COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Supreme Court was established in 1868. In that time only two women have ever served as justices on the high court until now.
But back on June 5th, Judge Letitia Verdin was elected to the Supreme Court by our state lawmakers with a unanimous vote, becoming the third female justice. Justice Verdin sat down with News19’s Andrea Mock for an exclusive interview before she takes the bench on August first.
Verdin grew up in Seneca and came from a family of educators. Her father was a football coach turned principal, while her mother and sister were both teachers. But Verdin wanted to pursue a different path and set her sights on law school. At the University of South Carolina School of Law, Verdin found her two passions: defending women and children, and her husband, fellow attorney Chuck Verdin.
Out of law school, Verdin worked as a prosecutor in the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, largely prosecuting domestic violence cases and also crimes against children. After years of work, her boss was the one who suggested she run for family court judge.
“[He} who encouraged me to run for a judgeship, and I wanted to run to be a family court judge," Verdin said. "It was important I spoke to my husband because our twins were young at the time, but he’s my biggest cheerleader, and he said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Verdin was elected in 2008.
Of her time in the family court, Verdin said, at that at times it was heartbreaking, but it gave her clear perspective of all the hardships South Carolina families face.
“I will tell you, being a family court judge is the hardest without doubt, and I don't think there's any question about that," Verdin said. "It has given me some perspective to see cases that span not only from the juvenile system all the way through to the adult system, but it also has given me perspective of how incredibly difficult that job is, and I'm proud to have served with such fantastic family court judges and but just know that their job is getting increasingly harder and increasingly busier.”
After serving in family court for six years, Verdin was elected to the Circuit Court in 2011 and then to the South Carolina Court of Appeals in 2023. But she was watching as Justice Kaye Hearn retired from the Supreme Court the end of 2022.
In the beginning of 2023, state South Carolina General Assembly passed on the two female candidates up for the job and chose Gary Hill to fill her seat. It was a move that made South Carolina the only state in the country without a female justice. Those same former female candidates spoke to Judge Verdin and encouraged her to run.
“I had not seen an all-male Supreme Court during my law career," she said. "So I was encouraged by a couple of former female candidates who are good friends, and I got their blessing to do it. And I would not have run probably without that, frankly, but was encouraged to do it. And as I've said before, it's a very small Supreme Court so the openings don't come up very often.”
On June 5th, Justice Verdin was officially voted in by lawmakers, a day made even more special because she was surrounded by family, her husband, and her twin boys, who are both students at Clemson. Since she’s been a judge for most of their lives, she said her boys aren’t phased by her job, but on this particular day, Mom finally impressed them. “When they came to the State House for the voting, I don’t think they knew what to expect, and they were just so overwhelmed by the process and meeting so many people. But for a brief moment, I think I was a cool mom and they even put me on their Instagram!”
Verdin hopes her election encourages more women to run for office and make their voice heard. “My father was a football coach before I was born, and he would always tell my sisters and me you can't win unless you go on the field. So if in some way my election encourages folks to get on the field who might not have done so before then, I’m absolutely thrilled.”