United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
From Judgepedia
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina is a federal district court.
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.
When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals based in Downtown Richmond, VA at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.
Vacancy warning level
The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina's vacancy warning level is currently set at Blue. The court has one vacancy and one pending appointment.
Jurisdiction
|
The jurisdiction of the District of South Carolina consists of all the counties in the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, and Spartanburg. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals based in Downtown Richmond, VA at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse. |
Cases heard
The District of South Carolina has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
Case load
| Federal Court Case Load Statistics* |
|---|
| Year | Starting case load: | Cases filed: | Total cases: | Cases terminated: | Remaining cases: | Median time(Criminal)**: | Median time(Civil)**: | 3 Year Civil cases#: | Vacant posts:## | Trials/Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 4085 | 4625 | 8710 | 4943 | 3767 | 9.9 | 10.8 | 69(2.2%) | 29.3 | 39 |
| 2009 | 4202 | 4559 | 8761 | 4735 | 4026 | 10.1 | 8.2 | 64(2%) | 12 | 31 |
| 2008 | 3877 | 5460 | 9337 | 5147 | 4190 | 9.4 | 8.2 | 53(1.6%) | 0 | 36 |
| 2007 | 3705 | 5508 | 9213 | 5370 | 3843 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 25(1.2%) | 0 | 39 |
| 2006 | 3964 | 4670 | 8634 | 4984 | 3650 | 8.9 | 9.5 | 91(3.1%) | 0 | 39 |
| *All statistics are taken from the Official Federal Courts' Website and reflect the calendar year through September. **Time in months from filing to completion. #This statistic includes cases which have been appealed in higher courts. ##This is the total number of months that any all judicial posts had spent vacant that year. |
Clerk's office
The District of South Carolina has ten divisions and eight courthouse locations throughout the state. The divisons are Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, Greenwood, Orangeburg, Rock Hill and Spartanburg. Offices are open from 8:30 A.M. until 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday excluding Federal Holidays. The official Clerk of Court's phone number is (803) 765-5816. Please consult the chart below for more information on courthouse locations:
| Location | Divisions | Address | Phone number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aiken Courthouse | Aiken and Orangeburg | Charles E. Simons Jr. Federal Courthouse
223 Park Avenue, S.W. Aiken, SC 29801 | 803-648-6896 (Inquiries to 803-765-5816) |
| Anderson Courthouse | Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood and Spartanburg | G. Ross Anderson, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse
315 South McDuffie Street, 2nd Floor Anderson, South Carolina 29624 | (Inquiries to 864-241-2700) |
| Beaufort Courthouse | Beaufort | Beaufort Federal Courthouse
1501 Bay Street Beaufort, South Carolina 29902 | 843-521-2088 (Inquiries to 843-579-1401) |
| Charleston Federal Courthouse | Beaufort and Charleston | Charleston Federal Courthouse
85 Broad Street Charleston, South Carolina 29401 | 843-579-1401 |
| Hollings Judicial Center | Hollings Judicial Center
83 Broad Street Charleston, South Carolina 29401 | 843-579-1401 | |
| Columbia Courthouse | Columbia and Rock Hill | Matthew J. Perry, Jr. Courthouse
901 Richland Street Columbia, South Carolina 29201 | 803-765-5816 |
| Florence Courthouse | Florence | McMillan Federal Building
401 West Evans Street Florence, South Carolina 29501 | 843-676-3820 |
| Greenville Courthouse | Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood and Spartanburg | Clement F. Haynsworth Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse
300 East Washington Street Greenville, South Carolina 29601 | 864-241-2700 |
| Spartanburg Courthouse | Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood and Spartanburg | Donald S. Russell Courthouse and U.S. Courthouse
201 Magnolia Street Spartanburg, South Carolina 29306 | (Inquiries to 864-241-2700) |
History
Court history
The District of South Carolina was established by Congress on September 24, 1789 with one post to cover the entire state. On February 21, 1823 Congress divided the district into the Eastern District of South Carolina and the Western District of South Carolina with one post to cover both districts. In 1898, in Bartlett v. U.S., 169 U.S. 219 the United States Supreme Court held that South Carolina was a single judicial district under the law. On March 3, 1911 Congress again divided the district into the Eastern District of South Carolina and the Western District of South Carolina with one post to cover both districts. On October 7, 1965 the two judicial districts were again merged, this time by congress, with 4 posts to cover the entire state. Over time 6 additional judicial posts were added to the Western District of Virginia for a total of 10 current posts.[1]
Judicial posts
The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the District of South Carolina:
| Year | Statute | Total Seats |
| September 24, 1789 | 1 Stat. 73 | 1 (Whole state) |
| February 21, 1823 | 3 Stat. 726 | 1 (Whole state, 2 Districts) |
| 1898 | Bartlett v. U.S., 169 U.S. 219 | 1 (Whole state) |
| March 3, 1911 | 36 Stat. 1087, 1123 | 1 (Whole state, 2 Districts) |
| March 3, 1915 | 38 Stat. 961 | 1 Eastern + 1 Western = 2 Total |
| February 26, 1929 | 45 Stat. 1319 | 1 Eastern + 1 Western +1 Shared = 3 Total |
| May 19, 1961 | 75 Stat. 80 | 1 Eastern + 1 Western + 2 Shared = 4 Total |
| October 7, 1965 | 79 Stat. 951 | 4 |
| June 2, 1970 | 84 Stat. 294 | 5 |
| October 20, 1978 | 92 Stat. 1629 | 8 |
| December 1, 1990 | 104 Stat. 5089 | 9 |
| December 21, 2000 | 114 Stat. 2762 | 10 |
Notable decisions
For a searchable list of opinions, please see Opinions of the District of South Carolina.
| • South Carolina immigration law |
|---|
| In December 2011 U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel blocked portions of the new South Carolina Immigration law, ruling that the law infringed upon the powers granted to the United States federal government. Gergel determined that measures including requiring police officers to check residency status and making it a felony for anyone to harbor or transport an illegal immigrant fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government and were unconstitutional. The judge argued that the "state-mandated scrutiny is without consideration of federal enforcement priorities and unquestionably vastly expands the persons targeted for immigration enforcement action."[2] There is no word as to whether the state will appeal the decision. |
Federal courthouse
There are eight federal courthouses that serve the District of South Carolina.
Major news
For new stories and other related material see South Carolina judicial news.
See also
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
- Opinions of the District of South Carolina
- District Judges of the District of South Carolina
- Magistrate Judges of the District of South Carolina
References
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
Chief Judge: Margaret Seymour • David Norton • Joseph Anderson • Cameron Currie • Terry Wooten • Robert Harwell • Timothy M. Cain • J. Michelle Childs • Richard Mark Gergel | ||
| Senior judges |
George Anderson • Henry Herlong • Patrick Duffy • Solomon Blatt • Charles Weston Houck • | ||
| Magistrate judges | Robert Buchanan • Paige Jones Gossett • Bruce Hendricks • Bristow Marchant • Joseph McCrorey • Thomas Rogers • Shiva Hodges • Kevin McDonald • Jacquelyn Austin • Kaymani West • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Thomas Bee • William Drayton • John Drayton • Thomas Lee • Robert Budd Gilchrist • Andrew Gordon Magrath • George Seabrook Bryan • William Hiram Brawley • Clyde Hamilton • William Traxler • Dennis Shedd • Charles Henry Simonton • Henry Augustus Middleton Smith • Joseph Travis Johnson • Henry Floyd • Henry Hitt Watkins • Ernest Ford Cochran • Robert Chapman • John Lyles Glenn • Francis Kerschner Myers • Charles Wyche • Falcon Hawkins • Robert Hemphill • Donald Russell • Charles Simons • Matthew Perry • George Timmerman • Julius Waring • William Walter Wilkins • Ashton Williams • James Robert Martin, Jr. • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
David Norton • Joseph Anderson • Falcon Hawkins • Robert Hemphill • Charles Simons • Solomon Blatt • Charles Weston Houck • James Robert Martin, Jr. • | ||

