Rule 37.Dispositional hearing
Section IV. Provisions Applicable to Juvenile Actions · Last verified September 4, 2026
Full Text of Rule 37
Plain-English Summary
Rule 37 closes Section IV by keeping one judge on a juvenile case through its two decisive stages.
The rule
The judge who presided at the adjudicatory hearing shall preside at the dispositional hearing — with two exceptions:
- except as provided for in Rule 33(b), SCRFC; or
- unless otherwise unavailable.
Why continuity here
Adjudication decides whether the allegation is true. Disposition decides what happens to the child — and that turns on everything the judge learned watching the case: the family, the circumstances, the child's account. A judge coming fresh to disposition would be deciding the harder question with less.
Rule 37 pairs with Rule 34, which runs the other way: the judge who presided over a waiver hearing is barred from the adjudicatory hearing. The sequence the two rules build is a deliberate one — a judge who has not seen the waiver material adjudicates, and then stays for disposition.
The two exceptions
Rule 33(b) lets a judge who declined immediate transfer, having held an adjudicatory hearing that did not end in dismissal, order the case transferred to the county of the child's residence for disposition. Disposition then happens in the receiving county, before a different judge, and Rule 37 gives way.
Unavailability is the ordinary practical exception, and Rule 11 supplies the machinery where a circuit is left without a resident family court judge by death, absence, disqualification or otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the same judge handle adjudication and disposition?
Normally yes. Rule 37 requires the judge who presided at the adjudicatory hearing to preside at the dispositional hearing, except as provided in Rule 33(b), SCRFC, or unless otherwise unavailable.
When does a different judge handle disposition?
Rule 37 names two situations: a Rule 33(b) transfer of the case to the county of the child's residence for disposition, and the adjudicatory judge being otherwise unavailable.
Why does the rule require continuity?
Disposition depends on what the judge learned at adjudication. Rule 37 keeps that judge on the case, while Rule 34 separately keeps the waiver judge off the adjudicatory hearing.
What happens if there is no judge available in the circuit?
Rule 11 confers jurisdiction on a resident family court judge of an adjoining circuit where a circuit is without a resident family court judge and no other family court judge is presiding.