George C. James

George James
Justice James sitting at a dais
Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court
Assumed office
February 7, 2017
Preceded byDonald W. Beatty
Personal details
Born (1960-06-02) June 2, 1960 (age 64)
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
EducationThe Citadel (BS)
University of South Carolina (JD)

George C. James, Jr (born June 2, 1960)[1] is an American lawyer and judge, who serves as a justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.

James was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1960.[2] He was raised in Sumter, South Carolina, and graduated from Wilson Hall School in 1978.[2] He completed a bachelor's degree in business administration at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina in 1982, and completed a J.D. degree at the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1985.[3]

James was in private practice in South Carolina from 1985 to 2006.[3] He worked for and became a partner with his father's law firm, Richardson, James and Playerm, which subsequently merged to become Lee, Erter, Wilson, James, Holler and Smith LLC in 2000.[2]

James was elected by the South Carolina General Assembly to serve as a state judge on the South Carolina Circuit Court in 2006, for the Third Circuit, which covers four counties in eastern South Carolina: Clarendon, Lee, Sumter, and Williamsburg. He was re-elected to a second term in 2012.

The South Carolina General Assembly elected James to serve as a justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court in February 2017, to fill the remaining three years of the term of Donald W. Beatty, who was elevated to chief justice.[3] The South Carolina General Assembly re-elected James to a new ten-year term on February 5, 2020.[4]

James is a former member of the South Carolina Supreme Court's Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Supreme Court Biographies" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-30. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  2. ^ a b c "Local judge up for spot on Supreme Court". The Manning Times. Manning, South Carolina. December 23, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Prabhu, Maya (February 1, 2017). "Citadel graduate George James elected new S.C. Supreme Court justice". The Post and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "SC Judicial Branch".
  5. ^ "Membership List" (PDF). Commission on CLE and Specialization. Supreme Court of South Carolina. October 7, 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  6. ^ "Membership List" (PDF). Commission on CLE and Specialization. Supreme Court of South Carolina. July 1, 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.