York County SC Clerk of Court to retire. His replacement will be the first-ever woman

York County will break new ground in its court system in July when Angela “Angie” Bryant becomes the first-ever woman to be Clerk of Court.

Bryant will take over in early July with the retirement of current clerk of court David Hamilton. Hamilton has run the clerk’s office since 1997 after he was first elected in 1996. The clerk’s office oversees official records for criminal court, civil court, Family Court, the Register of Deeds, and the county passport office.

Bryant, deputy clerk for the past 15 years, was appointed Thursday by Gov. Henry McMaster in an executive order to fill the rest of Hamilton’s term. She will start July 7, the day Hamilton’s retirement takes effect.

“I look forward to serving the public as clerk of court,” Bryant told The Herald Thursday.

First woman to hold the office

York County has never before had a female in charge of the clerk’s office. The clerk of court is elected in a political race every four years. The next election is 2024.

Under South Carolina law, each of the state’s 46 counties must have a clerk of court.

Bryant, a Republican, told The Herald Thursday she expects to run for the seat during the 2024 election cycle.

Candidate filing for the office does not open until 2024.

Clerk’s office has multiple responsibilities

The Clerk of Court has responsibility for the physical courthouse buildings at the York County Courthouse in downtown York, the Moss Justice Center in York, and the York County Family Court in Rock Hill.

The office has about 65 employees in the five locations. The office handles all docket management, receipt of fees, fines and costs, maintenance of all court records, and submission of reports to state and federal agencies.

The clerk’s office also handles sending out juror summons for criminal and civil trials.

Current clerk Hamilton to retire

Hamilton, a Republican, never faced opposition in either a primary or general election after he was first elected in 1996.

He was instrumental in modernizing the court system and buildings during his tenure. The York County Courthouse and Moss Justice Center both had major renovations under Hamilton’s leadership, and a new Family Court was built on West Main Street in Rock Hill.

Hamilton was named South Carolina’s top clerk of court in 2018.

The clerk of court is responsible for the operation of the physical courthouse buildings under South Carolina law.

Hamilton and Bryant were responsible for administering court functions during the COVID-19 pandemic where trials were halted for about a year.

In 2017, The Herald was the first to report Hamilton decided that a Confederate Flag and other Civil Ware memorabilia items that had been in the York County Courthouse main courtroom for decades would not go back up after the courtroom was renovated.

The decision sparked a lawsuit and some controversy, and led to flag supporters and those against the flag to rally at the courthouse.