Joint Assembly elects judges to multiple South Carolina courts; several races decided by roll call

The Joint Assembly of the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate convened to elect judges nominated by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC). Senator Luke Rankin, chairman of the JMSC, placed nominees before the assembly; the presiding officer declared winners after acclamation or formal ballots and roll-call tallies.

Why it matters: These elections fill judicial vacancies across the Court of Appeals, circuit courts, family courts and the Administrative Law Court. Several contested races required recorded votes or multiple ballots; those outcomes determine which nominees will take the bench for terms prescribed by law.

Most nominees were elected by acclamation after the commission reported them qualified. Those elected by acclamation included Christy F. Curtis (Court of Appeals, Seat 2); John D. Gathers (Court of Appeals, Seat 3); Paula H. Thomas (Court of Appeals, Seat 4); Eugene P. Warr Jr. (Circuit Court, Fourth Judicial Circuit, Seat 2); J. Durham Cole Jr. (Circuit Court, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Seat 1); Lawton McIntosh (Circuit Court, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Seat 1); David S. Graham (Circuit Court, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Seat 1); R. Keith Kelly (Circuit Court at-large, Seat 14); Charles J. McCutcheon (Circuit Court at-large, Seat 16); Anne Gay Jones (Family Court, First Circuit, Seat 1); Amanda Frances Whittle (Family Court, Second Circuit, Seat 1); Angela W. Absdice (Family Court, Second Circuit, Seat 2); William A. W. Buxton (Family Court, Third Circuit, Seat 1); Angela R. Taylor (Family Court, Third Circuit, Seat 2); Ernest Joseph Jarrett (Family Court, Third Circuit, Seat 3); C. Heath Ruffner (Family Court, Fourth Circuit, Seat 2); Michelle M. Hurley (Family Court, Fifth Circuit, Seat 2); M. Scott Rankin (Family Court, Fifth Circuit, Seat 3); Corinne B. Curry (Family Court, Sixth Circuit, Seat 1); Angela J. Moss (Family Court, Seventh Circuit, Seat 1); M. Todd Thigpen (Family Court, Seventh Circuit, Seat 2); James Conway Todd IV (Family Court, Eighth Circuit, Seat 1); Joseph C. Smithfield (Family Court, Eighth Circuit, Seat 3); Alice Ann Richter (Family Court, Ninth Circuit, Seat 2); Blakely Copeland Cahoon (Family Court, Ninth Circuit, Seat 4); David J. Brusso (Family Court, Tenth Circuit, Seat 1); M. Scott McElhannon (Family Court, Tenth Circuit, Seat 3); Huntley Smith Crouch (Family Court, Eleventh Circuit, Seat 2); Robert E. Newton (Family Court, Eleventh Circuit, Seat 3); Alicia Allsbrook Richardson (Family Court, Twelfth Circuit, Seat 1); Fitz Lee H. McCann (Family Court, Twelfth Circuit, Seat 2); W. Marsh Robertson (Family Court, Thirteenth Circuit, Seat 2); Marcela Torricos (Family Court, Thirteenth Circuit, Seat 6); Gerald C. Smoke Jr. (Family Court, Fourteenth Circuit, Seat 1); David G. Guyton (Family Court, Sixteenth Circuit, Seat 2); Kamika Nichols Graham (Family Court at-large, Seat 1); Timothy E. Madden (Family Court at-large, Seat 2); James G. McGee III (Family Court at-large, Seat 3); Monet Pincus (Family Court at-large, Seat 4); Randall E. McGee (Family Court at-large, Seat 5); David Earl Phillips (Family Court at-large, Seat 6); and Robert L. Rabeau (Administrative Law Court, Seat 3).

Contested races and roll-call results: Several nominations required recorded votes or ballots. In the Circuit Court, Fifth Judicial Circuit, Seat 1, Christopher Dolan Taylor defeated William K. Witherspoon; the joint assembly tally reported Taylor with 112 votes to Witherspoon’s 36 (148 total; 75 required). Thomas J. Rhodes was elected to the Circuit Court, Ninth Judicial Circuit, Seat 2 by a joint-assembly vote of 125 to 13. Melissa A. Anzorello (Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Seat 2) was not elected by a joint-assembly vote of 54 to 93. The at-large Circuit Court, Seat 7 contest among D. Grant Givens, William Vickery Metz and Jane H. Merrill required two ballots: the first ballot produced no choice (Givens 24, Metz 70, Merrill 65), Givens withdrew, and Merrill won the second ballot, 84 to 74. Maite D. Murphy (Circuit Court at-large, Seat 15) was elected by a joint-assembly vote of 128 to 13. Rochelle Yarborough Conitz (Family Court, Thirteenth Circuit, Seat 1) was elected 116 to 14. Jan B. Bromell Holmes (Family Court, Fifteenth Circuit, Seat 1) was elected 107 to 17. Samuel L. Johnson won the Administrative Law Court, Seat 2 election, 96 to 56.

What the assembly did not do: The joint assembly accepted the JMSC’s qualifications and either elected nominees by acclamation or proceeded to recorded ballots where objections or multiple candidates required it. No additional instructions, referrals or contingent directions to staff were recorded during the proceedings covered here.

Votes at a glance (candidate — court/seat — outcome — joint-assembly tally when recorded) Christopher Dolan Taylor — Circuit Court, 5th Judicial Circuit, Seat 1 — elected — 112–36 Thomas J. Rhodes — Circuit Court, 9th Judicial Circuit, Seat 2 — elected — 125–13 Melissa A. Anzorello — Circuit Court, 16th Judicial Circuit, Seat 2 — not elected — 54–93 D. Grant Givens → (first ballot) — Circuit Court at-large, Seat 7 — first ballot: 24 (Givens), 70 (Metz), 65 (Merrill) — no choice Jane H. Merrill — Circuit Court at-large, Seat 7 — elected on second ballot — 84–74 Maite D. Murphy — Circuit Court at-large, Seat 15 — elected — 128–13 Rochelle Yarborough Conitz — Family Court, 13th Circuit, Seat 1 — elected — 116–14 Jan B. Bromell Holmes — Family Court, 15th Circuit, Seat 1 — elected — 107–17 Samuel L. Johnson — Administrative Law Court, Seat 2 — elected — 96–56 (All other named nominees listed above were declared elected by acclamation; where the assembly recorded no numeric tally, the declaration followed the JMSC report of qualifications.)

The nominations and elections were presented by Senator Luke Rankin as chairman of the Judicial Merit Selection Committee. The assembly used a combination of voice acclamation and recorded roll calls; in contested or objected cases, the reading clerk called the roll of the Senate and House members voted on the board. The presiding officer declared each successful nominee "duly elected to the South Carolina [court name] for the term prescribed by law."