Jim Fair
Judge Henry "Hank" Mims was re-appointed for a third term as Greer Municipal Judge.
“I said I would take it for a couple of years and next year is my 20th (as a judge),” Mims told council when he reviewed his department. “We’ve got a system here and I can’t tell you how proud I am of the staff.”
Mims, a Duke Law School graduate, and his wife, Juliette, have a law practice across from the Municipal Complex.
Mayor Rick Danner described Mims’ court as a “mixture of business and justice with some down-home humor. I’ve never been to him when I needed direction and insight and not gotten it,” Danner said.
Mims had input on the design of the courtroom and technology at the new Police and Courts Complex that was opened in 2008. Since then he rid the police department of its receipt book, has an interpreter available for each court session and is noted for his staff’s courteous and sensitive customer relations skills.
“We are a customer service organization,” Mims said. “We have one of the best staffs in the state although we have less staff than a lot of other courts.”
Danner described Mims’ judgeship as one, “That times time to nudge people back onto the right path. It’s worth it.”
Mims oversees a department with a recommended $594,000 budget.
The Chief Municipal Judge serves in a supervisory capacity over assistant judges and ministerial recorders, reads the city’s job description. Municipal Court, in addition to hearing cases, is responsible for warrants, arraignments, and the adjudication of cases.
The Municipal Court is one of limited jurisdiction, hearing only misdemeanor criminal cases, as well as traffic cases carrying a maximum fine and sentence of $500 or 30 days in jail, plus certain other cases as authorized by the South Carolina Legislature.
“When I tell you I’m proud of that court, it’s just not the court,” Mims said. “When you come to the front window you will be treated with respect.”
Mims was reappointed by a 5-0 vote by city council. Mims was first appointed in 2005 and re-appointed in 2009.