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1/#OTD in 1870, Jonathan Jasper Wright became the first black state supreme court justice in American history. He served on the South Carolina Supreme Court, the next stop on our #52courts52weeks tour! #BlackHistoryMonth 
2/ When Wright was on the Court, he and his colleagues worked out of the State House. It was not until 1971 that the Court finally moved into its own building – the renovated Columbia Post Office.
3/ Before serving on the Court, Wright was active and influential in law and politics. He was one of the first three African-American attorneys admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1868.
4/ In politics, Wright was one of the vice presidents of the state constitutional convention in 1868 and was elected to the State Senate later that year. At the convention, he helped shape the institution he soon joined as a justice. *
5/ The election of a state senator to the state supreme court is not surprising, since South Carolina is one of only two states who continue to select justices through a legislative election/appointment. (Virginia is the other)
6/ Justice Wright served on the Court for more than seven years before resigning, expecting to lose his seat once white Democrats regained control of the state legislature post-Reconstruction.
7/ Today, the five justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court are still appointed to their position by the General Assembly, who after 10-year terms has the opportunity to reappoint the justices.
8/ The current chief justice, Donald Beatty, formerly served in the General Assembly, and was selected to serve as chief in 2017.
9/ After Wright, it would be over a century before the Court would have another black justice. Ernest Finney was elected to the court in 1985 and elevated to chief justice from 1994-2000.
10/ The first woman to serve on the Court, Jean Toal, became chief justice after Finney’s retirement, and served until 2015. This means that the Court has had a black or woman leader for all but 1 of the last 25 years.
11/ Just a few months ago the court was asked to intervene in a fight between the governor and state senate over a recess appointment made by the governor. The court sided with the governor, but not before scolding both sides. postandcourier.com/business/supre…
12/ This wasn’t the only time the supreme court had to get involved in disputes with the other branches in recent years. In 2017, it was up to the court to decide who should become the Lieutenant Governor. thestate.com/news/local/cri…
13/According to the South Carolina Constitution, the Senate President Pro Tempore takes the Lt. Governor position when there is a vacancy, but a constitutional change in 2016 allowed the Governor to make an appointment.
14/The Court ruled that change wouldn’t go into effect until 2018, leaving the previous succession plan in place.
15/We’ll make our first stop in Oklahoma next week when @ProfJVRoss takes us to the Oklahoma Supreme Court! #52courts52weeks
