Robert Bryan Harwell at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
- Jurisdiction
- South Carolina · Federal
- Judicial service
- June 30, 2004–present
Robert Bryan Harwell
Judge · U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
Available research
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Biography
Professional career
- South Carolina Army National Guard, 1987-1992
- Private practice, Florence, SC, 1984-2004
- Law clerk, Hon. Ross Anderson, Jr., U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina, 1983-1984
- Law clerk, Hon. G. Rodney Peeples, South Carolina Circuit Court, Second Judicial Circuit, 1983-present
Judicial service
- Judge, District Court, D. South Carolina, 2004-present
Education
- Clemson University · B.A., 1980
- University of South Carolina School of Law
Personal record
Born 1959 · Florence, SC
Courtroom rules and guidance
Courtroom Technology
Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge.
. Document Camera While many documents are displayed using a laptop computer, the courtroom’s evidence presentation cart features a high definition document camera that can display paper documents and objects on the courtroom monitors. The document camera zoom lens can display even the smallest details of any object.SCD - Electronic Courtrooms Table of Contents ↗
Civil Remote Testimony
In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.
For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗
Criminal Recording And Broadcasting
Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.
Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗
Sources
Federal Judicial Center biography
Identity source · HTML · checked July 25, 2026
https://www.fjc.gov/node/1392196CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · checked August 2, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1387/robert-bryan-harwell/SCD - Electronic Courtrooms Table of Contents
Judge research source · HTML · checked July 24, 2026
https://coop.scd.uscourts.gov/eCourtroom/index.aspFederal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court
Judge research source · HTML · checked July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedureFederal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited
Judge research source · HTML · checked July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts