The Hon. Melissa J. Buckhannon is a judge for the 15th Judicial Circuit Family Court of South Carolina. She was elected to the bench by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2014.
The 15th Judicial Circuit encompasses Georgetown County and Horry County.
Buckhannon earned a bachelor’s degree from Francis Marion University in 1991. She then completed a J.D. at the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1994.
After graduating from law school, Buckhannon began her legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. James E. Lockemy, an at-large judge of the Circuit Court of South Carolina. She served in that capacity until 1995, at which time she entered into private practice in Horry County.
Her memberships have included the Horry County Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar Association, and the South Carolina Women’s Law Association. She has also been involved with the South Carolina Council for Conflict Resolution and the South Carolina Attorney Fee Dispute Board, and she has served on the Board of Trustees for Francis Marion University.
Born in Darlington, South Carolina, Buckhannon attended Dillon High School. She and her husband, Thomas, have a blended family of three children. They attend Christ United Methodist Church in Myrtle Beach.