Amy McCulloch
Richland County Probate Judge
BreJudge Amy McCulloch grew up in Columbia, South Carolina graduating from Dreher High School in 1983 and the University of South Carolina in 1987. She graduated from the University of South Carolina, School of Law in 1990 and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar the same year.
She clerked for Judge Tom Ervin, Circuit Court Judge, and Judge William Catoe, Federal Magistrate. She was an Assistant Solicitor for Richland County from 1991 through 1996. She was in private practice with her husband, Joe McCulloch from 1996 to 1998. She was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina, College of Criminal Justice and Midlands Technical College, Paralegal Program.
She was elected as the Richland County Probate Judge in November of 1998 and was sworn in in January 1999. This is her 26th year as Probate Judge.
In 2003, she, with the assistance of many others in the community, began the Adult Mental Health Court to divert those in need from incarceration to treatment. This year the Court is 21 years old.
She served as President of the South Carolina Association of Probate Judges from October 2003 through 2004. She served on the South Carolina Bar Vulnerable Adult Task Force; the National Center for State Courts Expert Panel that developed a judicial response protocol to address abuse, neglect, and exploitation in guardianship cases in 2018-2019, and the Task Force to Strengthen the Health and Promote the Environment of South Carolina (SHaPE SC). She has been an instructor for the South Carolina Court Administration, Mandatory School for new Probate Judges, and the South Carolina Bar Bridge the Gap mandatory sessions for new lawyers.
She serves on the South Carolina Suicide Prevention Coalition that developed the South Carolina strategy for suicide prevention for 2018-2025. She is a member of the South Carolina Association of Counties, serving on the Legislative Committee. She will begin serving as the President of the National College of Probate Judges in November 2024. She serves on the Board of the Midlands Technical College Legal Division and is the Chair of the Probate Judges’ Advisory Committee for South Carolina Court Administration.