Charles Albert Woods (July 31, 1852 – June 21, 1925) was an

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...

of the

South Carolina Supreme Court The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.

and then a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryla ...

Education and career

Born in the neighborhood of Springfield in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, to Samuel Alexander Woods and Martha Jane DuBose Woods on July 31, 1852, Woods received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...

in 1872 and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

at the firm of Warley & Dargan to enter the bar in September 1873. He was in private practice from 1873 to 1903. On January 28, 1903, while serving as the President of the South Carolina Bar Association, he was elected a justice of the

South Carolina Supreme Court The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.

by the

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and t ...

by a vote of 87-67, defeating Robert Aldrich, starting a term that would last from 1903 to 1913.

Federal judicial service

When

Nathan Goff Jr. Nathan Goff Jr. (February 9, 1843 – April 23, 1920) was a United States representative from West Virginia, a Union Army officer, the 28th United States Secretary of the Navy during President Rutherford B. Hayes administration, a United States ...

announced his retirement from the Fourth Circuit, Woods was an early favorite as a replacement, but members of Congress from other states within the Fourth Circuit's coverage made last minute efforts to have one of their own citizens appointed. One such effort would have created an additional seat on the Fourth Circuit (which had only two judges at the time) so that Rep. John W. Davis of West Virginia could be appointed too. That measure, however, was blocked by Senator Bristow of Kansas. On April 24, 1913, Woods was nominated by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

to a seat on the

vacated by

One South Carolina lawyer, John T. Duncan, who had been disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court objected to Woods' nomination; Woods had written an opinion for the South Carolina Supreme Court finding Duncan in contempt for practicing law without a license after having been disbarred, but Duncan claimed that Woods had been biased against him and lodged a complaint with the Senate Judiciary Committee. The

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

voted in favor of Woods on May 19, 1913. Woods was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on June 5, 1913, and received his commission the same day. Woods resigned his position on the South Carolina Supreme Court by telegraph to Governor

Coleman Livingston Blease Coleman Livingston Blease (October 8, 1868 – January 19, 1942) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 89th governor of South Carolina from 1911 to 1915, and as a United States senator from 1925 to 1931. Blease was ...

on June 7, 1913. Woods took his oath of office in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

on June 7, 1913, and he served in that capacity until his death on June 21, 1925, in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, South Carolina.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Charles Albert 1852 births 1925 deaths Wofford College alumni Justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson 20th-century American judges United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Darlington County, South Carolina