed by a Circuit Court Judge are collected through the Office of the Clerk of Court. Please be advised that we do not currently accept payments via card or personal check. There is not an option to pay online for circuit court costs. Forms of payment accepted are cash, money order, or cashier's check made payable to the Pickens County Clerk of Court. Payments can be made in person or by mail. If mailing a payment please include Defendant's name and warrant number(s) to ensure the payment is applied to the correct case. Payments can be mailed to Attn: General Sessions Accounting P.O. Box 215, Pickens, SC, 29671.

If you have questions about General Session payments please contact Amy Bergholm, Deputy Clerk, at (864)898-5864.

If you are currently on a payment plan from a M&M Court plea and have questions regarding your payment plan, please contact Brittany Williamson at (864)898-1875.

First & Second Appearances
First Appearance dates will be listed on your bond paperwork received at your bond hearing. At the First Appearance defendants will verify that their contact information is up-to-date for future correspondence from the Solicitor and the Office of the Clerk of Court, receive information from the Public Defender about the court process and what to expect, and meet with the Solicitor if Pro Se (Self-represented) or meet with the Public Defender if approved. Indigent Defense screenings are available during First Appearances, please follow this link to find out more information on what to bring to complete a Public Defender application. If you have not retained or been appointed counsel by the date of your First Appearance you will receive an additional date to appear (prior to your Second Appearance) for an Attorney Order.

Second Appearance dates will be listed on a notice provided to defendants that appear for their First Appearance, bond cards will also be mailed with the Second Appearance dates to all defendants. At the Second Appearance defendants will appear before a Circuit Court Judge, either Pro Se or with retained or appointed counsel, to assess the status of his or her case and inform the court whether he or she intends to plead guilty or go to trial. A listing of current Second Appearance rosters can be viewed using this link.

If you have questions about a First or Second Appearance date, please contact Brittany Williamson by phone at (864)898-1875 or email at bwilliamson@pickenscountysc.gov.

Magistrate & Municipal Court
Magistrate and Municipal court, also referred to as M&M court or Transfer court, is an option provided by the Solicitor to defendants with a criminal case, the penalty for which the crime in the case does not exceed five thousand five hundred dollars or one year imprisonment, or both, either as originally charged or as charged pursuant to the terms of a plea agreement. Defendants eligible for M&M court will receive notice in the mail from the Solicitor with an offer and estimate of fines, fees, and court costs due at the time of the plea.

If you have questions about a M&M court date, please contact Brittany Williamson by phone at (864)898-1875 or email at bwilliamson@pickenscountysc.gov.

Plea and Trial Rosters

The Office of the Clerk of Court does not schedule court dates for General Sessions court. The Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor is the local prosecuting attorney and is responsible for setting criminal court dates. The Solicitor's office will notify you by mail as to the time and place of your court appearance. If you have any other questions about General Sessions or Criminal court dates, you will need to contact the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office at (864)898-5905.

The Office of the Clerk of Court publishes court rosters provided by the Solicitor's office to a public platform on scourts.org. A listing of current Plea and Trial rosters can be viewed using this link. Please note that the published Plea rosters will only include pleas that the Solicitor's office has notified our office of prior to the scheduled court term. Please appear at the date listed on your bond card to avoid an issuance of a Bench Warrant.

If you have questions about a published Plea or Trial roster please contact Lauren Pilgrim, General Sessions Coordinator, by phone at (864)898-5651 or by email at laurenp@pickenscountysc.gov.

Bail/Bond
To ensure the appearance of an accused before the court, bond is set in a specified amount, with appropriate conditions. Bond is generally set in the magistrates court, and the bond forms are forwarded by the appropriate official to the Clerk of Court to be maintained with the arrest warrant. In cases where the defendant is charged with an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment, the circuit court sets bond. Should cash be posted in lieu of surety bond at any time, the cash deposit is made to the Clerk of Court.