Senate Judiciary Chairman Luke Rankin, who leads a state panel charged with screening judges in South Carolina, questions candidates for the state Court of Appeals at a Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 hearing in Columbia. (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — A pair of circuit court judges and the legal head of the state tax collection agency answered legislators’ questions Monday about South Carolina’s court backlog as part of their bid for a seat on the state Court of Appeals.
Three candidates are competing for a seat on the state’s second highest court after now-Justice Letitia Verdin ascended to the state Supreme Court earlier this year. They are Circuit Court judges Kristi Curtis of Sumter and Courtney Clyburn Pope of Aiken — the daughter of a longtime state representative — and the state Department of Revenue’s chief legal officer, Jason Luther.
The trio appeared Monday before a legislative panel that screens judicial candidates. Assuming all three are deemed qualified, their names will be forwarded to the General Assembly for election.