ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - He was the first African-American to serve as South Carolina's chief justice, and she was the first woman.

The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg reports that on Saturday, Jean Toal remembered her friend Ernest Finney Jr. as "brilliant, strategic and wonderfully persuasive."

The memorial service for Finney was held Saturday at the Elmore Chapel at Claflin University in Orangeburg. The 86-year-old Finney died Dec. 3.

Toal succeeded Finney on the state Supreme Court. The two were acquainted since her college days, when she was among white students who held voter registration drives with black students.

Finney was elected to the S.C. 3rd Circuit Court judgeship in July 1976. Nine years later, he was appointed to the state Supreme Court, then became chief justice. He retired in March 2000.

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Information from: The Times & Democrat, http://www.timesanddemocrat.com

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