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Scarlett Wilson becomes first woman to serve as Ninth Circuit Solicitor
Date: 07/06/2007
By
Glenn Smith
The Post and Courier
Tyrone Walker
The Post and Courier
Scarlett Wilson, chosen to succeed Ralph
Hoisington, could be the first female solicitor for the 9th Circuit, which
includes Charleston and Berkeley counties.
Veteran
prosecutor Scarlett Wilson was picked to succeed Solicitor Ralph Hoisington on
Friday after Gov. Mark Sanford’s first choice for the job had an abrupt change
of heart.
Wilson,
who was Hoisington’s second-in-command, becomes the first woman to serve as the
top prosecutor for the Ninth Circuit, which includes Charleston and Berkeley
Counties. She must still be confirmed by the state senate, but she assumed the
job on an interim basis under an emergency appointment by Chief Justice Jean
Toal, Sanford spokesman Benjamin Fox said.
The news
came just one week after Sanford announced that federal prosecutor Scott Schools
had been chosen to succeed Hoisington, who died last month after a six-month
battle with pancreatic cancer. The choice of Schools, the interim U.S. Attorney
for the Northern District of California, had been well-received in Charleston’s
legal circles.
Schools,
45, informed the governor’s office on Friday that he no longer wished to take
job, Fox said. Schools could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.
Wilson,
39, is a native of Hemingway. She graduated from Clemson University and then USC
Law, in 1992. After clerking for Circuit Judge Don S. Rushing, she worked as an
assistant solicitor before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its Violent
Crimes Task Force in 1995. She began working for Hoisington after his election.
“I am
honored by Governor Sanford’s confidence in my abilities, just as I was six and
a half years ago when Solicitor Hoisington chose me as his second-in-command,”
Wilson said in a written statement. “The opportunity to serve the people of
Berkeley and Charleston Counties as Solicitor is quite a privilege. I look
forward to continuing Solicitor Hoisington’s legacy and building on our solid
relationship with law enforcement.”
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