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Senate Judiciary Committee gives favorable report to Jimmy Arthur Richardson for 15th-circuit solicitor
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee screened Jimmy Arthur Richardson for solicitor of the 15th judicial circuit, questioned him about case-management and drug-court practices, and issued a unanimous favorable report sending the nomination to the full Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday gave a favorable report to Jimmy Arthur Richardson II, the governor's appointee for solicitor of the 15th judicial circuit, after a screening in which he described his office's case-management practices and drug-court outcomes.
Richardson, introduced by a committee member as having served as chief deputy in Horry County, said he would continue current case-management practices and described a weekly plea calendar designed to reduce detainee transports. "We send our prosecutors out to the local jail... we can do as many as well; I've seen 60 done in a day," Richardson said, describing routine pleas handled at the jail for lower-level matters.
Asked about an order from the state Supreme Court changing docket control, Richardson said he opposed the new order as unnecessary in his circuit: "All I know about is Horry and Georgetown counties... it shouldn't affect, it would affect less than 10% of our cases," he said.
Richardson also highlighted the local drug court's results: "We did a study of the first 100 people that came through our drug court. Out of those 100, they averaged 11 felonies apiece going in... that first group, we've had one felony since they've graduated. So it went from 1,100 to one," he said.
Committee counsel JJ Gentry summarized Richardson's background for the record, noting Richardson received a B.A. from the University of South Carolina Coastal, a J.D. from Regent University Law School, served as a clerk to a circuit judge, and worked in the Horry County solicitor's office in multiple roles before his gubernatorial appointment.
After brief questioning on case-management, drug-court support and record-keeping for seized funds, a committee senator moved approval of Richardson's appointment. The committee's favorable report was approved unanimously and the nomination was transmitted to the Senate desk; the chair said the nomination will remain there for three days to permit any senator to ask additional questions before floor consideration.
The committee did not record individual roll-call names in the transcript for the confirmation vote; the chair characterized the vote as unanimous and said it would be sent to the full Senate.
