(File/Getty Images)
The son of a Pee Dee judge was elected the chief prosecutor of his judicial circuit. Now the judge can do little in the region where he’s presided for more than three decades.
As head of the state judicial branch, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Kittredge published an order Friday that bars Judge Paul Burch from hearing any criminal cases in the Fourth Circuit, starting Jan. 1. The order also prevents Burch from presiding over any civil cases involving the solicitor’s office.
The directive follows voters electing Paul Michael Burch Jr. as solicitor of the Fourth Circuit, which includes Chesterfield, Dillon, Darlington and Marlboro counties. His election flipped the job in what was a rural Democratic stronghold to the GOP.
Rep. Jay Jordan, an attorney who sits on the legislative panel that screens judicial candidates, said he does not recall a similar situation ever occurring in the roughly 17 years he’s practiced law.
“So, this is uncharted territory,” the Florence Republican told the SC Daily Gazette.
Still, Jordan said, it is an issue he’s confident the judicial branch is equipped to handle.
SC Supreme Court chief justice tightens rules for lawyer-legislators to move cases along
In his order, Kittredge cited a rule of the judiciary which states a judge “shall disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” That includes matters in which a judge’s family member is part of a proceeding or is a lawyer on a case.
Because the judge’s son, who goes by Mike Burch, has direct oversight of the attorneys in his office as solicitor, it disqualifies the judge from hearing all criminal proceedings in the district or cases where a person who was previously convicted seeks to make a final challenge in their case, a process known as post-conviction relief.
Burch said he knew when he decided to run that his father’s position would become an issue if he was elected, and he and his father discussed it.
He said his father assured him court administration would be able to move him to cases elsewhere in the state and pull in other judges to cover the Fourth Circuit. Mike Burch said he expects his father will largely work in the nearby Sixth Circuit, which includes Chester, Fairfield and Lancaster counties.
Lancaster County is where he’s been a deputy solicitor for more than six years. And he’s excited about his new job.
“That’s the pinnacle of my career, to be head prosecutor in the district where I live,” Burch said.
Meanwhile, his father is in the twilight of his career, “so it’s not like it’s a long-term concern.”
Burch said the potential conflict of interest didn’t really come up during the campaign. While law enforcement officers and others occasionally asked him about it, neither his opponents nor voters made it a major issue.
Burch beat out Shipp Daniel, an assistant solicitor in the Fourth Circuit, in the June GOP primary for the Republican nomination. He then went on to defeat Democrat Monty Bell for the seat held for 16 years by retiring Solicitor William Rogers Jr.
Like Daniel, Bell was also an assistant solicitor under Rogers, which means Bell now answers to the opponent who beat him. He did not immediately respond to messages from the SC Daily Gazette. Daniel has left the office and is now in private practice.
Burch’s flip of the solicitor’s office in what was deep Democratic territory was touted by state Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick in the days after the election.
SC Republicans celebrate red wave that gives GOP biggest advantage in 150 years
But Jordan said it is not usual for judges to travel outside of their circuit for court.
“In our system, judges move around quite frequently,” he said.
Jordan said he is confident in Kittredge and the court administration’s ability to bring judges from neighboring districts in to hear cases, while sending Judge Burch to different districts in return.
Still, it means the judge must work largely outside the district to which the Legislature elected him. Paul Burch turns 72, the mandatory retirement age for active judges in the state, in 2026, meaning he can remain on the bench for two more years.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Circuit is down a second judge in residence following the death of Judge Michael Holt Sr. in July.
Family Court Judge Gene Warr is seeking Holt’s seat in judicial elections scheduled to be held before a joint session of the General Assembly on Feb. 4, 2025.
From July 2023 to June 2024, there were more than 15,000 active criminal cases in the circuit and more than 8,800 cases were still pending and the end of that period, according to the latest statistics available.
That made it the eighth busiest out of the state’s 16 circuits when it comes to criminal cases.