Judge Clifton Newman is a two-time Cleveland State alumnus. He has served as a South Carolina Circuit Court Judge for 23 years. Prior to returning to South Carolina where he practiced civil and criminal prosecution, his legal career began in Ohio, where he formed Belcher and Newman, PA. He has presided over numerous high-profile civil and criminal cases including The State v. Michael Slager, a police shooting case; The State v. Nathaniel Rowland, the “Fake Uber” case; and most recently, The State v. Richard Alexander Murdaugh. He is a Business Court Judge and has served as Presiding Judge over a specialized docket of complex construction defect cases. He is a member of the SC Chief Justice’s Commission on the Profession, the SC Commission on Judicial Conduct, and the John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court. He is the past President of the American College of Business Court Judges and Co-Chair of the Judges Initiative Committee of the Business Law Section of the ABA. He has served as a Program Faculty Member of the National Judicial College and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law.