Jasmine Twitty is the youngest judge to be appointed or elected in Easley, South Carolina, and one of the youngest judges ever in the history of the United States. Twitty was born on December 4, 1989 in Greenville, South Carolina. She attended St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School and graduated from J. L. Mann High School in Easley in 2007. Twitty graduated from the College of Charleston in 2010, with her BA in Political Science.
Her first job was working as a Night Clerk in the Greenville County 24-hour Bond court. In 2011, Twitty decided she wanted to become a judge and set her mind towards obtaining her goal. In South Carolina, summary court judges are appointed and are not required to have a law degree. The city council is the governing body that appoints judges for the municipal court. She completed a training course and passed a certification exam before entering the interviewing process. In August 2015, Twitty was selected as an Associate Judge of the municipal court for the city of Easley, South Carolina. She was 25 at that time. She is required to take continuing education courses and be re-certified every eight years.
Additionally, Twitty is a Board Member of Upstate Network, the young professional branch of the Urban League. The network is dedicated to promoting the development of young professionals and to serving locally through social and community action. Twitty was elected President of the Upstate Network in February 2016 and continues to serve as part of its leadership. She is also a founding member of LeadHER, a group dedicated to the development of professional and a regular volunteer at the Urban League of the Upstate.
Twitty has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal, Essence, Glamour, Amy Poehler Smart Girls, Mental Floss, and numerous media outlets as an outstanding young leader. She has been named Talented Tenth Top 10 Young Professional, Future International Trailblazer, South Carolina Top 20 Under 40, Honorary Georgia Citizen, and Urban League of the Upstate Volunteer of the Year.
Twitty enjoys mentoring and speaking with youth at schools across the United States. She currently lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, and is featured in the latest Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Read 180 textbook. The Read 180 Universal program inspires struggling young readers in grades 4-12 to read and develop their vocabulary, comprehension, writing and research skills.
