n December 2017, 14th Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen allegedly pressed Beaufort County deputies on Hilton Head Island to arrest a man with a long history of mental illness so he could get treatment behind bars. According to state charges, she also questioned deputies and the homeowner about whether there were legal grounds to detain him. The charges say her actions created an appearance of impropriety and raised doubts about the fairness of the courts.

Judge Mullen denies the allegations. She says she and her husband, who knew the man, stopped because they feared he might be hurt or killed as the situation unfolded. She has asked the Commission to dismiss the case.

Nearly nine years after that day, the South Carolina Commission on Judicial Conduct held a hearing on the charges this week. Its decision is still pending.

Whatever the outcome, South Carolinians deserve to see how this case ends. Judges hold real power over people's freedom, and public trust depends on knowing the rules apply to them too. A case that takes almost nine years to go from incident to hearing is unfair to the public, to the people involved, and to the judge herself.

The Commission on Judicial Conduct and the South Carolina Supreme Court should make the full findings and final decision public as soon as a ruling is reached. The South Carolina General Assembly should set clear deadlines so future misconduct complaints against judges are resolved in months, not years.

No one in a mental health crisis should need a jail cell to get care, and no one should have to wonder whether a judge's influence shaped that outcome.

Sign the petition to demand an open, timely ruling in this case and faster answers on every judicial misconduct complaint in South Carolina.