Robert Bryan Harwell (born June 4, 1959) is the
Chief United States district judge of the
.
Education and career
Born in
Florence, South Carolina
Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...
, Harwell received a
Bachelor of Arts
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
Clemson University in 1980 and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
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 1982. He was in the South Carolina Army National Guard from 1987 to 1992, and was a
law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
to Judge G. Rodney Peeples of State of South Carolina Judicial Department in 1983, and to Judge
G. Ross Anderson of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina from 1983 to 1984. He was in private practice in Florence from 1984 to 2004.
Federal judicial service
On January 20, 2004, Harwell was nominated by President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
to a seat on the
vacated by
Charles Weston Houck
Charles Weston Houck (April 16, 1933 – July 19, 2017) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Education and career
Houck was born in Florence, South Carolina and attended McClen ...
. Harwell 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 24, 2004, and received his commission on June 30, 2004. He became Chief Judge on February 28, 2019 after
Terry L. Wooten
Terry L. Wooten (born 1954) is a Senior Status, Senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Education and career
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisvil ...
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 ...
.
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harwell, Robert Bryan
1959 births
Living people
Clemson University alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
Military personnel from South Carolina
People from Florence, South Carolina
South Carolina lawyers
United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush
21st-century American judges
University of South Carolina School of Law alumni