Keynote Speaker

Ritz-Carlton Ballroom | Salon 1/2 | 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm

Judge Clifton Newman "America's Judge"

Clifton Newman was born and raised in Williamsburg County amidst the tobacco and cotton fields of rural eastern South Carolina. He moved to Cleveland, Ohio to attend college the day after delivering the Valedictory address at Williamsburg County Training School in Greeleyville. He received a Bachelor of Art and Juris Doctorate from Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, where he was president of the student government, the Chief Justice of the University Judiciary (student court), and a member of the Presidential Search Committee. He practiced law in Cleveland for six years before returning to South Carolina, establishing a law practice, and serving as an Assistant Solicitor.

After 24 years as a practicing attorney, the South Carolina General Assembly unanimously elected him to the Circuit Court in 2000. Aside from his regular docket, he is a Business Court Judge and was appointed by the South Carolina Supreme Court to serve as a special referee in several complex matters. He served as the Presiding Judge over the Multi-Week Trial Docket, a specialized docket of complex construction and other multi-week cases.

Dedicated to molding and nurturing young lawyers, he teaches Trial Advocacy at the University of South Carolina School of Law. His leadership in the law is well recognized locally and nationally.

He has presided in each of the forty-six counties of the state and over numerous high profile criminal cases including The State of South Carolina v. Michael Slager, the police shooting in Charleston County; The State of South Carolina v. Nathaniel Rowland, known as the “Fake Uber” case; and most recently, The State of South Carolina v. Richard Alexander Murdaugh.

A charter member of I. DeQuincey Newman United Methodist Church, Judge Newman follows family legacy of public service. The 1968 United States Supreme Court case of Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, Inc., brought by his aunt Anne Newman, paved the way for the filing of civil rights discrimination lawsuits, by requiring the losing party pay attorney fees. His uncle, the late Rev. Dr. Isaiah DeQuincey Newman was the first African American elected to the South Carolina State Senate since reconstruction. In 2016, his daughter Jocelyn T. Newman, was elected to the Circuit Court bench, making them the first father and daughter to serve together as Circuit Court Judges in the history of the State of South Carolina.

Judge Newman is retired from the bench December 31, 2023, but he looks forward to continued dedicated service to humanity.