United States District Court for the District of South Carolina

District of South Carolina
Fourth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 10
Judges: 9
Vacancies: 1
Judges
Chief: Timothy M. Cain
Active judges: Jacquelyn Austin, Timothy M. Cain, Donald C. Coggins Jr., Joseph Dawson III, Richard Mark Gergel, Bruce Hendricks, Mary Geiger Lewis, Sherri Lydon, David Norton Senior judges: Joseph Anderson, Cameron Currie, Robert Harwell, Henry Herlong, Terry Wooten

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit based in downtown Richmond, Virginia, at the Lewis F. Powell Federal Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, out of the court's 10 judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
David Norton	George H.W. Bush (R)	July 12, 1990 -	University of the South, 1968	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1975
Richard Mark Gergel	Barack Obama (D)	August 9, 2010 -	Duke University, 1975	Duke University School of Law, 1979
Timothy M. Cain	Barack Obama (D)	September 26, 2011 -	University of South Carolina, 1983	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1986
Mary Geiger Lewis	Barack Obama (D)	June 20, 2012 -	Clemson University, 1980	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1984
Bruce Hendricks	Barack Obama (D)	June 5, 2014 -	College of Charleston, 1983	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1990
Donald C. Coggins Jr.	Donald Trump (R)	November 20, 2017 -	Clemson University, 1981	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1984
Sherri Lydon	Donald Trump (R)	December 10, 2019 -	Clemson University, 1983	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1987
Joseph Dawson III	Donald Trump (R)	December 22, 2020 -	The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, 1991	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1997
Jacquelyn Austin	Joe Biden (D)	January 29, 2024 -	University of South Carolina, 1989	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1996

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 5
• Republican appointed: 4

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Henry Herlong	George H.W. Bush (R)	June 1, 2009 -	Clemson University, 1967	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1970
Cameron Currie	Bill Clinton (D)	October 3, 2013 -	University of South Carolina, 1970	George Washington University Law Center, 1975
Joseph Anderson	Ronald Reagan (R)	November 16, 2014 -	Clemson University, 1972	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1975
Terry Wooten	George W. Bush (R)	February 28, 2019 -	University of South Carolina, 1976	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1980
Robert Harwell	George W. Bush (R)	June 4, 2024 -	Clemson University, 1980	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1982

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 1
• Republican appointed: 4

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Kevin McDonald
Mary Gordon Baker
Shiva Hodges
Thomas Rogers
Robert Buchanan	United States District Court for the District of South Carolina	1979 -	Erskine College, 1973	University of South Carolina School of Law, 1976
Paige Jones Gossett		October 24, 2008 -
Kaymani West		January 1, 2012 -
Molly Cherry	United States District Court for the District of South Carolina	July 1, 2020 -	Wofford College	University of South Carolina School of Law

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.

Robert Harwell - (2019 - 2024) Terry Wooten - (2013 - 2019) Margaret Seymour - (2012 - 2013) David Norton - (2007 - 2012) Joseph Anderson - (2000 - 2007) Charles Weston Houck - (1993 - 2000) Falcon Hawkins - (1990 - 1993)

Solomon Blatt - (1986 - 1990) Charles Simons - (1980 - 1986) Robert Hemphill - (1979 - 1980) James Robert Martin, Jr. - (1962 - 1979)

Former judges

For more information about the judges of the District of South Carolina, see former federal judges of the District of South Carolina.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of South Carolina (click for larger map)

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.

There are eleven court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The Aiken Division, covering Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell counties

The Anderson Division, covering Anderson, Oconne and Pickens counties

The Beaufort Division, covering Beaufort, Hampton and Jasper counties

The Charleston Division, covering Berkeley, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester and Georgetown counties

The Columbia Division, covering Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Richland and Sumter counties

The Florence Division, covering Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Horry, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg counties

The Greenville Division, covering Greenville and Laurens counties

The Greenwood Division, covering Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, McCormick, Newberry and Saluda counties

The Orangeburg Division, covering Bamberg, Calhoun and Orangeburg counties

The Rock Hill Division, covering Chester, Fairfield, Lancaster and York counties

The Spartanburg Division, covering Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union counties

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term	Explanation
Cases filed and terminated	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load	The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated	The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases	The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases	The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts	The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post	The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year	Cases Filed	Cases Terminated	Cases Pending	Number of Judgeships	Vacant Judgeship Months	Average Total Filings per Judgeship	Trials Completed per Judgeship	Median time from filing to disposition, criminal	Median time from filing to disposition, civil	Three-year civil cases (#)	Three-year civil cases (%)
2010	4,934	5,542	4,274	10	26	493	37	10	11	109	4
2011	4,490	4,453	3,898	10	12	449	28	9	9	193	6
2012	5,028	5,064	4,388	10	6	503	28	9	9	286	9
2013	4,855	4,805	4,495	10	14	486	19	10	9	300	9
2014	6,114	4,791	5,811	10	19	611	17	10	10	329	7
2015	6,101	4,643	7,271	10	24	610	13	10	9	333	5
2016	5,265	5,002	7,585	10	24	527	15	12	9	372	6
2017	4,990	7,407	5,209	10	36	499	13	12	17	417	12
2018	4,857	4,999	5,071	10	13	486	19	12	9	444	12
2019	4,918	5,063	4,948	10	22	492	16	12	10	451	12
2020	5,354	4,153	6,162	10	24	535	9	15	10	447	9
2021	5,117	4,786	6,550	10	0	512	14	17	10	561	11
2022	5,390	4,233	7,777	10	0	539	12	17	10	622	9
2023	7,728	4,428	11,429	10	0	773	14	17	8	1,338	13
Average	5,367	4,955	6,062	10	16	537	18	12	10	443	9

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 four posts to cover the entire state. Over time six additional judicial posts were added to the Western District of Virginia for a total of ten current posts.

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

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Opinions of the District of South Carolina.

Federal courthouse

There are eight federal courthouses that serve the District of South Carolina. These courthouses are located in the following cities: Aiken, Anderson, Charleston. Columbia, Florence, Greenville, and Spartanburg.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through March 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.