Horry County Criminal Court Records
Criminal court records in Horry County are case files created after a charge enters the court system. South Carolina Circuit Court is the main trial court for serious criminal matters, and the criminal division of Circuit Court is General Sessions. Horry County is part of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit with Georgetown County. The South Carolina Judicial Branch Circuit Court page identifies General Sessions as the criminal side of Circuit Court, while the Horry County Clerk of Court keeps local access channels for those files.
A person may appear in several record systems before the General Sessions case is complete. A booking entry can show a charge, bond amount, arresting agency, or pretrial status. A Magistrate Court or Municipal Court file may handle bond, a preliminary hearing, a lower-level offense, or a city charge. The court case record is the file that shows how the charge moved through court. For charge details immediately after arrest, use the Horry County arrest records and court charges page; for broader civil and family access, use court records.
The Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor prosecutes criminal violations in Horry County. The Public Defender represents qualified indigent defendants in criminal cases where imprisonment is possible. The Clerk of Court is the access point for General Sessions case copies, while the Horry Public Index is the main public online lookup for many criminal case events.
The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor page is one source used for Horry County criminal court records context.
The Solicitor source matters because prosecution, expungement screening, victim and witness notices, and General Sessions case flow are tied to that office.
Search Horry County Criminal Cases
The central online channel is the Horry County Trial Court Public Index. The statewide case records search lists Horry County under Judicial Circuit 15 and County Number 26. The public index requires cookies and JavaScript, and some browsers may need a pop-up exception before case details or document icons open. It is a case lookup, not a full criminal-history report.
- Open the Horry County Trial Court Public Index and accept the county disclaimer.
- Complete the security check by clicking Validate. Pressing Enter is not enough.
- Search by case number, defendant name, court type, case type, date range, or agency when those details are known.
- Open the case number link in the result grid and review enabled tabs for actions, financials, and available documents.
- Contact the Clerk of Court General Sessions division for certified copies or older records that do not appear online.
Horry County Clerk of Court division contacts include General Sessions at 843-915-5084 and the main Clerk office at 843-915-5080. The Clerk also has a South Strand office, but criminal case questions should be routed to the correct division. Family Court, Probate Court, municipal cases, and federal cases use separate access paths. A booking charge should be verified against the court case before it is treated as a final outcome.
Horry County Criminal Case Flow
Criminal court records build over time. A person may first be booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, appear before a magistrate for bond, or receive notice in a lower court. Serious charges can move into General Sessions. DUI and domestic violence matters may involve the Solicitor Magistrate Court Division when a jury trial is requested or when the division handles the class of case. Each event can leave a separate entry in booking, lower-court, solicitor, or public-index data.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial and Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What the Horry County Record May Show |
|---|---|
| Charges filed | Charge description, charge number, agency, court, and whether the case starts in Magistrate, Municipal, or General Sessions. |
| Arraignment | Formal charge notice, plea entry, counsel status, and next court setting when shown. |
| Pretrial and motions | Discovery, continuances, motions, hearings, orders, and financial entries. |
| Plea or trial | Guilty plea, not guilty finding, trial result, dismissal, or other resolution. |
| Disposition and sentence | Final charge outcome, sentence terms, fines, costs, probation, or other court-ordered result. |
The Solicitor FAQ notes that failure to appear after proper notice can lead to a bench warrant. That is why criminal case lookup should include both the court event history and the issuing court if a notice, subpoena, or bond order is involved.
The Solicitor FAQ source supports Horry County criminal court records details about bench warrants, police reports, and expungement routing.
Those FAQ points help separate court case status from police reports, booking entries, and attorney or victim-witness notices.
What Horry County Criminal Records Show
A Horry County criminal court record can show more than a charge name. Public Index records may show court type, court agency, case number, party roles, case type, subtype, action dates, docket entries, financials, and document icons where images are available. The official guide also notes Switch View for seeing available details on one screen and a double-arrow control for cases with multiple parties.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The court file identifier used to open the result and request copies. |
| Defendant and parties | The accused person and any party display available in the public index. |
| Charge | The accusation filed with the court, which may differ from booking text or later amended charges. |
| Actions | Docket events such as hearings, filings, motions, orders, and continuances. |
| Financials | Fines, fees, costs, and payments where that tab is enabled. |
| Disposition | The outcome of the case or charge, such as guilty, dismissed, discharged, or other result. |
| Sentence | Sentence terms when entered, including custody, probation, fines, or court conditions. |
| Documents | Images only where document icons are available. Not all cases have public images. |
Beginning January 1, 2026, home addresses are no longer displayed on the public index for new and existing cases. That change does not mean the case vanished. It means address fields are withheld from public display under privacy rules and court-system policy.
Horry County Charges vs Convictions
A charge is an accusation. A conviction is a final finding or plea that establishes guilt for a specific offense. Horry County booking records can show charge descriptions, bail amounts, counts, and a booking-related disposition such as Pre-Trial or Discharged. Those values should not be treated as the final court result without checking the Public Index, Clerk, or issuing court.
| Question | Charge | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| When it appears | After arrest, citation, warrant, indictment, or prosecutor filing. | After plea, trial verdict, or other final court action. |
| What it means | The government alleges an offense occurred. | The court has entered a guilty outcome on that offense. |
| Where to verify | Booking app, warrant paperwork, Public Index, Clerk, or Solicitor. | Public Index, Clerk certified copy, or court disposition. |
| Can it change | Yes. It may be amended, reduced, dismissed, or nol prossed. | It may be appealed, corrected, or affected by later expungement if eligible. |
The General Sessions Court source is relevant to Horry County criminal court records because it identifies the criminal Circuit Court path.
General Sessions records are the place to confirm serious criminal dispositions after the charge has moved beyond booking or initial lower-court handling.
Horry County Criminal Court Offices
The Solicitor prosecutes criminal violations for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. In Horry County, the Solicitor office is at 1301 Second Avenue, Conway, SC 29528, with phone 843-915-5460. The office also handles expungement screening, General Sessions prosecution, and certain Magistrate Court Division matters, including first-offense DUI and domestic violence pathways described in county materials.
The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender provides counsel to indigent defendants in criminal cases where imprisonment is possible. Horry County materials list Public Defender Ronald Hazzard and the local office at 203 Laurel Street, Conway, SC 29526, with directory phone 843-915-5385. The application requires a $40 fee paid to the Office of the Clerk of Court. Magistrate Court defendants may not receive an attorney assignment until the day of trial, while General Sessions defendants may receive assignment before first appearance.
The Solicitor Magistrate Court Division source documents DUI, domestic violence, discovery, and jury-trial routing for Horry County criminal court records.
This lower-court division is important because some criminal charges begin outside General Sessions but still involve prosecutor review and court record updates.
The Public Defender source supports Horry County criminal court records information about indigent defense and application routing.
Defense appointment details help explain why counsel status and first-appearance timing may differ between General Sessions and Magistrate Court cases.
Horry County Sealed or Expunged Records
Some criminal court records are public, and some are not. Juvenile records are confidential under S.C. Code 63-19-2010. Adoption and certain Family Court matters are also restricted. Personal identifiers, including Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, account numbers, PINs, and passwords, are controlled by S.C. Code 30-2-330.
| Topic | Sealed | Expunged |
|---|---|---|
| Public view | Closed from ordinary public access by court order or law. | Removed, omitted, or marked so public systems no longer show normal details. |
| Who handles it | The court that controls the file. | The Solicitor screens and routes qualifying expungement orders. |
| What users may see | No result, limited docket text, or redacted case data. | Omitted records or labels such as redacted or expunged in public data. |
| Key limit | Sealed does not always mean destroyed. | Eligibility depends on charge, disposition, and history. |
Expungement in Horry County begins with the Solicitor in the circuit where the charge originated. Public booking samples inspected for this project showed redacted names and an EXPUNGED charge number, which is a reminder that public criminal data can change after legal action. Note: a missing online result is not proof that no criminal case, warrant, or court order exists.
The Juvenile Arbitration Program source supports Horry County criminal court records restrictions and diversion details.
Juvenile diversion is separate from adult General Sessions records and must be discussed with the confidentiality limits that apply to juvenile matters.
Public Access to Horry Criminal Records
South Carolina FOIA makes nonexempt public records available for inspection and copying, but criminal court access also depends on court rules, sealed orders, juvenile law, redactions, and the office that holds the file. Use the Clerk for court case files, the Sheriff's Public Information Office for sheriff records, and Horry County Public Information FOIA for county administrative records. Police reports are generally requested from the investigating agency, not the Solicitor.
Key access laws: S.C. Code 30-4-30 covers inspection and copying of nonexempt public records, while S.C. Code 30-4-40 allows withholding for some law-enforcement, privacy, safety, fair-trial, source, and technique-sensitive records.
Horry County Public Information lists FOIA staff time at $25 per hour and standard 8.5 x 11 copies at $0.15 per page. Those county administrative fees are not the same as court certified-copy fees, which should be confirmed with the Clerk division that holds the case. If a user needs a certified General Sessions disposition, the public index result is not a certified copy.