By David Berman The Journal Scene • Thursday, October 18, 2007

At just over 64 percent, Dorchester County's conviction rate in general sessions court is the highest of the state's 46 counties.

First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe learned of the high mark when he and his fellow solicitors pored over statistics during a September meeting.

"I couldn't be more pleased with the efforts of my office, local law enforcement and the local judiciary," Pascoe said.

Out of 1,867 cases disposed by Pascoe's office between June 2006 and July 2007, 1,202 resulted in convictions. That's 25 percent higher than the state average, he said.

During the fiscal year before Pascoe took office, 753 of 1,312 disposed cases resulted in convictions - a rate of 57.39 percent.

While the county's conviction rate has spiked since Pascoe took office in 2004, the average age of disposed cases from the arrest date has increased from 237.9 during the 2003-04 fiscal year to 283.1 during the 2006-07 frame.

Pascoe chalks the increase up to changes in the pre-trial intervention (PTI) laws in 2005. Whereas before, cases were closed out when an individual entered PTI, they are now closed out when the individual completes PTI. Pascoe said that can sometimes take up to a year.

Pascoe also attributed the increased age of cases to the larger caseload of his office and the fact that it takes longer to get a conviction than a dismissal.

The statistic Pascoe said is worth noting is the decreased age of the average jail case - a case in which the defendant is still being housed at the Dorchester County Detention Center.

In December 2004, the average jail case was 284 days old. By September 2007, that number was down to 176, he said.

Pascoe said that is a direct result of his office's working relationship with Sheriff Ray Nash, the sheriff's office and the detention center staff.

"They call us and tell us which cases they want to expedite," Pascoe said.

Those cases might be for inmates who have been housed for a long time or inmates who cause trouble in the detention center, he said.

"The quicker we get the jail cleared out, the less it costs our citizens," Nash said.

Nash estimated the cost per inmate per day ranges from $36 to $40.

Pascoe said his office has also benefited from the creation of transfer court - a court run by magistrates who hear circuit court cases the S.C. General Assembly allows to be heard outside of the circuit court.

"My staff has done a good job moving cases but we couldn't have done it without the help of law enforcement and the magistrates," Pascoe said.

Contact David Berman @ 873-9424 ext. 214 or dberman@journalscene.com.