The Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office is the chief prosecuting agency for Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. The only five-county circuit in South Carolina, the Fourteenth Circuit encompasses 3,256 square miles — more than one-10th of the entire state — in the renowned Lowcountry. The circuit is home to more than 278,000 people, according to the latest U.S. Census estimates. Our mission is to professionally represent the people of South Carolina, to improve their safety, and to protect and defend the U.S. and South Carolina constitutions. The primary role of the Solicitor’s Office is to prosecute all cases in General Sessions Court, certain misdemeanors in Magistrate Court and certain cases in Family Court. The office prosecuted 4,804 cases in FY 2015-16, with half of those cases coming from Beaufort County. Additionally, the office operates several prevention and diversionary programs, including pre-trial intervention, worthless check, alcohol education, traffic education, treatment-based courts and juvenile arbitration. Solicitor Duffie Stone leads the office. A native of South Carolina, he is a graduate of Wofford College and the University of South Carolina School of Law. Stone was appointed by then-Gov. Mark Sanford in 2006, and re-elected in 2008, 2012 and 2016.