Press Release - President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the United States District Court

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama nominated Donald W. Beatty and Donald C. Coggins, Jr. to serve on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.

"I am honored to put forward these highly qualified candidates for the federal bench," President Obama said. "They will be distinguished public servants and valuable additions to the United States District Court."

Donald W. Beatty: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina

Justice Donald W. Beatty has served as an Associate Justice on the South Carolina Supreme Court since 2007. He served as an Associate Judge on the South Carolina Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2007 and as a Circuit Court Judge on the South Carolina Seventh Judicial Circuit from 1995 to 2003. Prior to his judicial service, from 1991 to 1995, Justice Beatty was elected to serve as a Member of the House of Representatives in the South Carolina General Assembly. From 1981 to 1995, he worked as a solo practitioner, with the exception of a two-year period from 1989 to 1990, during which he was a partner at the law firm of Beatty, Vick and Tullis in Spartanburg, South Carolina (no longer operational). Also during this time, he served as a council member for the Spartanburg City Council from 1988 to 1991. Justice Beatty began his legal career working as an associate for the Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program in Conway, South Carolina (no longer operational) from 1979 to 1981. He received his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1979 and his B.A. cum laude from South Carolina State University in 1974.

Donald C. Coggins, Jr.: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina

Donald C. Coggins, Jr. has been a shareholder at the law firm of Harrison, White, Smith & Coggins, P.C. (formerly Harrison, White, Smith, Hayes & Coggins, P.C.) in Spartanburg, South Carolina since 2000, where his practice focuses on civil litigation. For three years, from 2010 to 2013, he was the firm's managing shareholder. Coggins also serves as a member of the South Carolina Commission on Lawyer Conduct, a position to which he was appointed in 2003. Previously, from 1986 to 2000, Coggins was a partner at two Spartanburg, South Carolina law firms: Smith and Coggins from 1993 to 2000 and Cummings, Smith and Coggins from 1986 to 1993 (both no longer operational). He began his legal career working as an associate at Cummings and Smith from 1984 to 1986, before being elevated to partner. Coggins received his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1984 and his B.A. from Clemson University in 1981.