Anderson/Oconee 10th Circuit Solicitor Micah Black

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

1. What do you see as the top priority of the solicitor’s office?

The top priority at the Solicitors Office is to aggressively prosecute criminals and target repeat offenders who continue to wreak havoc in our community. I will prioritize fighting for victims to give them their day in court and working shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement to make our community safe. The Solicitors Office must work closely with law enforcement to ensure our communities’ safety by standing proudly with law enforcement in the courtroom because they are the ones out on the streets putting their life on the line for us. The Solicitors Office and law enforcement must be teammates, working together, to make sure that repeat and violent criminals are prosecuted aggressively so they no longer terrorize our community.

Communication must be improved within the Solicitors Office. Communication between the Solicitors Office and law enforcement agencies within the 10th Circuit must improve and will be a priority for me on day 1. The Solicitor’s Office must be in constant communication with law enforcement to identify those people that are repeatedly causing issues in our community, so that those individuals are aggressively prosecuted.

2. What are the key challenges facing the solicitor’s office in the near future?

As drugs, including methamphetamine and fentanyl, continue to pour in through the open border, dealing with the volume of these cases and the amount of drugs in our community will continue to be something that we will have to work with law enforcement to aggressively prosecute and try to combat here in our local community.

Violent crime, primarily shootings within our cities involving young people affiliated with gangs, continues to occur at an elevated level. I foresee gun violence especially among our youth, to continue to be a problem. Gun violence will be something that law enforcement and the Solicitors Office will have to work together in order to combat. We will have to aggressively prosecute those individuals that commit these violent crimes to make our cities a safe place to live.

Human Trafficking and other sex related crimes is another area that we will see more of in coming years. Interstate 85 runs directly through both Anderson and Oconee Counties connecting Atlanta to Charlotte. That interstate is a major thoroughfare for organized crime including human trafficking. As more awareness about human trafficking is imparted to the general population, we hope to see more arrests made to those individuals that take part in this horrible criminal enterprise.

Finally, obtaining and retaining good employees and good aggressive prosecutors to work within the office is something that will have to be addressed. I am looking forward to working with county councils in both Anderson and Oconee, so that we can be an attractive destination for prosecutors and support staff to live and work.

3. How would you work with other county officials to coordinate efforts of the solicitor’s office?

Working shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement is the essence of this position and it is something that I have done for the entirety of my decade long career as a prosecutor. Law enforcement and prosecutors working together to go after violent criminals and repeat offenders is how we make Anderson and Oconee the safest communities in the upstate. It is imperative that the Solicitors Office and law enforcement not only get along but stand as partners so that we can rid these violent and repeat defendants from our community. If law enforcement and prosecutors don’t get along, the community suffers, and that is something that cannot happen and will not happen under my leadership as the chief prosecutor in the 10th Circuit.

I will also work closely with the Anderson and Oconee County Councils to make sure that the office is appropriately funded. It is important to be able to effectively communicate with county officials so that our office can receive the appropriate funds necessary for us to do our job at a high level. Prosecutors are a branch of law enforcement, and it is essential that this aspect of public safety is funded. If we are not fully funded, we cannot do our job in court to prosecute criminals.

4. What personal/professional skills and/or experience make you the best candidate for this office?

I was born and raised in Iva, South Carolina on a farm. I am one of 4 children to my parents Don and Libby Black. I attended Anderson Christian School as a kid and graduated high school from the Anderson Home School Association. I graduated from Presbyterian College where I played baseball for the Blue Hose and earned a degree in History and Political Science. I then obtained my law degree from Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Virginia. I returned home after graduating from law school and after passing the bar exam and began working immediately as a prosecutor. I have been a prosecutor for over 10 years, working in the 8th Judicial Circuit (Greenwood, Abbeville, Laurens, and Newberry Counties). I have not only handled, but I have tried in front of a jury every type of case that comes through a solicitor’s office. I have tried Murders, Attempted Murders, Armed Robberies, Burglaries, Child Sex crimes, Adult Sex Crimes, DUI’s involving Death, Property Crimes, Drug Trafficking, Domestic Violence, Assault and Battery, and Arson cases. I am the only candidate in the race who has not only handled every type of case that state prosecutors deal with daily, but I have also tried to jury verdict every single one of these cases. In addition, I have managed the Abbeville Office in the 8th Circuit Solicitors Office as Deputy Solicitor. I have the necessary trial experience, and the management experience that uniquely qualifies me for this position.

5. Why do you think you would be the most effective solicitor among those running for this position?

I come from an office that puts a premium on trying cases to verdict and getting tough sentences. That is the attitude of our office in the 8th Judicial Circuit and the attitude that I plan to bring to the 10th Circuit for Anderson and Oconee Counties. I have handled and tried every type of case that state prosecutors deal with on a daily basis and I have lead our Abbeville office since 2017 and serve as Deputy Solicitor.

Too often it seems defendants are getting off with a slap on the wrist and not being held accountable for the crimes they have committed. Law Enforcement here in the 10th Circuit stressed this to me repeatedly when I was considering running for this position, and they have continued to emphasize this throughout the campaign. I sense their deep frustration with the current state of affairs.

I, however, have a track record for working closely with law enforcement and standing with victims to obtain tough sentences that fit the crime. That is why I am the Law-and-Order candidate and why Sheriff Chad McBride is endorsing me to become next Solicitor for Anderson and Oconee. I plan to lead by example in the courtroom. We will try cases and get tough sentences that fit the crime, so that our community can be a safer place to live.