After 5 candidates drop out, SC lawmakers consider 2 women for York County bench
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Two female lawyers, including one who already lost a race for the same seat when she was the only candidate, are left from a crowded initial field for a York County judge seat that Republicans left vacant.
Melissa Inzerillo, a public defender who did not get enough votes in the Republican-dominated S.C. General Assembly in February to win as the only candidate, is one finalist for 16th Circuit Judge.
The other is prosecutor Misti Shelton.
State lawmakers will make the decision on who joins the bench.
York County has never had a female circuit judge. Decisions made by circuit court judges — including bail and sentencing — often come under public scrutiny.
The S.C. Judicial Merit Selection Commission released the two finalists’ names Monday, two months after seven people initially filed for the seat.
A legislative vote is scheduled for early March.
Voters don’t choose judges in South Carolina. The legislature chooses after an initial review by a legislative screening commission, made up of four legislators and eight others from around the state. Virginia is the only other state where legislators pick judges.
The 16th Circuit seat covering York and neighboring and small Union County has two resident judges. One came open when Judge Dan Hall retired in February. The other seat is held by Bill McKinnon. That seat is not up for election in 2026.
Circuit judges serve six-year terms and make $221,925 per year. They have statewide jurisdiction and often travel to other counties.
The candidates are now 2: Why not 7?
The five other lawyers who filed for the seat in September and withdrew were Christopher Barton, Chisa Putman, Leslie Robinson, Thomas Bowen Jr., and P. John Freeman. All five withdrew before the commission set public hearings on finalists, the commission told The Herald. Candidates who withdraw are not required to give any reason for leaving the race, judicial merit officials told The Herald.
Inzerillo, a deputy public defender with the 16th Circuit Public Defender Office, has two decades experience. Most in the York County Republican delegation voted against her in February, including Sen. Wes Climer, who is now running for U.S. Congress, and Rep. Tommy Pope, York County’s former top prosecutor.
Climer said he wanted a more conservative candidate than Inzerillo. Pope said in opposing Inzerillo’s sole candidacy he wanted a full slate of up to six candidates, but now five of seven have dropped out.
York County has only one Democrat in its delegation. And statewide, Republicans hold a super majority in both the state Senate and state House of Representatives.
Shelton has been a 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office prosecutor for more than 20 years. She’s currently an assistant deputy solicitor.
Both will appear before the judicial merit selection commission on Nov. 18. Inzerillo is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. and Shelton is set for 11:30 a.m.
The public hearings will be livestreamed on the S.C. statehouse website.
It is likely the only time the public will be able to see and hear the candidates before the election. Under state rules, candidates are barred from any political activity during the race and are restricted from media interviews.
Why is a circuit judge so important to the public?
Circuit Court judges handle civil actions over $10,000, and criminal trials, guilty pleas, and sentencing in criminal court. Circuit judges also set bail in criminal cases before trials. Cases can often take years before a trial happens and defendants have a right to seek bail.
In the past few months in both South Carolina and North Carolina, judges have come under political fire for decisions about letting defendants out of jail on bond before trial.
What happens next?
All open seats for South Carolina’s Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Circuit Court, Family Court, and the state’s Administrative Law courts have public hearings in front of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission next week. After candidates for races appear, the commission will later vote on whether a candidate is deemed qualified under categories including experience, temperament, and other factors.
