COLUMBIA, S.C. — Judge Jocelyn Newman has dropped out the running to be the next South Carolina Supreme Court justice.
The Columbia native, who is a circuit court judge in Richland County, is the daughter of longtime South Carolina Judge Clifton Newman. Her father gained national attention in 2023 for presiding over notorious convicted killer Alex Murdaugh's murder trial and financial crimes case.
With Jocelyn Newman's withdrawal, two candidates are left who were approved by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission: Judge Blake Hewitt from Conway and Judge Letitia Verdin from Greenville.
With Judge Newman out of the race, if Verdin is elected, she will be the only woman on the Supreme Court. If Judge Hewitt is chosen, the court be both all-male and all white. Currently the court is all-male, but Chief Justice Donald Beatty is Black. Beatty is retiring because of a state law that caps the age a judge can serve in the state at 72.
The election, which will be held on June 5, will fill the seat of Associate Justice John Kittredge, who is becoming the chief justice.