What is Roll Call?

Each term of General Sessions Court (GSC) in the 2nd Judicial Circuit begins with roll call typically on Monday morning. A term of General Sessions Court in Aiken County may be one or two weeks long and generally occurs during the last two weeks of each month. The 2nd Judicial Circuit includes three counties: Aiken, Barnwell and Bamberg. Typically, the solicitor's office publishes the General Sessions Court Roster on the Friday afternoon before the term is scheduled to begin. This roster is published on the Internet and our site provides the link to the current roster, when available. In addition, the roster is posted on the 2nd floor of the Aiken County Courthouse.

The roll call roster does not include all the defendants who have been served with arrest warrants in Aiken County, but only those that have been indicted and who the solicitor schedules to report. Roll call normally starts at 9:00 a.m. and is held on the 2nd floor of the Aiken County Courthouse. Defendants congregate in the lobby and are checked in at the courtroom entrance way. After check in the defendants are seated in the courtroom. After receiving instructions to be available for trial from a staff member they are dismissed.

Pre-Trial Intervention Program

The Pre-Trial Intervention Program (PTI) is managed by the 2nd Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. The program offers the defendant a one time opportunity to intervene into his or her case before it is prosecuted and perhaps taken to trial. The program allows the defendant to be diverted from the normal prosecution process, enter a program of restitution, counseling and/or guidance, and return to society without a criminal record. In addition, the initial arrest warrant(s) may also be expunged from the defendant's record and admission of guilt is not required.

Defendants who do not present a threat to society, have no significant prior criminal history, and are involved non-violent crimes may be allowed this one time "second chance". The program cost is $350 and is strictly confidential. Upon arrest a defendant may make application to this program at the Solicitor's PTI office located in the basement of the Aiken County Courthouse. The initial application fee is $100 and if accepted into the program the applicant is required to pay the remaining $250 program cost. If the applicant is not accepted the $100 application fee is non-refundable.

In cases where it is appropriate to compensate victims for their losses, restitution may be required from the defendant before he or she can complete the program. PTI is a self-supporting agency under the control and supervision of the Circuit Solicitor's Office, and is supported through cooperation of several organizations (judicial, law enforcement and community service).

Preliminary Hearings Open to the Public

Each week at the Aiken County Detention Center preliminary hearings are held on Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. These hearings are open to the public, and the public is encouraged to attend. Typically, Judge Danny Lynn presides over the hearing and he is one of the local area magistrates. Other magistrates fill in for him from time to time. At the hearing the State presents its evidence and typically will have the lead officer or investigator testify under oath. However, the defendant through his attorney does not present a defense and is only allowed to cross-examine or question the State's witnesses. Also, if an alleged victim is involved he or she typically will not testify at the preliminary hearing. The only purpose of the hearing is to determine if "probable cause" exists to bound the charge or charges over to the circuit court for disposition. Magistrate level charges (some misdemeanors) are not heard at a preliminary hearing. The hearing usually last about 1 hour.

Bond hearings are also held in this courtroom usually twice a day: 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. These hearings are also open to the public.