David Charles Norton (born July 25, 1946) is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

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, Charle ...

Education and career

Born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Norton received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from Sewanee: The University of the South in 1968. He served in the

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from January 1969 to October 1972 and became a Yeoman Second Class. He then received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. Founded in 1867, it is the only public and non-profit law school in South Car ...

in 1975, and was in private practice in Charleston,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

until 1977. He was an assistant deputy solicitor for the Ninth Judicial Circuit in Charleston, South Carolina from 1977 to 1980. He was a city attorney of Isle of Palms, South Carolina from 1980 to 1985. He was in private practice in Charleston from 1981 to 1990, and was a partner at the

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of Holmes & Thomson.

Federal judicial service

On April 18, 1990, Norton was nominated by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

to a seat on the

that was vacated by Judge Solomon Blatt Jr. Norton was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on June 28, 1990, and received his commission on July 12, 1990. He served as Chief Judge from 2007 to 2012. Norton is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Charleston School of Law.

Notable cases

* Norton presided over the criminal case of Michael Slager, a police officer who killed Walter Scott, an unarmed black man, in April 2015 after a traffic stop in

North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

. Scott was fleeing the officer when he was shot five times in the back. Slager pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating Scott's civil rights. Norton sentenced Slager to 20 years' imprisonment, a sentence within the

Federal Sentencing Guidelines The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules published by the U.S. Sentencing Commission that set out a uniform policy for sentencing individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious (Class A) misdemeanors in the Unite ...

. * In July 2017, Norton found that plaintiffs with

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The area most commonly affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lini ...

still needed to prove defendants specifically caused their diseases, even though every exposure to

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

is unsafe. A

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article revealed Norton actually owned stocks in the defendants of several asbestos cases whom issued rulings that broadly benefits companies with asbestos liabilities. * On August 3, 2018, Norton ruled that Charleston cannot require that tour guides pass a history test before being licensed. * * On August 17, 2018, Norton ruled the

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did not properly seek public input when it suspended protections designed to thwart waterway pollution. Seen as a win for environmental groups, Norton's ruling allows restrictions on development around certain waterways. * On March 11, 2020, Norton ruled that South Carolina cannot ban the mention of same-sex relationships or other LGBTQ+ topics in sex education classes. Norton ruled that the law discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation, violated the Constitution's

equal protection clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pr ...

, and had no rational relations to any legitimate state interest. Norton's decision will allow schools to include same-sex relationships or other aspects of LGBTQ+ life in sex ed courses, but will not require it.https://www.advocate.com/youth/2020/3/11/anti-lgbtq-sex-ed-law-struck-down-south-carolina-0 ''Advocate.'' March 11, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, David C. 1946 births Living people Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina Sewanee: The University of the South alumni United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush United States Navy non-commissioned officers University of South Carolina School of Law alumni 21st-century American judges