Greenville’s John Kittredge: What you need to know about the next chief justice of S.C. Supreme Court

Greenville resident John Kittredge becomes chief justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina in August after the mandatory retirement of the current one Chief Justice Don Beatty.

Kittredge was unanimously elected by the General Assembly in March. He has been a court judge since 2008.

Kittredge and his wife Lila, born in 1956, are members of the First Presbyterian Church in Greenville.

Apolitical lawyer

Kittredge graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1979 and from USC’s School of Law in 1982. He served on the SC bench for 33 years in various capacities.

In testimony during the screening for the role of Chief Justice in November 2023 by the Judicial Merit Selection CommissionKittredge said he was against judicial activism and described himself as apolitical.

During the hearing, JMSC staff said the majority of citizen feedback about Kittredge was favorable, but one of the criticisms was that the judge was too conservative.

In his response, Kittredge outlined his attitude toward judicial restraint.

“My approach is consistent. I am not political in any way,” he told the panel. “When a majority Republican legislature passes a law, in most cases it will reflect a Republican or conservative policy judgment.”

He added that when he shows restraint and applies the law as written, some people interpret that as the court having the same political leanings as the lawmakers who passed the law.

“But what the court does is simply uphold the rule of law and respect the policy-making role of the legislature,” Kittredge said.

Increased transparency, efficiency

In other testimony, Kittredge said that once he assumes the role of chief justice, he would like to expand cooperation among the five Supreme Court justices and take steps to improve transparency within the judiciary.

He said the effectiveness of the judiciary is in many ways based on public confidence that the courts function fairly and efficiently.

As chief justice, he wants to improve the timeliness of decision-making. He said that in some cases where the court demands urgency from lawyers in filing their documents, there is often a delay of weeks or months before the court issues its opinion. The court can do better, he said.

“We can have a wonderful system. But if the public doesn’t believe it’s there, it’s not there,” he said. “Perception is a reality.”

In closing, Kittredge said he believed the qualities that define a good judge are common sense, treating people with respect and being a good listener.

“When people come to court, they want to be heard,” he said. “And it is often said that a lawyer with common sense and good temperament is a far better judge than a bad-tempered genius.”

Timeline of Judge John Kittredge

In Kittredge’s more than three decades on the bench, he has tried more than 43,000 cases while serving as a judge on the following state courts:

• Family Court – 1991-1996
• Circuit Court — 1996-2003
• Court of Appeal — 2003-2008
• Supreme Court of SC – 2008-present