Posted on Thu, Aug. 10, 2006

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Diverse field emerging for bench

At least five candidates are eyeing seats on the state appeals court

By RICK BRUNDRETT

rbrundrett@thestate.com

At least five candidates, including three women and an African-American, are interested in running next year for two open seats on the state’s second highest court.

Court of Appeals judges Bert Goolsby of Columbia and Sam Stilwell of Greenville face mandatory retirement when they turn 72 next year, Jane Shuler, chief lawyer for the S.C. Judicial Merit Selection Commission, said Wednesday.

Goolsby is the last of the six judges who were selected when the court was created in 1983. Stilwell joined in 1996 when the court was expanded to nine judges.

The candidates for Goolsby’s seat include former Richland County Public Defender Lee Coggiola, now chief staff lawyer for the Court of Appeals; and Administrative Law Court Judge Carolyn Matthews, who formerly served in the state Attorney General’s Office, the Columbia women confirmed Wednesday.

Three Greenville County Family Court judges — Timothy Brown, Robert Jenkins and Aphrodite Konduros — are interested in Stilwell’s seat, S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal said.

Jenkins is black.

“We’re losing two really strong judicial leaders, and the candidate pool so far indicates a diverse group of people by way of their backgrounds and geographical locations,” Toal said.

Court of Appeals Chief Judge Kaye Hearn described Goolsby as “my go-to guy in so many ways,” and Stilwell as “everything an appellate judge should be.”

“It’s certainly been an honor to serve this long and in this capacity,” Goolsby said Wednesday, adding he plans to serve the court as needed on a part-time basis after his retirement.

In South Carolina, the General Assembly selects judges for the Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; Administrative Law Court; and circuit, master-in-equity and family courts. Lawmakers can choose only from among candidates nominated by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission.

Lawmakers will fill Goolsby’s seat in an election tentatively set for Feb. 7, Shuler said. Stilwell’s seat won’t be filled until another election, likely to be held in May, she said.

Goolsby’s seat is one of more than 40 judicial seats that lawmakers will fill in the proposed February election, Shuler said. Candidate applications are due Oct. 4; the deadline for the public to submit written complaints about candidates is Nov. 17; screening hearings for nominated candidates will start Dec. 5.

The lack of blacks and women on the bench statewide has been a contentious issue in recent years. While the state’s female and black populations are about 51 percent and 30 percent, respectively, the percentages of female and black judges are about 17 percent and 6 percent, respectively, court records show. About 27 percent of the state’s lawyers are women, and about 5 percent are black.

Charleston lawyer Alice Paylor, president of the S.C. Women Lawyers Association, said Wednesday her group is “very excited about all the interest” by women in the Court of Appeals seats.

State Rep. Leon Howard, D-Richland, incoming chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, said Wednesday that black lawmakers will look for a candidate who “shares our values” of “fairness and sensitivity.”

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.