Twenty-nine black lawmakers staged a walkout after the South Carolina General Assembly rebuffed both black candidates for judgeships Wednesday. "There should be diversity on the bench," said Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, who joined the protest. About a third of South Carolina's residents are black, but blacks hold just six of the state's 141 judicial seats, including one of 52 Family Court judgeships. Of the six black judges, two are women. "The General Assembly missed out on a great opportunity to help remedy that disparity" by electing a second black Family Court judge as well as a black administrative law judge, Govan said. Govan spearheaded the press last year for diversity in judgeships during his term as chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. "Last year, there were a lot of promises by the legislative leadership about increasing diversity on the bench and looking at the whole process by which we elect judges," Govan said. "But surprise, surprise, that turned into more or less lip service, and we have what we have, which leaves minorities locked out of the process. "There's no reason, in these days and times, for that to be," he said. "We feel those candidates were well qualified for the positions for which they ran. We've never advocated underqualified individuals." Race isn't the only concern, the Orangeburg Democrat said. Increasing diversity also means electing more women — both of the black candidates are women — as well as more residents of rural areas. "All of the judges should not come from metropolitan areas" or from a particular area of the state, Govan said. [more]