A South Carolina State judge has been confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, reinforcing a Democratic majority on what was once considered among the most conservative appellate courts in the country.
DeAndrea Gist Benjamin is taking the seat of Judge Henry F. Floyd, who assumed senior status in late 2021. She previously served on South Carolina’s Fifth Judicial Circuit, where she presided over hundreds of jury trials; before that, she worked as both a state prosecutor and an employment lawyer.
The Fourth Circuit covers North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
In her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, Benjamin said she would engage respectfully with the state court rulings she would be reviewing.
“I have an appreciation and recognize the limited role of the appellate courts in only considering the issues that are before them,” she said. “I have committed my life to this system.”
She also said she would evaluate constitutionality on the federal bench through “the text of the Constitution” and “any historical evidence … of the drafters’ intent” — a view generally categorized as “originalist.”
There are now eight Democratic nominees and six Republican nominees serving as active judges on the Fourth Circuit. Including senior judges, who continue to hear some but not all cases, the balance is 11 Democratic nominees to six Republican nominees.
There remains an open seat on the Fourth Circuit amid disagreements between the White House and Senate. Judge Diana Gribbon Motz took senior status in September after previously saying she planned to wait for a successor to be confirmed.
Benjamin is the second woman of color to serve on the Fourth Circuit after Allyson K. Duncan, a George W. Bush appointee who retired in 2019. Benjamin is married to Stephen K. Benjamin, who served as mayor of Columbia, S.C., from 2010 to 2021.