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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina’s supreme court is taking its show on the road this week, hosting two days of oral arguments on the campus of Clemson University.
The four justices of the S.C. supreme court – who are awaiting the election of a fifth justice early next year to give the court its full, five-judge complement – will hear four cases over the next two days (September 15-16, 2026) at the Brooks Center on Clemson’s campus.
Both hearings will begin at 10:00 a.m. EDT and will be live-streamed on FITSNews.
The first case on the court’s docket involves a lawsuit filed against governor Henry McMaster by the S.C. Public Interest Foundation (SCPIF), a nonprofit dedicated to “ensuring that South Carolina governments, agencies and officials act in strict compliance with the state Constitution and statutes.” According to SCPIF, McMaster exceeded his statutory authority when he deployed the S.C. National Guard (SCNG) to Washington, D.C. last August and December at the behest of U.S. president Donald Trump.
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SCPIF is also currently suing Clemson over whether its lifetime board of trustee appointments – which comprise a majority of the 13-member board – are violative of the state constitution. However, that case will not be heard during this special session.
The second case scheduled for today – which we have covered extensively – touches on a long-running legal battle between former Southern Charm stars Thomas Ravenel and Kathryn Dennis over whether their family court case should be made public.
Ravenel contends the files should be unsealed – arguing Dennis has been misrepresenting the facts of the case in social media posts. Dennis has countered that unsealing the files would not be in the best interests of the couple’s two minor children. As we noted on our latest Week in Review program, the case has significant implications on the Palmetto State’s open records law.
According to Clemson, the two-day session “is designed to increase understanding of the judicial system and make the Court’s work more accessible to South Carolinians.”
Participating in the two-day session are chief justice John W. Kittredge and associate justices George C. “Buck” James Jr., D. Garrison “Gary” Hill and Letitia Hamilton Verdin.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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