Barry Joe Barnette

Solicitor Barry Barnette is the recipient of numerous awards for his work as a prosecutor in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties. The accolades include his profession’s top honor, the 2006 Ernest F. Hollings Award for Excellence in Prosecution, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety’s 2007 Prosecutor of the Year Award and the 2010 South Carolina Victim Assistance Network’s Criminal Justice Award.

Barnette, a former high school science teacher, joined the Solicitor’s Office as an Assistant Solicitor in January of 1991. He was appointed Spartanburg County Magistrate Judge in 1996 and named Principal Deputy Solicitor in January 2001. While serving as Principal Deputy Solicitor, Barnette supervised the day-to-day operation of the office and served as Solicitor Trey Gowdy’s chief violent crime prosecutor. The veteran prosecutor has personally handled hundreds of cases ranging in seriousness from driving under the influence to Death Penalty trials. His duties included training new attorneys and court scheduling. In his position as Magistrate Judge, Barnette heard more than 100 trials involving criminal and civil matters. He also heard hundreds of non-jury criminal and civil matters. Barnette served on the state’s Commission of Judicial Conduct from 1997 to 2001.

Barnette has taught numerous classes and seminars throughout South Carolina and the Southeast. He is a veteran presenter of Evidence and DUI Law at the South Carolina Magistrate Court Orientation School. He has also taught Death Penalty and Driving offense classes at the annual statewide Solicitor’s Conference. Barnette is also a contributing author to a DUI prosecution handbook that is utilized by prosecutors, police officers and judges across the state.

Barnette is a graduate of Marshall University and the West Virginia College of Law.