| United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (D.S.C.) |
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| Appeals to | Fourth Circuit |
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| Established | October 7, 1965 |
| Judges assigned | 10 |
| Chief judge | David C. Norton |
| Official site | |
The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (in case citations, D.S.C.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, and Spartanburg.
Appeals from the District of South Carolina are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
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History
The District of South Carolina was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789.[1] It was subdivided into the United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina and the United States District Court for the Western District of South Carolina Districts on February 21, 1823 by 3 Stat. 726.[1] The Eastern District was headquartered at Florence,[2] and the Western District was headquartered in Greenville.[3] The division was solely for the purposes of holding court - a single judge presided over both districts, and the act authorized no additional court staff.[1]
In 1898 the United States Supreme Court held in Barrett v. United States[4] that South Carolina legally constituted a single judicial district. Congress made another effort to subdivide the District on March 3, 1911, by 36 Stat. 1087, 1123. South Carolina was again split into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized to serve both districts, effective January 1, 1912.[1] Congress finally authorized an additional judgeship for the Western District, and assigned the sitting judge exclusively to the Eastern District, on March 3, 1915, by 38 Stat. 961.[1] However, on October 7, 1965, by 79 Stat. 951, South Carolina was reorganized as a single judicial district with four judgeships authorized for the district court.[1] It has since remained a single District.
The United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney is Walt Wilkins.
Current judges
- As of January 29, 2009, a vacancy exists in the District of South Carolina due to Judge George Ross Anderson, Jr.'s decision to assume senior status. On December 22, 2009, Barack Obama nominated J. Michelle Childs, a South Carolina Circuit Court judge, to fill the vacancy. She requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate, which has yet to act on her nomination.
- As of June 1, 2009, a second vacancy exists in the District due to the decision of Judge Henry Michael Herlong, Jr. to assume senior status. On December 22, 2009, Barack Obama nominated Richard Mark Gergel, a Columbia lawyer in private practice, to fill the vacancy. He requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate, which has yet to act on his nomination.
- Judge Patrick Michael Duffy has announced that he will assume senior status on December 27, 2009. This will result in a third vacancy in the District.
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
| 26 | Chief Judge | David C. Norton | Charleston | 1946 | 1990–present | 2007–present | — | G.H.W. Bush |
| 25 | District Judge | Joseph Fletcher Anderson, Jr. | Columbia | 1949 | 1986–present | 2000–2007 | — | Reagan |
| 30 | District Judge | Cameron McGowan Currie | Columbia | 1948 | 1994–present | — | — | Clinton |
| 31 | District Judge | Patrick Michael Duffy | Charleston | 1943 | 1995–present | — | — | Clinton |
| 32 | District Judge | Margaret B. Seymour | Columbia | 1947 | 1998–present | — | — | Clinton |
| 33 | District Judge | Terry L. Wooten | Florence | 1954 | 2001–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| 34 | District Judge | Henry Franklin Floyd | Spartanburg | 1947 | 2003–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| 35 | District Judge | Robert Bryan Harwell | Florence | 1959 | 2004–present | — | — | G.W. Bush |
| — | District Judge | (vacant) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) |
| — | District Judge | (vacant) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) | (n/a) |
| 17 | Senior District Judge | Solomon Blatt Jr. | Charleston | 1921 | 1971–1990 | 1986–1990 | 1990–present | Nixon |
| 18 | Senior District Judge | Matthew James Perry Jr. | Columbia | 1921 | 1979–1995 | (none) | 1995–present | Carter |
| 20 | Senior District Judge | Charles Weston Houck | Charleston | 1933 | 1979–2003 | 1993–2000 | 2003–present | Carter |
| 21 | Senior District Judge | George Ross Anderson, Jr. | Anderson | 1929 | 1980–2009 | (none) | 2009–present | Carter |
| 28 | Senior District Judge | Henry Michael Herlong, Jr. | Greenville | 1944 | 1991–2009 | (none) | 2009–present | G.H.W. Bush |
Former judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Began active service |
Ended active service |
Ended senior status |
End reason |
| Thomas Bee | George Washington | June 14, 1790 | February 18, 1812 | – | death |
| William H. Brawley | Grover Cleveland | January 18, 1894 | June 14, 1911 | – | retirement |
| George Seabrook Bryan | Andrew Johnson | March 12, 1866 | September 1, 1886 | – | retirement |
| Robert Foster Chapman | Richard Nixon | May 27, 1971 | October 2, 1981 | – | reappointment |
| John Drayton | James Madison | May 7, 1812 | November 27, 1822 | – | death |
| William Drayton, Sr. | George Washington | November 18, 1789[5] | May 18, 1790 | – | death |
| Robert Budd Gilchrist | Martin Van Buren | October 30, 1839[6] | May 1, 1856 | – | death |
| Clyde H. Hamilton | Ronald Reagan | December 1, 1981 | July 31, 1991 | – | reappointment |
| Falcon Black Hawkins, Jr. | Jimmy Carter | September 26, 1979 | October 1, 1993 | July 20, 2005 | death |
| Robert W. Hemphill | Lyndon B. Johnson | April 30, 1964 | May 10, 1980 | December 25, 1983 | death |
| Karen L. Henderson | Ronald Reagan | June 16, 1986 | July 11, 1990 | – | reappointment |
| Thomas Lee | James Monroe | February 17, 1823 | October 24, 1839 | – | death |
| Andrew Gordon Magrath | Franklin Pierce | May 12, 1856 | November 7, 1860 | – | resignation |
| James Robert Martin, Jr. | John F. Kennedy | September 18, 1961 | November 30, 1979 | November 14, 1984 | death |
| Donald S. Russell | Lyndon B. Johnson | November 3, 1966 | May 1, 1971 | – | reappointment |
| Dennis Shedd | George H. W. Bush | October 30, 1990 | December 10, 2002 | – | reappointment |
| Charles Earl Simons, Jr. | Lyndon B. Johnson | May 1, 1964 | August 17, 1986 | October 26, 1999 | death |
| Charles Henry Simonton | Grover Cleveland | September 3, 1886[7] | December 28, 1893 | – | reappointment |
| Henry Augustus Middleton Smith | William Howard Taft | June 7, 1911 | January 1, 1912 | – | assignment to another court |
| William Byrd Traxler Jr. | George H. W. Bush | March 2, 1992 | October 21, 1998 | – | reappointment |
| William Walter Wilkins | Ronald Reagan | July 22, 1981 | July 10, 1986 | – | reappointment |
| Charles Cecil Wyche | Franklin D. Roosevelt | January 30, 1937 | September 17, 1966 | – | death |
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f U.S. District Courts of South Carolina, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ The Florence, South Carolina courthouse, Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ The Greenville, South Carolina courthouse, Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Bartlett v. United States, 169 U.S. 219 (1898).
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on February 8, 1790, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 10, 1790, and received commission on February 10, 1790.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 29, 1840, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 17, 1840, and received commission on February 17, 1840.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 9, 1886, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 13, 1887, and received commission on January 13, 1887.
External links
- United States District Court for the District of South Carolina Official Website
- United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina Official Website
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