Sanford names choice to succeed Hoisington

Gov. Mark Sanford has picked experienced federal prosecutor Scott N. Schools to succeed Solicitor Ralph Hoisington, who died earlier this month after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Schools, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, will return home to take charge of the 9th Circuit Solicitor's office covering Charleston and Berkeley counties.

Schools, 45, returns with an impressive resume. He prosecuted white collar criminals in Charleston for several years in the late 1990s, and for a short while was the interim U.S. Attorney for all of South Carolina. In 2005, he moved to Washington to become general counsel for the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, which covers government lawyers in ethics and employment matters.

His San Francisco posting began in February after he was picked to follow one of the U.S. Attorneys replaced en masse by the Bush administration. He oversaw an office of 100 attorneys and 100 other support personnel.

Sanford's pick must still receive the consent of the state Senate. Schools, a Republican, said that if he is confirmed by the state Senate he is likely to seek the job permanently when the seat comes open at the polls next year.

Sanford's office declined to comment on the selection process, but the pick bypassed Hoisington's two lieutenants who expressed interest in the job: Deputy Solicitor Blair Jennings, who runs

prosecutions in Berkeley County, and Scarlett Wilson, chief deputy solicitor, who works in the Charleston office.

Both praised the choice. "Without question, the community as a whole and law enforcement in particular will benefit from Scott's sense of justice and his commitment to public service," Wilson said. "I look forward to being a part of his team."

Hoisington knew Schools was a possible choice before he died at age 59, Wilson said. "One of the best things about the governor's appointment is that Ralph had discussed a couple of scenarios that gave him great comfort; this was one of them and that makes me very happy," she said.

Jennings also praised Schools, adding that he has an "outstanding reputation" and that he looked forward to working with him.

The name of former state attorney general and ex-9th circuit solicitor Charlie Condon also had surfaced in the Broad Street rumor mill.

"There were a number of qualified individuals, but with Scott's work at the federal level and the fact that he's from the area, he had a unique skill set that stood out," Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said.

No starting date was announced, but Schools said he wanted to build on Hoisington's foundation of seven years in office.

Praise came from several circles, including from Charleston Bar President Jerry Theos, who called the selection of Schools a smart choice. "I think he's going to make a terrific solicitor."

As the first assistant U.S. Attorney in South Carolina, Schools tried the state's first two federal death penalty cases, obtaining death verdicts after a six-week jury trial in the case against Chadrick Evan Fulks in June 2004 and after an eight-week trial versus Brandon Basham in November 2004. He also worked on some of the "Operation Lost Trust" Statehouse sting of lawmaker prosecutions.

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