Get ready for organized chaos in an Horry County courtroom starting next Monday. In just one week, 400 old cases that have been hanging around for years, will finally be brought before a judge.
Hundreds of criminal cases that fell through the cracks will finally have their day in court, though it may be no more than just a few minutes.
In the solicitor's office, they're calling it March madness.
Solictor Greg Hembree said, "It's going to look chaotic, but at the same time I think it's going to be very productive and move a lot of cases."
100 cases per day, all of them at least a year old, will come up before Judge Edward Cottingham to be worked out, one way or another.
The crimes range from shoplifting all the way up to murder.
Many cases will plead out, others will have a firm trial date set.
Assistant solicitors like Scott Hucks have been hustling to keep up, reviewing cases, notifying defense attorneys, working out plea deals.
"It'll be quick and it'll be fast and furious. But at the same time, many of the cases, I think, are gonna be easy to resolve, too," said Hucks.
Hembree says shoving so many cases into one week forces both sides to focus their attention and work things out ahead of time.
He says Judge Cottingham is the key to making it work - experienced, efficient, no-nonsense.
"He's very good at drawing out the relevant information in a very short period of time," said Hembree.
Many of these cases have been delayed for things like psychiatric evaluations on defendants.
In the end, prosecutors like Scott Hucks will be able to concentrate on the worst crimes.
"When you reduce that caseload to a manageable level, a more manageable level," said Hembree, "Then you can focus on it better, you get a higher quality of work. And I think that's always good not only for the taxpayers, but it's good for the justice system."
Hembree says Judge Cottingham is good about rewarding people who take responsibility for their crimes.
If they don't take responsibility, they'll pay the price - not wholesale, not discount, the full retail price.
The oldest on the list for next week, is a hit and run case that's been in the system for four years.
