Florence County Probate Judge Jesse Cartrette, Jr. Seeking Re-Election

The Honorable Jesse S. Cartrette, Jr. was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1979, the oldest of three sons born to Jesse Cartrette, Sr. and Gail Sturgeon Cartrette. A product of Florence School District 1 public schools, he was Student Body President, received his academic letter jacket and graduated double-cord from South Florence High School in 1998. The first member of his family to attend college, he was an honors student at Francis Marion University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science in May of 2002. He was a member of the first graduating class of the Charleston School of Law (“Charleston Law”), where he was a founding member of the Christian Legal Society and served as one of the first class of justices seated on the law school’s student-led court formally known as the Honor Council. Judge Cartrette was awarded The Civility Award, Charleston Law’s highest honor, by election of his peers, just before receiving his Juris Doctor from the Charleston School of Law in 2007.

After graduating from law school, Cartrette served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Thomas A. Russo, Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions.

Cartrette was then admitted to the South Carolina Bar in May of 2008 and formed his own private law practice in Florence, South Carolina in November of that same year. He was admitted to practice in the United States District Court for South Carolina in May of 2010.

Prior to his election in 2018, Judge Cartrette’ s community involvement included serving as a proud member of the Florence County Bar championing and protecting the rights of underprivileged clients in our community including, but not limited to, senior citizens, abused and neglected children and vulnerable adults. In his legal career, Judge Cartrette became an accomplished and respected attorney, mediator and guardian ad litem in the Probate, Circuit and Family Courts of Florence and the surrounding Pee Dee area counties. He taught as an adjunct professor of Business Law for Limestone University. Judge Cartrette has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Florence County Senior Citizens Association and as a member of the Florence Rotary Club in which he was also a Paul Harris Fellow. Judge Cartrette enjoys spending time with his family and friends, He attends Compassion Church in Florence, South Carolina, and is passionate about helping those in need in our community. Judge Cartrette frequently participates in various community service projects, promoting charitable organizations and engaging in other philanthropic endeavors to benefit local artists; farmers; homeless and disadvantaged members of the community; disabled veterans; religious charities; little league and high school sports teams including baseball, softball and basketball; and working on initiatives to foster community unity and understanding between people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs. He was elected Florence County Probate Judge on November 6, 2018.

Cartrette views serving the public as a special calling. He believes a leader, especially a judge, should serve with humility and a servant’s heart. Since taking office in January of 2019, Judge Cartrette has experienced leading the Probate Court and its staff through a global pandemic and maintained continuity of services to the public while keeping the public and courthouse staff safe. As probate judge, Cartrette initiated a massive overhaul of the way the office runs, including shortening wait times, processes and procedures for getting cases through the Probate Court; digitizing public records maintained by the Probate Court dating back to the founding of Florence County in 1888, so citizens and their attorneys can access the records more easily online without having to drive to the courthouse; and hiring well-trained staff that is dedicated to serving the public with knowledge and compassion. Judge Cartrette is seeking his second term as Florence County’s Probate Judge and respectfully asks for your vote on or before November 8th!

The Probate Court has original jurisdiction over the issuance of marriage licenses; claims involving estates and assets of deceased persons; Last Wills & Testaments; involuntary mental and chemical dependency commitments through the Department of Mental Health; matters involving trust documents; Petitions for the care of incapacitated individuals through Guardianships and Conservatorships; Minor Settlements assigned by the Circuit Court; wrongful death settlements and even petitions to restore an individual’s 2nd Amendment rights. Judge Cartrette is the only candidate for Probate Judge who is a licensed lawyer and he has 15 years of courtroom trial experience.