“W” is for Waring, Julius Waites (1880-1968)

“W” is for Waring, Julius Waites (1880-1968). Jurist. A native Charlestonian, Waring graduated from the College of Charleston and studied law with a family friend in the city. His involvement with Democratic politics earned him an appointment in 1914 as an assistant U.S. Attorney for South Carolina’s eastern district. In 1942 he was confirmed as a federal district judge. In 1944 he began handing down decisions equalizing the salaries of Black and White teachers and rebuffing the state’s efforts to salvage its all-White Democratic primary. After divorcing his wife, Waring became a pariah in his hometown. In 1951 when Waring gave a ringing dissent in federal court in the case of Briggs v. Elliott, he declared that segregation was “per se inequality.” In 1952, Julius Waites Waring retired from the bench and left South Carolina.