Charles Earl Simons Jr. (August 17, 1916 – October 26, 1999) 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

Born in Johnston,

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 = ...

, Simons 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 the University of South Carolina in 1937 and 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 1939. He was in private practice in Aiken, South Carolina from 1939 to 1964. He was a

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

Lieutenant during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1942 to 1945. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1942 and from 1947 to 1948 and from 1960 to 1964.

Federal judicial service

On April 15, 1964, Simons was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a seat on the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

vacated by Judge

Ashton Hilliard Williams Ashton Hilliard Williams (August 15, 1891 – February 25, 1962) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina. Education and career Born in Lake City, South Carolina, Williams ...

. Johnson 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 April 30, 1964, and received his commission on May 1, 1964. On November 1, 1965, he was reassigned by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

to the

, to a new seat established by 79 Stat. 951. He served as Chief Judge from 1980 to 1986, assuming

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 August 17, 1986, and serving in that capacity until his death on October 26, 1999, in Aiken.

Honor

The Charles E. Simons Jr. Federal Court House was named for him in 1986.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Charles Earl Jr. 1916 births 1999 deaths Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson 20th-century American judges United States Navy officers 20th-century American lawyers People from Johnston, South Carolina People from Aiken, South Carolina 20th-century American politicians