CHARLESTON, S.C. - The disciplinary office of the South Carolina Supreme Court is reviewing possible violations of judicial standards following the late-night release of a Charleston municipal judge from county jail.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal said Wednesday that questions have been raised about the bail set by a fellow judge for Judge Joseph Mendelsohn.

Mendelsohn was arrested Saturday in Mount Pleasant on a charge of driving under the influence. He was freed from the county jail early Sunday after posting a $1,002 bond.

At issue is whether Magistrate James Gosnell, by signing a form that formally booked Mendelsohn into the county lockup and set his bail amount, constituted an unscheduled bond hearing.

Three years ago, Toal ordered South Carolina magistrates not to hold late-night bond hearings. She directed them to schedule two bond hearings daily, at specific times in the morning and in the evening.

If, under extraordinary circumstances "the on-call magistrate is requested to conduct a bond hearing at a time other than specified, hearings shall be held for the entire jail population eligible for release," Toal wrote at the time.

Toal issued the order after Richland County Chief Magistrate Samuel Peay ordered the immediate late-night release of Appeals Court Judge Jasper Cureton, who was arrested in a domestic dispute with his wife. After the incident, Toal replaced Peay.

Gosnell said he went to the jail to see about his friend. Gosnell said he did not hold a bond hearing for Mendelsohn but did sign a form that set his bail at an amount dictated by state law.

Toal said her office had received a complaint about Mendelsohn's release, and she referred it to Henry Richardson with the Supreme Court's Office of the Disciplinary Counsel. Still, she said that action does not mean the high court has made a judgment on whether there should be an investigation.

Acting Charleston County Chief Magistrate Henry Guerard said he also is looking into the situation.

"We all are trying to figure out what happened and if further action would be appropriate and, if so, what action," he said.

In most South Carolina jurisdictions, people charged with DUI do not have to appear before a magistrate in bond court and can be released as soon as they post bonds set by state law, provided they are not a danger to the community or a flight risk. But that's not the case in Mount Pleasant.

Mount Pleasant Municipal Judge Lawrence Duffy asked the jail in an October 2002 letter to hold overnight anyone arrested on a charge of DUI or criminal domestic violence.

His concern, he said earlier this week, was to make sure that a magistrate, not a police officer, set the bail amount because bonds were changing so often that errors could occur.