Official Press Release from the Solicitor's Office below:
A veteran Upstate prosecutor has received statewide recognition for his efforts to prosecute drunk drivers.
Seventh Judicial Circuit Assistant Solicitor Spenser Smith is the recipient of the 2019 Barry Barnette Award for Excellence in DUI Prosecution.
Steven Burritt, executive director of the South Carolina Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, presented the award earlier this month.
The presentation of the MADD-sponsored award was originally scheduled for a statewide law enforcement luncheon in March.
Smith was cited for his courtroom work, his willingness to answer legal questions at all hours of the day, his willingness to help local Highway Patrol Troopers with their training needs and his willingness to mentor less experienced colleagues.
“I love Spenser’s enthusiasm for his work,” Burritt said. “He is an excellent communicator who is attentive to detail. He understands the nuances of a complicated law.
“Spenser’s approach to his work reminds me a lot of the passion that Solicitor Barnette has carried for years in his DUI prosecutorial work.” Burritt added. “Spenser could not have picked a better person to model his career after.”
Smith joined the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office in the fall of 2014 as a DUI prosecutor in Magistrate and General Sessions courts. The Wofford College and University of South Carolina Law graduate accumulated numerous trial wins and guilty pleas before a promotion to a violent crime and felony DUI caseload. Smith’s current caseload includes multiple cases where people have been critically injured or killed by suspected drunk drivers.
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