Socastee Criminal Court Records
Socastee is an unincorporated community in Horry County, located southwest of Myrtle Beach. Because Socastee has no municipal government of its own, there is no Socastee Municipal Court. All criminal matters for Socastee residents fall under Horry County jurisdiction. Misdemeanor cases go to Horry County Magistrate Courts, and felony cases are handled by the Horry County Court of General Sessions under the 15th Judicial Circuit. This page explains where Socastee criminal court records are held and how to search them.
Socastee Quick Facts
Criminal Court Records for Socastee Residents
Because Socastee is unincorporated, it has no municipal court and no city government. This is an important distinction. Residents of Socastee do not appear before a local municipal judge for misdemeanor matters. Instead, they go before the Horry County Magistrate Courts, which handle misdemeanors, traffic violations, and preliminary hearings for the entire unincorporated area of Horry County.
Felony charges involving Socastee residents or incidents in the community are heard by the Horry County Court of General Sessions. Circuit Court hearings take place at the Horry County Judicial Center in Conway. The Horry County Clerk of Court maintains all General Sessions records. These files include charging documents, plea agreements, sentencing orders, and every other official court filing in a felony case. The Public Index at publicindex.sccourts.org/horry/ gives free access to basic case data online.
South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act applies the same way here as in any incorporated city. Socastee residents have the full right to access public criminal court records through the county system. The South Carolina Code Title 17 governs criminal procedure statewide, including all cases arising from incidents in Socastee.
How to Search Socastee Criminal Court Records
The first step is to go to sccourts.org and open the Public Index. Select Horry County from the list and enter the name of the person you are searching. Results will display case numbers, charge descriptions, filing dates, and current status for any matching cases. The search is free and no account is needed.
For records from the Horry County Magistrate Courts, the online Public Index may not have full detail on all magistrate-level matters. Magistrate court records can be requested directly from the relevant magistrate office. Horry County operates several magistrate offices across the county to serve different communities. Contact the Horry County Magistrates office at horrycounty.org/Departments/Magistrates to find the right office and ask about records access for Socastee-area cases.
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History holds older Horry County court records that predate current electronic systems, useful for historical Socastee cases.
The State Archives serves as the repository for older court records that have been transferred out of the active Horry County Clerk of Court system, giving you access to historical Socastee case files that no longer appear online.
Note: When searching the Horry County Public Index for Socastee cases, the county is the relevant jurisdiction. There is no separate Socastee designation in the court system since the community is part of the unincorporated county.
Horry County Magistrate Courts for Socastee
The Horry County Magistrate Courts handle the lower-level criminal matters that would otherwise go to a municipal court in an incorporated city. For Socastee residents, this is the first point of contact with the criminal court system for misdemeanor offenses and traffic violations. Magistrate courts also conduct bond hearings when someone is arrested, which generates immediate court records including the bond order and conditions of release.
Several magistrate offices are spread across Horry County to serve different parts of the large county. Socastee residents are likely served by one of the offices in the Myrtle Beach area, though you should confirm which office has jurisdiction over your specific address. Each magistrate office keeps its own records. These records are separate from the General Sessions records held by the Clerk of Court. If a misdemeanor case was appealed from magistrate court to the circuit level, additional records may exist at the Clerk of Court as well.
Magistrate court records are public and available for inspection. Call the relevant magistrate office to ask about the process for requesting records and any applicable fees. Socastee residents deal exclusively with Horry County courts at every level since there is no incorporated city government to run its own court.
Horry County Sheriff's Office Records
Since Socastee is unincorporated, there is no Socastee Police Department. Law enforcement for the Socastee community is provided by the Horry County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office handles all patrol, investigations, and arrests in the unincorporated parts of Horry County. Arrested individuals may be held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, which serves the entire county.
The Sheriff's Office maintains arrest records and incident reports for activity in Socastee and all unincorporated Horry County areas. Records requests go through the Sheriff's Office records section. Common requests include incident reports, arrest records, and accident reports. Active investigation files may not be available. The Sheriff's Office works directly with the Horry County Magistrate Courts and the Court of General Sessions as cases move through the system. For a statewide criminal history that pulls from Sheriff's Office arrests and court conviction data, use SLED.
SLED maintains a statewide criminal history system that includes arrest data from the Horry County Sheriff's Office and conviction data from the Horry County courts that serve Socastee residents.
Certified criminal records at sled.sc.gov/CriminalRecords pull together all known South Carolina arrest and conviction data for an individual, including Horry County Sheriff's Office records tied to incidents in Socastee.
What Socastee Criminal Court Records Contain
Criminal court records for Socastee cases are held at the county level. At the magistrate level, records tend to be shorter and focus on bond orders, hearing minutes, and dispositions for misdemeanor matters. General Sessions files for felony cases are much more detailed and cover every stage from indictment through sentencing.
A typical Horry County General Sessions file for a Socastee felony case contains the arrest warrant, bond order, indictment from the solicitor, motions and responses from both sides, plea agreement or trial record, sentencing order, and any post-conviction filings. The 15th Circuit Solicitor's Office prosecutes all felony cases originating in Socastee and the broader Horry County area. Victim services are available through the Solicitor's office. Crime victims can receive case updates and support throughout the prosecution process, from the initial charges through sentencing and beyond.
Note: Records from the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, such as booking and release records, are maintained by the Sheriff's Office and are separate from court records held by the Clerk of Court.
Public Records Access in Socastee
Public records access for Socastee residents flows entirely through Horry County offices. There is no city government, no city records department, and no municipal court. Everything goes through the county. The main access points are the Horry County Clerk of Court in Conway for General Sessions records, the Horry County Magistrate Courts for misdemeanor records, and the Horry County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement records.
Online searches start at publicindex.sccourts.org/horry/ for the Public Index. SLED certified records are at sled.sc.gov/CriminalRecords. Court forms for all official requests are at sccourts.org/forms. Crime victims involved in Socastee cases can find assistance through the SC Attorney General's victim services section.
The South Carolina Judicial Branch court forms library provides official forms for any formal records request or legal filing related to a Socastee criminal court case in Horry County.
Using official forms from sccourts.org/forms ensures that Socastee residents submit correctly formatted requests to the Horry County Clerk of Court or magistrate offices.
Expungement Options for Socastee Residents
Socastee residents with qualifying criminal records can petition for expungement under South Carolina law. The same eligibility rules apply here as in any other part of the state. Cases that ended without conviction, certain first-offense misdemeanor convictions, and other qualifying situations may be eligible. An expungement order removes the record from the Public Index and from SLED's criminal history files statewide.
To start the process, review the eligibility requirements at sccourts.org/courts/expungement.cfm and download the petition form from sccourts.org/forms. File the completed petition with the Horry County Clerk of Court in Conway. The 15th Circuit Solicitor's office reviews the petition. If there is no objection, and the case qualifies, a circuit judge signs the expungement order. Socastee residents have no local court to petition, so all expungement filings go directly to the county Clerk of Court. Crime victims in Socastee cases can learn about their notification rights during this process through the SC Attorney General's Office.
Note: Expungements for magistrate court cases may follow a slightly different process than those for General Sessions cases. Ask the Horry County Clerk of Court which forms and procedures apply to your specific case type.
Horry County Criminal Court Records
Socastee is part of unincorporated Horry County. All criminal court proceedings for Socastee residents take place through Horry County courts. Visit the Horry County page for complete details on the Clerk of Court, courthouse location in Conway, magistrate court offices, and county-level records resources.
Nearby South Carolina Cities
Residents of nearby incorporated cities access criminal court records through their own municipal and county court systems. Choose a city below to learn how the process works in that community.