Kevin's Legal Career

My name is Kevin Brackett and I serve as your Solicitor.  I started my professional career right after passing the Bar exam in 1991 when I was hired on as an assistant solicitor in York County to prosecute narcotics cases.  In 1993 I was tasked by newly elected Solicitor Tommy Pope with the prosecution of violent crimes and with working to reduce the staggering 10,000 case backlog that the circuit was laboring under.

By May of 1995 the backlog had been reduced down to under 3,000 with the average age of case coming down from well over two years old to less than six months.  That month Tommy appointed me as his Chief Deputy Solicitor.

Over the next eleven years I worked with Tommy on some of the most high profile cases in the circuit including the prosecutions of Susan Smith, Mar-Reece Hughes, James Robertson and Wesley Shafer. 

During this same time Tommy and I were able to implement a number of novel and innovative programs in the circuit including the case management method known as Differentiated Case Management (DCM) which is now being implemented statewide due to it’s effectiveness.  In addition to DCM , I oversaw our transition to a “paperless” file system which has improved efficiency, managerial oversight and records retention.

In 1998 I was recognized as the Ernest F. Hollings Prosecutor of the Year, only the second prosecutor in South Carolina to be awarded this honor.  In 2001 I was asked by then Senator Strom Thurmond to come to Washington and address the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on a pending bill that affected death penalty prosecution in the United States.  In addition, I am frequently called on to lecture to prosecutors from across the country for both the National College of District Attorneys and various state prosecution organizations.  Locally I have volunteered for numerous causes including serving on the Board of Directors for both the Boys Home of York County and the Sexual Assault Resource Center. 

In 2006 upon the retirement of Solicitor Pope Governor Mark Sanford appointed me to replace him after I received the recommendation of Tommy, Sheriff Bruce Bryant and every Chief of Police in York County.  The office reputation for innovation and industry has continued unchanged since I took over as Solicitor:  I have established a Worthless Check Unit to help local businesses, helped establish the first Victim Impact Panel in the 16^th Circuit, donated confiscated drug money to help restore neighborhoods suffering with high crime, initiated an anti-crime campaign to warn the Charlotte criminal community of the dangers of doing business here and donated digital cameras to every patrol officer in the circuit to enable them to better document their investigations.

As proud as I am of these accomplishments I consider the finest moments in my career to have occurred in the courtroom. In my nearly seventeen years as a prosecutor I have handled cases ranging from shoplifting to capital murder. I have been the voice for children who have been victimized by predators and families who have lost loved ones to violent crime. I have helped victims of theft and domestic violence. I have dedicated my entire legal career to making  York and Union safe and I am asking for your support to help me continue this important work.  Please vote for Kevin Brackett for Solicitor on November 4^th and consider signing up to help me spread the word. 

Kevin lives in Fort Mill with his wife Susan and daughter Molly. Though he was born overseas in a military family and traveled extensively as a child his roots are in York County and go back over 100 years. His great-great grandfather was the Chief of Police in Fort Mill in the early part of the 20th century and his great grandfather retired from the Rock Hill Police Department after a long career as a police officer. Kevin returned to York after graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1991 and has served the citizens of the 16th Circuit as a prosecutor for as long as he has been a lawyer.