C. Bruce Littlejohn

Cameron Bruce Littlejohn (July 22, 1913 – April 21, 2007) was a chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. He served as an associate justice on the same court from 1967 to 1984.

C. Bruce Littlejohn
Chief Justice of South Carolina
In office
March 7, 1984 – 1985
Preceded byJames Woodrow Lewis
Succeeded byJulius B. Ness
Associate Justice of South Carolina
In office
January 25, 1967 – 1984
Preceded byJoseph Rodney Moss
Succeeded byA. Lee Chandler
52nd Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives
In office
1947–1949
Preceded bySolomon Blatt Sr.
Succeeded byThomas Pope
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
In office
1937 – 1943, 1946-1949
ConstituencySpartanburg County
Personal details
BornJuly 22, 1913
Pacolet, South Carolina
DiedApril 21, 2007 (2007-04-22) (aged 93)
Pacolet, South Carolina
SpouseInell Smith
ChildrenInell Littlejohn Allen and Cameron B. Littlejohn, Jr.]]
Alma materWofford College (1933), University of South Carolina (J.D., 1936)

C. Bruce Littlejohn was born July 22, 1913, in Pacolet, South Carolina, to Lady Sarah Warmoth and Cameron Littlejohn. He was the youngest of eight children.[1] He graduated from Wofford College in 1933 after having studied English and Political Science. He went on to get his LL.B. from the University of South Carolina Law School in 1936.[1] He served four consecutive terms as the Representative for Spartanburg County in the South Carolina General Assembly from 1937 to 1943. He resigned to enlist with the U.S. Army where he spent the majority of his time in the Quartermaster Corps. After the Japanese surrender, he also helped prosecute war criminals in the Philippines as a part of the United Nations War Crimes Commission. He returned to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1946 and served as Speaker of the House from 1947 to 1949, replacing Representative Solomon Blatt.[1] He stepped down from the General Assembly on September 14, 1949 and assumed the position of resident judge of the Seventh Circuit Court - an election he had won against state Senator Bruce White and Representative Arnold Merchant.[1]

Justice Claude A. Taylor died on January 20, 1966, and was replaced as chief justice by Joseph Rodney Moss; Littlejohn announced his intention to run for the newly empty seat vacated by Moss. Following more than one year of indecisive balloting by the Statehouse, on January 25, 1967,[2] he was elected an associate justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court beating out Judge Julius B. "Bubba" Ness, state Senator Rembert C. Dennis and former Governor George Bell Timmerman. In 1984, he was elected chief justice, succeeding Chief Justice J. Woodrow Lewis.[3] After completing Justice Lewis's unexpired term, he was elected to a full term in 1984. He retired in 1985 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 72.

Littlejohn died on April 21, 2007.[4] He is buried the Pacolet First Baptist Church.[5]

Littlejohn received honorary degrees from Wofford College (1968), Converse College (1985), the University of South Carolina (1986), and Limestone College (1990). He also was a prolific writer, authoring four books: Laugh with the Judge[6] (1974), Littlejohn's Half-Century at the Bench and Bar[7] (1987), Littlejohn's Political Memoirs[8] (1989), and Littlejohn's South Carolina Judicial History: 1930-2004[9] (2005).

References
  1. "C. Bruce Littlejohn Finding Aid". South Carolina Political Collections. University of South Carolina, South Carolina Political Collections. 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-02-21.
  2. "C. Bruce Littlejohn". University of South Carolina. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  3. "Littlejohn moves up on court". Daily Item. Sumter, South Carolina. March 8, 1984. pp. 7B. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  4. "Memory Hold the Door". University of South Carolina. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  5. "Former S.C. chief justice Littlejohn dies". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. April 23, 2007. pp. 4B. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  6. Littlejohn, Bruce (1974). Laugh with the judge : humorous anecdotes from a career on the bench (1st ed.). Lexington, S.C.: Sandlapper Store. ISBN 0878440259. OCLC 1272543.
  7. Littlejohn, Bruce (1987). Littlejohn's half century at the bench and bar (1936-1986). South Carolina Bar Foundation. (1st ed.). Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina Bar Foundation. ISBN 0945036000. OCLC 17597151.
  8. Littlejohn, Bruce (1989). Littlejohn's political memoirs : 1934-1988 (1st ed.). Spartanburg, S.C.: Bruce Littlejohn. ISBN 0962507709. OCLC 22927964.
  9. Littlejohn, Bruce (2005). Littlejohn's South Carolina judicial history 1930-2004. Charleston, SC: Joggling Board Press. ISBN 0975349864. OCLC 62859519.
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