Judge Don Beatty was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday, becoming the second black to sit on the high court since Reconstruction.
Beatty, a former House member, was chosen by legislators after some called it one of the most contentious judicial elections in recent history.
It took three rounds of voting before Beatty was elected. He needed 82 votes to win a majority and garnered 84 on the third election, beating two of his state Court of Appeals colleagues.
He is the first black to sit on the state Supreme Court since Chief Justice Ernest Finney retired in 2000.
Beatty said he felt vindicated because lobbying groups distorted his record when called him a liberal judge and sent e-mails, ran TV ads and mailed fliers, which is rare for a judicial election.
"I think this vote proves this is a body of folks with integrity who would not allow a judgeship to be bought," Beatty said. "Our judiciary is not for sale. All the extreme groups, no matter where they come from, won't prevail here."
South Carolina is the only state where legislators alone choose judges.
Beatty, 55, will fill the seat of E.C. Burnett III, 65, who plans to retire Sept. 1 after 12 years on the high court.
Beatty, of Spartanburg, beat out two others on the Court of Appeals: Chief Judge Kaye Hearn, 57, of Conway, received 25 votes and Judge Bruce Williams, 51, of Columbia, had 54 votes.
Hearn, the first woman to be elected chief judge of the state Appeals Court, said she was disappointed but had no regrets. Williams wished Beatty well.
Black legislators have long complained about the lack of diversity on the bench. In 2005, nearly all the Legislative Black Caucus members walked out of the judicial elections to protest the defeat of two black candidates being considered.
It was the first election for an open state Supreme Court seat since Chief Justice Jean Toal and Gov. Mark Sanford called for more diversity in South Carolina's courts. There are only 10 black judges among the 139 who sit on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Administrative Law, Circuit, Family and master-in-equity courts in South Carolina.
Toal, the high court's lone woman, said she was "delighted" with Beatty's election.
"He earned it the old-fashioned way. He worked hard for it," Toal said.
The entire black caucus backed Beatty, as did many high-ranking legislators of both parties.
Beatty, an Army veteran and former Spartanburg City Council member, will fill the remainder of Burnett's 10-year term, which expires July 31, 2010. Beatty, admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1979, was elected circuit court judge in 1995 and to the Court of Appeals in 2003.
Groups that opposed Beatty have advocated unsuccessfully to use public money for private school tuition and said he cast liberal votes while in the House from 1991 to 1995.
Randy Page, president of South Carolinians for Responsible Government, chastised the GOP-controlled Legislature.
"Certain members of the so-called conservative majority have broken ranks and allowed the liberals to dictate the future of South Carolina," Page said in the statement.
Rep. Joe Neal, D-Hopkins, said the election was a step toward a diversified judicial system. But he said the support for Williams showed the influence that school choice advocates have on some of the GOP leadership.
"It's good to know in spite of the vitriolic and lowbrow attempts to politicize and co-opt the process, he was able to win," Neal said.
Also, Circuit Judge Daniel Pieper was elected to the Court of Appeals. He will fill the seat of Judge Samuel Stilwell, who plans to retire in December.
StarNewsOnline.com
