Greenville, Spartanburg judges vie for seat on SC Supreme Court, General Assembly to decide

Savannah Moss, Greenville News
·2 min read

Two Upstate judges are vying for the third seat on South Carolina's Supreme Court.

Judge Letitia Verdin, from Greenville, and Judge Keith Kelly, from Spartanburg, are two out of six candidates seeking the spot left open by Greenville native John Kittredge, who was unanimously elected to be the next chief justice. The current Chief Justice Don Beatty, a native of Spartanburg, is set to retire in the summer after he turns 72, the state's mandatory retirement age for judges.

Out of the candidates looking to be on the SC Supreme Court, three of them are women. Right now, South Carolina represents the lone state with an all-male Supreme Court in the nation.

The Judicial Merit Selection Commission will choose three of the candidates after a public hearing on May 9 and send the candidates to be voted on by a joint General Assembly.

Who are the candidates?

The legislature can choose to diversify the SC Supreme Court by selecting one of the three women, two of whom are women of color.

Candidates include:

  • Administrative Law Court Chief Judge Ralph Anderson from Columbia

  • State Appeals Court Judge Blake Hewitt from Conway

  • Circuit Court Judge Deadra Jefferson from Charleston

  • Circuit Court Judge Keith Kelly from Spartanburg

  • Circuit Court Judge Jocelyn Newman from Columbia

  • State Appeals Court Judge Letitia Verdin from Greenville

Greenville, Spartanburg judge's qualifications

Judge Verdin graduated from Furman University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree and went on to receive her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina in 1997. She was then elected to the Family Court as a resident judge in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in 2008. In 2011, the South Carolina Legislature elected her to the 2nd seat of the Circuit Court and later elected her to the 2nd seat of the Court of Appeals in 2023.

Judge Kelly attended the University of South Carolina and cross-enrolled in the U.S. Army ROTC program at Wofford College, serving as Battalion Commander and graduated in 1981. He received his Juris Doctorate Degree from Mercer University in 1987 and returned to Spartanburg. Kelly is also a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, where he served on the SC House Judiciary Committee and was chairman of the Criminal Laws subcommittee.

Six-week abortion ban ruling

In 2023, the all-male Supreme Court faced criticism after reinstating South Carolina's controversial six-week abortion law in a 4-1 ruling, with Chief Justice Don Beatty representing the lone dissent.

The ruling came after the SC Supreme Court's lone woman justice, Kaye Hearn, retired due to state law term limits on judgeships in February 2023. When Hearn retired, Greenville's Judge Gary Hill was elected and replaced the sole female judge.

Savannah Moss covers Greenville County politics and growth/development. Reach her at smoss@gannett.com or follow her on X @Savmoss.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Here's what to know about candidates for open seat on SC high court