Written by: Eamon Flynn, Second Year Student at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law
It is no secret that the American legal system is slow. A harm is suffered, a complaint is filed and responded to, discovery is conducted, and parties file motions, all before a trial is conducted. Then, the trial process itself occurs, which can take a lengthy period, depending on the facts of the case. Once a decision is made, post-trial motions can be filed, and the decision can be appealed, which lengthens the process even further. It can take years for any kind of civil case to be settled, and public interest cases tend to take longer than most other kinds of cases to be decided.
SCPIF’s Litigation
Out of eight pending cases the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation (SCPIF) is involved in, two have been going on for a year, two have been for two years, three have been going on for more than five years, and one has been in the courts for over nine years.
SCPIF’s case against Attorney General Alan Wilson has been in the courts for over five years. This case challenged Attorney General Alan Wilson’s awarding of $75 Million in attorney fees to his old firm that helped South Carolina with settling a nuclear waste dispute. The courts have decided on whether this transaction was allowed, which demonstrates a real problem with the length of public interest litigation. If a decision had been made earlier and this transaction had not been allowed, that money could have been spent on other projects benefiting the citizens of South Carolina. This begs the question, why are courts delaying public interest litigation when the ramifications of these cases are so large?
Public Interest vs. Other Kinds of Litigation
Any civil suit can take a while to decide, depending on the facts of a case, but Public Interest cases seem to take longer than most. On average, tort cases are settled two years from the initial complaint, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Compared to the length of time it takes for SCPIF’s cases to be settled, it is clear there is something about public interest litigation that causes delays.
Courts may argue that because public interest cases deal with more significant questions of law and affect more people compared to a personal injury claim, they do not want to make hasty decisions. This reasoning does not explain why some cases are taking 5+ years to decide, however. The issues in a public interest suit are important to many people in a state or country, and courts delaying these cases deprive citizens of their rights.
In a 1989 report from the Federal Judicial Center’s Task Force on Cost and Delay, groups of attorneys, which included public interest litigators, were surveyed, and they found that the high costs and delays of civil litigation restrict people’s access to justice. Report of a Task Force. Justice for All: Reducing Costs and Delay in Civil Litigation. This problem has been plaguing America’s legal system and public interest cases for decades, but luckily, there is a solution to these delays.
When courts are taking years to decide public interest issues, the public must be vocal that they will not sit idly while their rights are deprived. Public pressure on the courts reminds judges to do their jobs and help bring justice to those who are harmed. If we do our jobs and remind the courts that our rights aren’t something they can procrastinate on, then we can speed up public interest litigation.
Sources
Report of a Task Force. Justice for All: Reducing Costs and Delay in Civil Litigation. Brookings Institution Press, 1989. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7864/jj.17497092. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
Smith, Steven K., et al. Tort Cases in Large Counties. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Apr. 1995, bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/ascii/TCILC.TXT. NCJ-153177.