A state court of last resort / Established 1783

Supreme Court of South Carolina

Columbia · A court of last resort in South Carolina.

The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in South Carolina. Its justices are chosen by election by the state legislature. This page lists every justice to serve on the court, current and former, with when they joined the bench and whom they succeeded.

55
Justices in history
5
Currently serving
Legislative
Selection
10-yr
Term

Current bench verified against the court’s official roster, 2026-07-02.

Current justices

Former justices

JusticeYears
Kaye Gorenflo Hearn2010
Donald W. Beatty2007
William Robinson2004–2013
Costa M. Pleicones2000
E. C. Burnett III1995–2007
John H. Waller1994–2009
James E. Moore1991–2008
Jean H. Toal1988
Ernest A. Finney Jr.1985–2000
Archie Lee Chandler1984–1994
Donald Francis Shea1981–1995
John P. Gardner1980–1993
David Walker Harwell1980–1994
John Kerins Murray1979–1996
George Tillman Gregory Jr.1975–1991
William L. Rhodes1975–1980
Julius B. Ness1974–1988
C. Bruce Littlejohn1967–1985
James M. Brailsford1962–1974
Thomas P. Bussey1961–1975
James Woodrow Lewis1961–1984
Joseph Rodney Moss1956–1975
Lionel K. Legge1954–1961
G. Dewey Oxner1944–1962
Claude A. Taylor1944–1966
Taylor Hudnall Stukes1940–1961
David Gordon Baker1935–1956
Edward L. Fishburne1935–1954
Milledge Lipscomb Bonham1931–1943
Jesse F. Carter1927–1943
Eugene Satterwhite Blease1926–1934
Alva Moore Lumpkin1926–1934
John Gates Stabler1926–1944
Richard Cannon Watts1912–1930
Charles Albert Woods1903–1913
Ira Boyd Jones1896–1912
Young John Pope1891–1903
Eugene Blackburn Gary1890–1924
William Dunlap Simpson1880–1890
Henry Mclver1877–1903
Solomon L. Hoge1868–1869
Franklin J. Moses Sr.1868–1877
Ammiel J. Willard1868–1880
Benjamin Faneuil Dunkin1865–1868
John Belton O'Neall1859
David Johnson1824–1846
Aedanus Burke1796–1799
Elihu H. Bay1791–1824
William Drayton1789–1789
John Faucheraud Grimke1783–1819

How a justice reaches this court. Justices of the Supreme Court of South Carolina are elected by the state legislature to 10-year terms. Justices are elected by a joint vote of the General Assembly from candidates screened by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any justice to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: Current roster: South Carolina Judicial Branch (sccourts.org) — Supreme Court Justices and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data); selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data as of 2026-07-02 (official roster); historical bench 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).