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In May 1994, the state's general assembly elected Ernest Finney to the position of Chief
Justice of the State Supreme Court, effective December 1994, making him the first African-American Chief Justice of South Carolina since Reconstruction. In 1976, he won an election to become South Carolina's
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in 1972. He was subsequently appointed a member of the House
Judiciary Committee, making him the first African-American to serve on that key committee in modern times. Finney was one of the founders of the Legislative Black Caucus and served as charter Chairperson from 1973 to 1975.
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first black circuit judge. He has been on the state
Supreme Court since 1985. Finney retired from the state Supreme Court in 2000 and was named interim president of South Carolina State University in 2002.
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In the beginning, he was unable to find work as a lawyer, so he followed in his father's footsteps and worked as a teacher. In 1960, he moved to Sumter and began a full-time law practice.
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owns and operates the Finney Law Firm, Inc., in
Columbia. He provides a range of services in a variety of practice areas, including civil litigation, workers' compensation, and probate.
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4 Michael
Scoggins and David Rawlinson, "'Rock Hill, Jail No Bail and the Friendship Nine'" Archived 2011-11-17 at the Wayback Machine, Friendship College; retrieved January 19, 2012
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255:. His mother died when he was ten days old, so he was raised by his father, Dr. Ernest A. Finney Sr. Finney earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from
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664:"A reflection of his position': Portrait of S.C.'s 1st Black chief justice Ernest A. Finney Jr. hangs high in Mayesville"
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In 1963, he served as chairman of the South
Carolina Commission on Civil Rights. Finney was elected to the
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was the solicitor for the state of South
Carolina who argued for the state against exoneration of
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634:"'Friendship Nine': Convictions Overturned For Famed Civil Rights Protesters"
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705:"Former S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Ernest Finney Jr. passes away"
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List of first minority male lawyers and judges in South
Carolina
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Among Finney's other accomplishments are also a position on the
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In 2015, Finney represented the surviving eight members of the
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Court hearing to vacate the convictions of the
Friendship Nine
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at the court hearing where their convictions were overturned.
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Finney died on
December 3, 2017, at the age of 86 in
609:"Rock Hill, Jail no Bail & the Friendship Nine"
263:'s School of Law, from which he graduated in 1954.
776:Chief justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court
223:(March 23, 1931 – December 3, 2017) was the first
439:was unveiled and is on display in Sumter County.
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791:Justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court
306:introducing citations to additional sources
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737:at the website of the Finney Law Firm, Inc
235:. He spent the last years of his life in
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412:, 1977; Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree,
296:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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386:South Carolina House of Representatives
227:Supreme Court Justice appointed to the
57:December 1994 – March 23, 2000
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771:South Carolina State University alumni
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607:Michael Scoggins and David Rawlinson,
410:National College of State Trial Judges
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534:from the original on 4 September 2019
662:Goulding, Shelbie (March 22, 2022).
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87:Associate Justice of South Carolina
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796:People from Sumter, South Carolina
420:, 1995; Doctor of Humane Letters,
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467:, is a poet and professor at the
781:People from Smithfield, Virginia
632:Amber Payne (January 28, 2015).
522:Roberts, Sam (7 December 2017).
499:List of African-American jurists
369:In 1961, Finney represented the
289:relies largely or entirely on a
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711:from the original on 2017-12-04
703:Shain, Andy (4 December 2017).
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564:from the original on 2017-12-05
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208:South Carolina State University
45:Chief Justice of South Carolina
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259:in 1952. He then enrolled in
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801:20th-century American judges
469:University of South Carolina
261:South Carolina State College
229:South Carolina Supreme Court
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558:South Carolina Hall of Fame
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418:Johnson C. Smith University
377:McCrory's lunch counter in
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221:Ernest Adolphus Finney Jr.
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786:Claflin University alumni
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181:Frances Davenport Finney
171:Columbia, South Carolina
806:African-American judges
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317:"Ernest A. Finney Jr."
237:Sumter, South Carolina
554:"Ernest A. Finney Jr"
435:A portrait by artist
247:Early life, education
239:. He was a member of
18:Ernest A. Finney, Jr.
640:. Associated Press.
476:Ernest A. Finney III
302:improve this article
253:Smithfield, Virginia
154:Smithfield, Virginia
34:Ernest A. Finney Jr.
463:Finney's daughter,
453:Alzheimer's disease
437:Larry Francis Lebby
428:, 1996; Doctorate,
422:SC State University
251:Finney was born in
620:Friendship College
614:2011-11-17 at the
594:2008-01-18 at the
528:The New York Times
430:Claflin University
233:Reconstruction Era
122:E. C. Burnett, III
480:George Stinney Jr
404:Awards and legacy
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465:Nikky Finney
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371:Friendship 9
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270:Legal career
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243:fraternity.
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191:Nikky Finney
166:(2017-12-03)
117:Succeeded by
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80:Jean H. Toal
75:Succeeded by
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766:2017 deaths
761:1931 births
538:12 December
414:The Citadel
375:desegregate
210:(J.D. 1954)
205:(B.A. 1952)
105:Preceded by
63:Preceded by
755:Categories
743:, City of
715:2017-12-04
648:2019-10-07
568:2017-12-04
510:References
328:newspapers
231:since the
198:Alma mater
147:1931-03-23
745:Rock Hill
735:Biography
298:talk page
95:In office
53:In office
709:Archived
642:Archived
638:NBC News
612:Archived
592:Archived
562:Archived
532:Archived
493:See also
186:Children
688:TEGNA.
589:Profile
342:scholar
459:Family
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178:Spouse
173:, U.S.
156:, U.S.
443:Death
349:JSTOR
335:books
675:2024
540:2017
321:news
161:Died
137:Born
304:by
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
