So far in 2007, 144 traffic tickets had been issued for drunk driving in Orangeburg County by the South Carolina Highway Patrol. A yearly average is about 225, officials say.

Thanks to a bill passed earlier this year by the South Carolina legislature, a prosecutor has been brought on board to assist the Highway Patrol when it comes time for court.

"The Highway Patrol has been real interested in getting some help in prosecuting the cases," First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said. "A defendant comes in with a lawyer, and the Highway Patrol doesn't have a prosecutor."

A bill went before the state legislature in early 2007, Pascoe said, proposing funding for a DUI prosecutor in each circuit across the state. Pascoe said when the bill was approved in June, he began his recruitment of Virgin Johnson, an Orangeburg criminal defense attorney.

"When I realized we were going to have a DUI grant, Virgin was the first name that popped in my mind," Pascoe said. "You're not going to find a better guy than Virgin Johnson."

The husband of South Carolina State athletic director Charlene Johnson, the 53-year-old attorney brings 19 years of legal experience to the prosecutor's table.

A 1988 graduate of the University of South Carolina law school and a 1976 graduate of Benedict College, Johnson said he's anxious to start the new phase of his legal career.

"It's Solicitor Pascoe's fairness that I admire," Johnson said. "One thing he told me was about following the law. It's easy to follow a man like that."

Currently and prior to the grant's approval, an SCHP trooper would be facing a defense attorney in the courtroom to decide the fate of a DUI case. Now, that trooper will have a legal expert to assist in the prosecution of these type of cases in magistrate's court.

As South Carolina moves closer to what officials fear may be a record year of fatalities, keeping troopers on the road is becoming a priority.

"We give the case jacket to the prosecutors, they handle the motions, and it frees us up," SCHP 1st Sgt. Richard Taylor said. "That's going to be a tremendous asset to us. It's attorneys dealing with attorneys."

Johnson is scheduled to officially come on board Oct. 1. The time between now and then will be spent seeing prior obligations to their conclusions. Johnson said it would be unethical to carry on his defense practice while serving as an assistant solicitor.

The decision apparently wasn't an easy one for the defense attorney and pastor of a non-denominational Fairfax church, but one he reached this week after about a month of consideration.

"I'm more natural at prosecution than I am defending," Johnson said. "There's a lot of good, qualified people (for the job). I've just been blessed."

Pascoe said his team will gain from Johnson's experience as a defense attorney.

"It's absolutely a benefit to have someone who's defended criminal cases and now he's prosecuting them," Pascoe said.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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