Charles Weston Houck (April 16, 1933 – July 19, 2017) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (in case citations, D.S.C.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charlest ...

Education and career

Houck was born 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 )''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 = ...

and attended McClenaghan High School. Houck received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. The school of law was founded in 1867, and remains the only public and non-profit law schoo ...

in 1956, and was in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1957 to 1958. While in the army, he became a captain in the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judg ...

. He was in private practice in Florence from 1958 to 1979, also serving as a South Carolina state representative from 1963 to 1966. He was Chairman of the Florence, South Carolina City-County Building Commission from 1968 to 1976.

Federal judicial service

On June 5, 1979, Houck was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

to a new seat on the

created by 92 Stat. 1629. He 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 September 25, 1979, and received his commission on September 26, 1979. He served as Chief Judge from 1993 to 2000, and assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on October 1, 2003, serving in that status until his death in

, South Carolina on July 19, 2017.

Notable case

Houck ruled in 1993 that

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

must admit women to the Corps of Cadets.

Shannon Faulkner Shannon Faulkner is an American teacher, best known for being the first female student to attend The Citadel in 1994, following a lawsuit. She currently teaches English in Greenville, South Carolina. Biography Faulkner was born in Powdersville ...

was the plaintiff in that case.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Houck, Charles Weston 1933 births 2017 deaths Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Military personnel from South Carolina Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges United States Army officers People from Florence, South Carolina University of South Carolina School of Law alumni United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps