Robert Bryan Harwell | |
Office: | Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina |
Term Start: | June 4, 2024 |
Office1: | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina |
Term Start1: | February 28, 2019 |
Term End1: | June 4, 2024 |
Predecessor1: | Terry L. Wooten |
Successor1: | Timothy M. Cain |
Office2: | Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina |
Term Start2: | June 30, 2004 |
Term End2: | June 4, 2024 |
Appointer2: | George W. Bush |
Predecessor2: | Charles Weston Houck |
Successor2: | vacant |
Birth Date: | 4 June 1959 |
Alma Mater: | Clemson University (BA) University of South Carolina (JD) |
Robert Bryan Harwell (born June 4, 1959) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Harwell was born in Florence, South Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Clemson University in 1980 and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1982. He was in the South Carolina Army National Guard from 1987 to 1992, and was a law clerk to Judge G. Rodney Peeples of the South Carolina Judicial Department in 1983, and to Judge G. Ross Anderson of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina from 1983 to 1984. He was in private practice in Florence from 1984 to 2004.
On January 20, 2004, Harwell was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina vacated by Charles Weston Houck. Harwell was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 24, 2004, and received his commission on June 30, 2004. He served Chief Judge from February 28, 2019 to June 4, 2024 when he assumed senior status.