Indigent Defense Contract Attorney Program
For information about the Requirements and Procedures to apply to participate in the Indigent Defense Contract Attorney Program, please click the link below.
Indigent defense attorney contracts are available each year for all 46 counties in South Carolina.
Indigent Defense Contract categories include Criminal (including Juvenile representation), Post-Conviction Relief (PCR), Sexually Violent Predator (SVP), and Civil (DSS).
Interested attorneys must submit applications between March 1 and March 31 of each year.
Attorneys may apply for contracts in more than one county.
Previous applicants may resubmit their prior application(s) but should carefully review them for any necessary changes or updates before submission.
For more specific details on the program including contract terms and compensation please click the appropriate sample contract below.
If you have any general questions please contact Hervery Young by email: hyoung@sccid.sc.gov.
For technical support, please email Steve Hampton at shampton@sccid.sc.gov.
This application is incompatible with this device.
Please try again on a desktop or laptop computer.
What is the Indigent Defense Contract Attorney Program?
Rule 608 provides a uniform method for appointing attorneys to represent indigent clients in South Carolina circuit and family courts, based on statutory and constitutional mandates. The 2012-2013 General Appropriations Act granted SCCID the authority to retain, on a contractual basis, the services of these attorneys. SCCID, in conjunction with the SC Bar, established and administers the Indigent Defense Contract Attorney Program. This contract program provides attorneys to provide high quality legal representation to indigent defendants in criminal, post-conviction relief, sexually violent predator, and family court (abuse/neglect and TPR) cases.
The SC Bar maintains lists of attorneys who have been certified by the state Supreme Court to serve as lead counsel in death penalty cases, counsel for other criminal cases, or counsel in civil court cases. These lists provide the basis for selecting indigent defense counsel.