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| United States District Court for the District of South Carolina | |
|---|---|
| (D.S.C.) | |
 | |
 | |
| Location | Charleston |
| Appeals to | Fourth Circuit |
| Established | October 7, 1965 |
| Judges | 10 |
| Chief Judge | Timothy M. Cain |
| Officers of the court | |
| U.S. Attorney | Adair Ford Boroughs |
| U.S. Marshal | Chrissie C. Latimore |
| www | |
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).
The United States attorney for the District of South Carolina represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of July 26, 2022[update], the United States attorney is Adair Ford Boroughs.[1]
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.[2] 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.[2] The Eastern District was headquartered at Florence,[3] and the Western District was headquartered in Greenville.[4] 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.[2]
In 1898 the United States Supreme Court held in Barrett v. United States[5] 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 and 36 Stat. 1123. South Carolina was again split into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized to serve both districts, effective January 1, 1912.[2] 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.[2] 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.[2] It has since remained a single District.
Current judges
As of June 4, 2024[update]:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Chief | Senior | ||||||
| 38 | Chief Judge | Timothy M. Cain | Anderson | 1961 | 2011–present | 2024–present | — | Obama |
| 26 | District Judge | David C. Norton | Charleston | 1946 | 1990–present | 2007–2012 | — | G.H.W. Bush |
| 36 | District Judge | Richard Gergel | Charleston | 1954 | 2010–present | — | — | Obama |
| 39 | District Judge | Mary Geiger Lewis | Columbia | 1958 | 2012–present | — | — | Obama |
| 40 | District Judge | Bruce Howe Hendricks | Charleston | 1957 | 2014–present | — | — | Obama |
| 41 | District Judge | Donald C. Coggins Jr. | Spartanburg | 1959 | 2017–present | — | — | Trump |
| 43 | District Judge | Sherri Lydon | Columbia | 1962 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 44 | District Judge | Joseph Dawson III | Florence | 1970 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 45 | District Judge | Jacquelyn D. Austin | Greenville | 1966 | 2024–present | — | — | Biden |
| 46 | District Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | Senior Judge | Joseph F. Anderson | Columbia | 1949 | 1986–2014 | 2000–2007 | 2014–present | Reagan |
| 28 | Senior Judge | Henry Michael Herlong Jr. | Greenville | 1944 | 1991–2009 | — | 2009–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 30 | Senior Judge | Cameron McGowan Currie | Columbia | 1948 | 1994–2013 | — | 2013–present | Clinton |
| 33 | Senior Judge | Terry L. Wooten | Columbia | 1954 | 2001–2019 | 2013–2019 | 2019–present | G.W. Bush |
| 35 | Senior Judge | Robert Bryan Harwell | Florence | 1959 | 2004–2024 | 2019–2024 | 2024–present | G.W. Bush |
Vacancies and pending nominations
| Seat | Prior Judge's Duty Station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Florence | Robert Bryan Harwell | Senior status | June 4, 2024 | – | – |