House Speaker Murrell Smith’s office has confirmed the resignation of Marvin Pendarvis, a Democrat from the Charleston area, from the state legislature this week.

Penarvis was a member of the Democratic Caucus serving on Legislative Oversight. The S.C. Judiciary has been a topic of controversy within the state’s government, and lawyer – legislators such as Marvin Pendarvis are at the center of this controversy.

Marvin Pendarvis

Marvin Pendarvis assumed the position in 2017 following his victory in a special election, where he was elected to serve as the representative for District 113 in the South Carolina House.

Pendarvis, in a letter sent on September 16th to Speaker Smith of Sumter (R), expressed that being a part of the House was the greatest privilege he had ever experienced. As of now, his resignation is in full effect.

“Because of my respect for this body and for the residents of my district, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my seat,” Pendarvis wrote. “The residents of District 113 deserve a representative who can devote full time to their needs, and I cannot do that at this time.”

Per News2 Charleston, This news comes about four months after the South Carolina Supreme Court suspended the attorney’s license to practice law in the state amid an ongoing malpractice investigation.

A former client filed a lawsuit against Marvin Pendarvis over the alleged mishandling of his civil claim against the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.

The individual claimed that he engaged Pendarvis to act as his legal representative in a civil lawsuit against the sheriff’s office in 2021, alleging unlawful arrest and kidnapping. Lawyers asserted that Pendarvis demonstrated incompetence in providing legal representation, settling the case without the client’s consent, and even forging the client’s signature on a settlement agreement.

Pendarvis was scheduled to run without any opposition in the upcoming general election on November 5th.

County election officials have stated that, due to the passing of the withdrawal deadline and the commencement of ballot printing, his name will continue to be listed on the ballot.