Judge Clifton Newman Wiki, Age, Wife, Daughter, Salary, Net Worth, Political Party
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Judge Clifton Newman Biography – Judge Clifton Newman Wiki
Judge Clifton Newman is an at-large judge of the South Carolina Circuit Courts. He was elected to the judgeship by the South Carolina General Assembly in May 2000 and reelected in 2021 to a term that expires in 2027.
Prior to being elected Circuit Court Judge, Newman was a partner in his own law firm, first in Cleveland, Ohio, then in Columbia and Kingstree, South Carolina. He also served as a defense attorney, civil practitioner, and prosecutor.
Newman was born in Kingstree, South Carolina, and raised in Greeleyville, South Carolina, where he graduated valedictorian of Williamsburg County Training School in 1969. His inspiration to pursue a legal career originated while playing the role of an attorney in a high school play centered around the 1954 school desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education.
He received his undergraduate degree from Cleveland State University where he served as the President of Student Government and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
While attending Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, he served as Chief Justice of the University Judiciary – the student court – and worked for the Legal Aid Society representing indigent clients.
Upon receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 1976, he began practicing law in Cleveland, Ohio, where he formed the partnership of Belcher & Newman. Returning to South Carolina in 1982, Judge Newman started a private law practice in Columbia and Manning. The Manning office soon relocated to Kingstree, where the practice flourished. While continuing in private practice, he was appointed Assistant Solicitor for Williamsburg County in 1983. In 1994, he formed and served as managing partner of Newman & Sabb, P.A., with offices in Columbia, Kingstree and Lake City.
After 24 years as a practicing attorney and 17 years as Assistant Solicitor, he was elected Circuit Court Judge by the South Carolina General Assembly on May 24, 2000, according to his South Carolina Circuit Courts biography.
Judge Newman received historical preservation awards for his work in restoring historic buildings in Kingstree and Columbia. Among his numerous accomplishments Judge Newman cites his designation as Patriarch of the Miles Newman Family as one of his most cherished. He succeeded his uncles, the late Senator I. DeQuincey Newman and Bishop Ernest W. Newman, as the leader of his family.
He is a member of I. DeQuincey Newman United Methodist Church where he faithfully serves as Chairperson of the Administrative Council. He is a member of the Ohio and South Carolina Bar Associations and is a member of the Executive Board of The I. DeQuincey Newman Institute for Peace and Social Change.
Judge Clifton Newman Alex Murdaugh Case
Judge Clifton Newman is presiding over the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh in South Carolina. The judge was first assigned by S.C. Chief Justice Donald Beatty to handle the plethora of charges of financial crimes leveled against Murdaugh. When the murder charges were filed, he took on that case, too.
The Honorable Clifton Newman has presided over a number of high-profile trials, including that of a man posing to be an Uber driver who killed a University of South Carolina student and that of a White North Charleston police officer who shot a Black man in the back as he was running away.
Judge Clifton Newman Age
Clifton B. Newman was born in Kingstree, South Carolina, on Nov. 7, 1951, to the late Reverend Dr. Marion L. Newman, Sr., and Alice Singleton Newman.
He grew up in rural Williamsburg County, about 79 miles northwest of Charleston, the first person in his family born in a hospital. His mother left tiny Greeleyville to take a job as a domestic worker with a Columbia University professor’s family in New York. Newman, raised by his aunt and grandparents, was only 3 years old when she departed, although he still spent summers with her.
Judge Clifton Newman Wife
Is Judge Clifton Newman married? He is married to his wife Patricia Blanton Newman, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and they have four children – Corwyn, Jocelyn, Kellee, and Brian DeQuincey.
Judge Clifton Newman Daughter
SC Judge Clifton Newman’s daughter, Jocelyn Newman, is also a circuit court judge in South Carolina. She was elected to the bench in 2016. He swore her in, which he called “one of the proudest moments.”
Jocelyn Newman recalled the summers off from school when she sat in the jury box watching him handle cases. The man who appeared in court was the same persona who accompanied her home.
“The public gets a pretty good view of who he is,” she said. “The calm, laid-back demeanor, that’s who he is.”
Judge Clifton Newman Family
Judge Clifton Newman and his wife Patricia Newman have four children – Corwyn, Jocelyn, Kellee, and Brian DeQuincey. They include a mathematician, an engineer, a lawyer — and a fellow circuit judge.
His father’s brother was the Rev. Isaiah DeQuincey Newman, a Methodist minister and one of the state’s most prominent civil rights activists. DeQuincey became an NAACP leader and later was the first African American elected to the state Senate since Reconstruction.
Judge Clifton Newman Salary
As a Circuit Court Judge, the Honorable Clifton Newman earns an annual base salary of $196,752.
Judge Clifton Newman Net Worth
Circuit Judge Clifton Newman’s net worth is estimated to be $2 million.
Clifton Newman Political Party
He is non-partisan.
Ethnicity
Newman is of African-American ethnicity.