The Hon. M. Scott Rankin is a judge for the 5th Judicial Circuit Family Court of South Carolina. He was elected to the bench by the South Carolina General Assembly on February 6, 2019.
The 5th Judicial Circuit encompasses Richland County and Kershaw County.
Rankin earned a bachelor’s degree in radio, television, and motion pictures from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1988. He then completed a J.D. at the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1993. As a law student, he clerked at the Law Office of Jack B. Swerling (1992 to 1993).
After graduating from law school, Rankin entered into private practice, working as an associate at the Law Office of D. Kenneth Baker. He remained with the firm until 1995, at which time he opened his own private practice as a sole practitioner. Rankin specialized in family law and personal injury matters, supplementing his practice with service as an assistant public defender for the Kershaw County Public Defender’s Office (1988 to 2001) and a magistrate judge for the Kershaw County Magistrate Court (2006 to 2019).
His memberships have included the South Carolina Bar Association and the Kershaw County Bar Association. He has also been involved with the Indian Waters Council, the United Way of Kershaw County, the Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce, Habitat for Humanity of Kershaw County, the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County, and the Camden Country Club.
Rankin was born in Wilson, North Carolina, and raised in Gastonia and Lincolnton. He and his wife, Charlotte, have two children. The family attends Lyttleton Street United Methodist Church in Camden. When not presiding over legal proceedings, Rank enjoys golfing and traveling with his family.