Charles Earl Simons Jr.

Charles Earl Simons Jr. (August 17, 1916 – October 26, 1999) was a United States federal judge.

Born in Johnston, South Carolina, Simons received an A.B. from the University of South Carolina in 1937 and an LL.B. from the University of South Carolina Law Center in 1939. He was in private practice in Aiken, South Carolina from 1939 to 1964. He was a U.S. Naval Reserve Lieutenant during World War II, from 1942 to 1945. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1942 and from 1947 to 1948 and from 1960 to 1964.

On April 15, 1964, Simons was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina vacated by Ashton H. Williams. Johnson was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 30, 1964, and received his commission on May 1, 1964. On November 1, 1965, he was reassigned by operation of law to the consolidated United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. He served as chief judge from 1980 to 1986, assuming senior status on August 17, 1986, and serving in that capacity until his death, in 1999, Aiken, South Carolina.

The Charles E. Simons Jr. Federal Court House was named for him in 1986.

Sources

• Charles Earl Simons Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.