Image by Flickr user Amber Rhea

Update January 10:

The Charleston Regional Business Journal reports that Hearn start on Thursday, January 14; get the details here.

First reporting:

The State reports that Judge Kaye Hearn has all but won a seat on the S.C. Supreme Court after two competitors dropped out.

Hearn is from Conway and has been serving on the Court of Appeals since 1995. One of the dropouts from the race is Judge Deadra Jefferson of Charleston.

The General Assembly will make an official vote to elect the next judge on May 13. -- In South Carolina, the court has five members who are elected to ten year terms by the General Assembly. Justices can be reelected.

The seat to be taken opens in 2012, when Associate Justice John Waller's term expires.

Hearn had competed for a seat filled by John Kittredge last year.