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.

Justices in history

Currently serving

Legislative

Selection

10-yr

Term

Current justices

Justice	Since
John Belton O'Neall	1859
Jean H. Toal	1988
Costa M. Pleicones	2000
Donald W. Beatty	2007
John W. Kittredge	2008
Kaye Gorenflo Hearn	2010

Former justices

Justice	Years
William Robinson	2004–2013
E. C. Burnett III	1995–2007
John H. Waller	1994–2009
James E. Moore	1991–2008
Ernest A. Finney Jr.	1985–2000
Archie Lee Chandler	1984–1994
Donald Francis Shea	1981–1995
John P. Gardner	1980–1993
David Walker Harwell	1980–1994
John Kerins Murray	1979–1996
George Tillman Gregory Jr.	1975–1991
William L. Rhodes	1975–1980
Julius B. Ness	1974–1988
C. Bruce Littlejohn	1967–1985
James M. Brailsford	1962–1974
Thomas P. Bussey	1961–1975
James Woodrow Lewis	1961–1984
Joseph Rodney Moss	1956–1975
Lionel K. Legge	1954–1961
G. Dewey Oxner	1944–1962
Claude A. Taylor	1944–1966
Taylor Hudnall Stukes	1940–1961
David Gordon Baker	1935–1956
Edward L. Fishburne	1935–1954
Milledge Lipscomb Bonham	1931–1943
Jesse F. Carter	1927–1943
Eugene Satterwhite Blease	1926–1934
Alva Moore Lumpkin	1926–1934
John Gates Stabler	1926–1944
Richard Cannon Watts	1912–1930
Charles Albert Woods	1903–1913
Ira Boyd Jones	1896–1912
Young John Pope	1891–1903
Eugene Blackburn Gary	1890–1924
William Dunlap Simpson	1880–1890
Henry Mclver	1877–1903
Solomon L. Hoge	1868–1869
Franklin J. Moses Sr.	1868–1877
Ammiel J. Willard	1868–1880
Benjamin Faneuil Dunkin	1865–1868
David Johnson	1824–1846
Aedanus Burke	1796–1799
Elihu H. Bay	1791–1824
William Drayton	1789–1789
John Faucheraud Grimke	1783–1819

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: CourtListener / Free Law Project; selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data last verified 2026-06-30. Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).