Knox McMahon — SC judge, prosecutor and police officer — dies at 76

Knox McMahon, whose half-century in the law enforcement and judicial systems included stints as a police officer, a deputy sheriff, a prosecutor and a state judge, died Monday, Aug. 5. He was 76.

As a judge, McMahon presided over high profile criminal cases and was integral in making sure a years-long probe into corruption in the S.C. General Assembly stayed on a robust track.

In that case in 2017, McMahon ruled against defense lawyers who were trying to quash key evidence gathered by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents during a search of the offices of the late Richard Quinn. McMahon said the evidence could be used in the ongoing corruption investigation.

“It was a crucial part of the investigation,” recalled special prosecutor David Pascoe on Wednesday. “I was very glad we had Judge McMahon as a judge. He ruled our search was lawful.”

McMahon’s ruling allowed Pascoe to use the evidence, which contained records showing that Quinn had made payments over the years to influential lawmakers such as former state Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Richland, and former state Sen. John Courson, R-Richland. As a result, Harrison stood trial, was found guilty of misconduct and perjury and was sentenced to prison. Courson resigned his seat in the Senate and eventually pleaded guilty to misconduct in office. He was given probation.

Pascoe, a Democrat who is the 1st Circuit Solicitor, had been named a special prosecutor in the case by Attorney General Alan Wilson.

Quinn, who died earlier this year, ran a company, Richard Quinn & Associates, that for years was the state’s most prominent and influential public relations and political advice company, with numerous clients on the federal, state and local levels, including lawmakers.

McMahon was known for his plain way of talking. His pronouncements from the bench could include legal citations as well as quotes from a pop singer. During one court hearing in 2017, he told lawyers to get to the point by paraphrasing a line from an Alicia Keys song, “Don’t make me read between the lines, go straight to the chase.”

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott recalled McMahon fondly. “I knew Knox as a police officer, a prosecutor and as a judge. Every step of the way, he was the ultimate best. He was fair, but he was law and order.”

Jack Swerling, a veteran Columbia defense attorney, battled with McMahon in numerous cases, including a dozen murder cases, when McMahon was a prosecutor.

Despite being opponents, Swerling said, they had a good relationship, so good that Swerling testified on McMahon’s behalf before the Judicial Merit Selection Commission when McMahon was making the leap from prosecutor and private attorney to judge in 2006.

“Our courtroom experiences didn’t affect our friendship,” said Swerling. “He was smart, a great tactician, always one step ahead. We always dealt with each other above board. There were never any sucker punches or anything like that.

“When I testified for him, some other defense lawyers were opposing him. But I just felt he’d be a good judge, and he was,” Swerling said.

Barney Giese, former 5th Circuit solicitor in Richland County, hired McMahon from the Lexington-based 11th Circuit Solicitor’s office where he had been working as a deputy solicitor. In 1995, Giese made McMahon senior prosecutor.

“Knox was not only a great trial attorney, he was more than that — he was a teacher. He taught young assistant solicitors how to prosecute cases,” Giese said this week. “I always looked at Knox as a teacher and a friend.”

McMahon was born Dec. 15, 1947, in Columbia, attended grade school at St. Joseph’s Catholic School and graduated from Cardinal Newman High School in 1966, according to an obituary by the Caughman-Harman Funeral Home in Lexington.

His first job in law enforcement was as a City of Columbia police officer in 1970, where his father worked. He was then a deputy with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1975 and from the USC School of Law in 1978.

Over the years, McMahon worked as municipal judge, private attorney and a detective captain at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, investigating violent crimes, the obituary said. He retired from being a judge in 2018 and resumed being a lawyer.

In 2016, McMahon told a 19-year-old defendant, Maurice Miller, who had pleaded guilty to murder in the killing of a man during a daylight armed robbery, “I look at murder as stealing a life. It is the worst crime that can be committed.”

Miller is now serving a 40-year sentence in state prison and won’t be released until 2055 at the earliest, according to prison records.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Old Lexington County Courthouse at 139 E. Main St., Lexington, with visitation to follow.

This story was originally published August 8, 2024 at 11:45 AM.