36 elections yield 36 white judges

COLUMBIA -- Roger Couch was one of 36 judges elected or re-elected by members of the state House and Senate Wednesday afternoon.

Although they come from diverse backgrounds, all 36 have one thing in common: They are white.

That, says Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, is the "good ol' boy network" clicking in high gear.

"We just elected 36 judges, none of them black, and nobody feels bad about it," Ford said. "The system isn't set up for black people."

Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, said there's no attempt to keep black lawyers from the bench. It's just a matter of numbers, he said.

"If you look at the judiciary, you'll see that it's 7 percent African-American," Ritchie said. "But only 6 percent of the lawyers in the state bar are African-Americans. As the number of African-American lawyers grows, so will the number of African-American judges."

Rep. Brenda Lee, however, isn't convinced. She said it might be time to look at having judges selected by popular vote, as they are in neighboring states such as North Carolina.

"I'm looking at it," she said. "After all, I'm elected by the people.

"I want these young African-American children that we sacrifice for so they can go to law school to have a chance to advance. There's a ceiling there when it comes to being a judge. Something is not right."

Sen. Glenn Reese, D-Boiling Springs, isn't ready to turn judicial selections over to the public. But he said he does think the process needs to be fixed.

Under the current system, a screening committee determines whether candidates are qualified. The committee may find several candidates qualified, but it can recommend only three for the judgeship.

"I think that's where we're losing black candidates," Reese said. "They've gotten qualified, but then they're not recommended as one of the three. I don't know how you rate someone as qualified and not let them on the ballot."

Reese said many times, the screening committee picks the judge by manipulating the recommendations.

"They can pick the one they want and then pick two weak candidates," he said. "And we're not getting to interview many candidates anymore. They don't need to come see me if they know they've got it locked up."

Reese said he would like to see judicial elections return to the way they were held for many years, with all candidates rated as qualified working the House and Senate chambers for votes.

"Back when we let them fight it out, it was a good process," he said. "It was a humbling experience and it honed them for the job."

Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7223 or bob.dalton@shj.com.

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