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by JENN WOOD
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The Lowcountry, South Carolina funding dispute that drew statewide attention last week ended quietly the next morning — not with a press conference, but with a check picked up in person.
S.C. Fourteenth Judicial Circuit public defender Stephanie Smart-Gittings confirmed in an interview with FITSNews that she personally retrieved a check from Hampton County covering more than $178,000 in unpaid funding spanning three fiscal years – resolving the immediate standoff that prompted her to publicly threaten litigation.
But while the money has now changed hands, Smart-Gittings says the episode exposed a deeper problem — one that cannot be solved by a single payment or a single audit.
“This wasn’t new to them,” she said of the county’s debt. “Invoices and emails were sent often that were never replied to.”
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FUNDING GAPS CREATE ‘A CONSTITUTIONAL PROBLEM’
Smart-Gittings said the public defender’s office has no enforcement mechanism when counties fail to pay their statutory share — short of litigation.
“There’s absolutely nothing that we can do,” she said. “We send invoices, and the responsible counties will pay those invoices — and we’re fine. But when they don’t, our hands are tied.”
She confirmed that Hampton County had not disputed the invoices themselves, but instead appeared to act “as if they didn’t have a statutory obligation to pay.”
According to Smart-Gittings, the county’s rapid response only came after public outrage followed her presentation at a Hampton County Council meeting — a moment she believes was decisive.
“If it had not been for the outrage from the community, I would not have a check,” she said. “If you were going to pay me, why didn’t you pay me before the community was outraged?”
Smart-Gittings stressed that delayed or missing payments are not merely administrative issues — they strike at the heart of a defendant’s constitutional right to effective counsel.
“We represent about 90 percent of the people charged with crimes in general sessions and magistrate court, and 100 percent in juvenile and family court,” she said.
In Hampton County alone, her office has opened approximately 700 cases over the past couple of years, a workload she described as impossible to manage without stable funding.
The three-year funding lapse forced her office to make staffing cuts — including dissolving an administrative assistant position — to avoid exceeding its budget.
“That was very hard,” Smart-Gittings said. “That’s someone’s job.”
She added that underfunding inevitably becomes “a constitutional problem” when it undermines effective representation.
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RELATED | HAMPTON COUNTY PROMISES PAYMENT AFTER LAWSUIT THREAT
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‘THE REALITY PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND’
Although Hampton County has now paid its past-due balance, Smart-Gittings said she has received no assurances the problem will not recur.
“They have not,” she said when asked whether county officials offered guarantees.
If it does, she said her response will be different.
“Oh, absolutely,” Smart-Gittings said when asked whether she would pursue legal action more quickly next time.
She confirmed she has already begun working with a local attorney to identify counsel should litigation become necessary.
“I don’t want to be in a legal battle for years,” she said. “Just pay me what you owe so my employees can be paid.”
Smart-Gittings warned that if a public defender’s office were ever forced to shut its doors, the consequences would ripple quickly through Hampton County’s justice system.
“If we were to close our doors, the solicitor’s office would not move any cases,” she said. “There would be a tremendous backlog, the jails would be overcrowded, and the county would face increased medical costs for inmates.”
She noted that her office often works proactively to reduce jail populations — including filing motions to release medically vulnerable inmates — saving counties money in the long run.
“That’s the reality people don’t understand,” she said.
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A BROADER PATTERN, NOT AN ISOLATED BREAKDOWN
Asked whether Hampton County’s failure to pay was an anomaly, Smart-Gittings was blunt.
“From my observation, when Sabrena Graham was the county administrator, we did not have the problems we’re having now,” she said. “That’s when all the problems started.”
She framed the issue as one of leadership and accountability — not capacity.
“All the money appropriated to my office, I’m responsible for,” she said. “I have to make sound decisions. I run a $4 million circuit budget, and we operate within it.”
Smart-Gittings said she was surprised — and deeply grateful — for the public support that followed her remarks, crediting Hampton County residents for forcing the issue into the open.
“The Hampton County citizens were amazing,” she said. “They did what I couldn’t do.”
But the episode leaves unresolved the same concern raised by Hampton County’s latest audit: whether financial obligations are being met systematically — or only after public pressure mounts.
For now, the public defender has been paid. The larger question, residents say, is whether Hampton County’s promises will hold — or whether the next constitutional office, vendor, or agency will be forced to repeat the same fight just to get what they are owed.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.
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