0001 1 JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION 2 COMMITTEE 3 4 EVALUATION OF CANDIDATES 5 BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS 6 7 VOLUME II 8 PUBLIC HEARINGS ON JUDICIAL QUALIFICATIONS 9 10 11 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2008 12 THIRD FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM, STATE HOUSE 13 COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA 14 15 COMMENCING AT 3:36 P.M. 16 17 18 REPORTED BY: SHERI L. BYERS, REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL REPORTER 19 20 21 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - COMPUSCRIPTS, INC. 22 A Full-Service Court Reporting Agency Post Office Box 7172 23 Columbia, South Carolina 29202 803-988-0086 24 1-888-988-0086 25 www.compuscriptsinc.com 0002 1 MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: 2 REPRESENTATIVE F.G. DELLENEY, JR., CHAIRMAN 3 SENATOR GLENN F. MCCONNELL, VICE CHAIRMAN 4 SENATOR ROBERT FORD 5 PROFESSOR JOHN P. FREEMAN 6 JOHN DAVIS HARRELL 7 SENATOR JOHN M. "JAKE" KNOTTS, JR. 8 AMY JOHNSON MCLESTER 9 REPRESENTATIVE ALAN D. CLEMMONS 10 REPRESENTATIVE DAVID J. MACK, III 11 12 COUNSEL PRESENT: 13 JANE O. SHULER, CHIEF COUNSEL 14 BRADLEY S. WRIGHT 15 PATRICK G. DENNIS 16 BONNIE B. GOLDSMITH 17 ANDREW T. FIFFICK, IV 18 J.J. GENTRY 19 E. KATHERINE WELLS 20 PAULA BENSON 21 22 23 (INDEX AT REAR OF TRANSCRIPT) 24 25 0003 1 REP. DELLENEY: We have before us this 2 afternoon Mr. James E. Chellis, who seeks a position on 3 the Circuit Court, First Judicial Circuit, seat number 4 1. 5 Do you solemnly swear to tell the whole truth 6 and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 7 MR. CHELLIS: I do. 8 REP. DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit Selection 9 Commission has thoroughly investigated your 10 qualification for service on the bench. Our inquiry is 11 focused primarily on nine evaluative criteria which 12 have included a survey of the bench and bar, a thorough 13 study of your application material, verification of 14 your compliance with state laws, a search of any 15 newspaper articles in which your name may appear, a 16 study of any previous screenings and a check for 17 economic conflicts of interest. 18 We have received no affidavits in opposition 19 to your candidacy or election, and there are no 20 witnesses here to testify. 21 Do you have a brief opening statement you 22 would like to make? 23 MR. CHELLIS: Very briefly. Senator -- 24 Representative Delleney, I would like to thank each and 25 every member of the committee for their service in this 0004 1 endeavor. I am fully aware of the sacrifices you make 2 to serve the public, and I appreciate every bit of the 3 time that you all spend in doing this. 4 REP. DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 5 If you would, answer any questions that our 6 counsel may have for you. 7 MR. FIFFICK: Mr. Chairman and Members of the 8 Commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 9 care of. 10 The personal data questionnaire that you have 11 there, is that the personal data questionnaire that you 12 submitted as part of your application? 13 MR. CHELLIS: It is, and I do have one thing 14 I would like to say about my personal data PDQ. I 15 haven't had an opportunity to introduce you to my wife 16 of 34 years. She is with me today. This is A'delle 17 Chellis. So that it's relevant, she does appear on my 18 PDQ as my wife. But thank you for being here. 19 MR. FIFFICK: Is there any amendment you 20 would like to make to your PDQ? 21 MR. CHELLIS: I do have a letter of 22 amendment, a copy of an e-mail that I sent to 23 Ms. Shuler, which is contained here. Item 10, there is 24 an additional CLE that I attended last year that I've 25 not included. It was an evidence CLE, and the title of 0005 1 it was, It's all in the Game: Top Trial Lawyers 2 Tactical Evidence. 3 And then under question number 47, the civic, 4 charitable, educational, social and fraternal 5 organizations. I have included some comments 6 concerning the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Last 7 year, this issue was raised in my hearing. 8 REP. DELLENEY: It won't be a problem this 9 year. 10 MR. CHELLIS: All right. That one, Funco and 11 the Dorchester Book Club. Three groups. 12 MR. FIFFICK: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 13 would ask that Mr. Chellis' personal data questionnaire 14 be made as an exhibit to the hearing record. 15 REP. DELLENEY: It will be done at this point 16 in the transcript without objection. 17 (EXHIBIT 1, Personal Data Questionnaire of 18 James E. Chellis, admitted.) 19 MR. FIFFICK: Mr. Chellis also provided a 20 sworn statement to the detailed answers to those 30 21 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 22 qualifications. Also, that statement was provided to 23 all commission members earlier and is included in your 24 notebooks. 25 I have no concerns with the statement and 0006 1 with the commission's approval, I would ask these 2 questions be waived at this public hearing today. 3 And you have a copy of the sworn statement? 4 MR. CHELLIS: Yes, sir. 5 MR. FIFFICK: And is that the sworn statement 6 you submitted as part of your application? 7 MR. CHELLIS: Yes, sir. 8 MR. FIFFICK: Is there any amendment you 9 would like to make to that statement? 10 MR. CHELLIS: No. sir. 11 MR. FIFFICK: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 12 would ask that Mr. Chellis' sworn statement be entered 13 as an exhibit into the hearing record. 14 REP. DELLENEY: Without objection, it will be 15 entered into the record at this point in the 16 transcript. 17 (EXHIBIT 2, Sworn Statement of James E. 18 Chellis, admitted.) 19 MR. FIFFICK: As one final procedural matter, 20 I note for the record that based on the testimony 21 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been 22 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 23 Mr. Chellis meets the statutory requirements for this 24 position regarding his age, residence and years of 25 practice. 0007 1 BY MR. FIFFICK: 2 Q. Mr. Chellis, why do you now want to serve as 3 a Circuit Court judge? 4 A. Well, I practiced law now for 31 years, and I 5 think I need to take the accumulation of knowledge and 6 experience that I've gained over those 31 years and 7 apply it in the form of public service. I think my 8 best opportunity and best means of doing that would be 9 through serving on the bench. That's why I'm here. 10 Q. Although you address this in your sworn 11 affidavit, could you please tell the members of the 12 commission what you think the appropriate demeanor is 13 for a judge? 14 A. Well, I think patience is one attribute that 15 is important. The demeanor of courtesy, being courtesy 16 to all parties before the court litigants as well as 17 attorneys that are before the court. And there's also 18 the important attribute of being courteous to people 19 that are part of the jury panel, for instance. Being 20 able to relate to people so that they can understand 21 the importance of what they're there for, making the 22 face of the law in South Carolina a friendly face. A 23 face that shows concern and impartiality. And I think 24 that's the type of attributes that I think present -- 25 that are attributes that I have. 0008 1 Q. And when you leave the bench, what would you 2 like your legacy to be as a judge in the Circuit Court? 3 A. A great question. 4 I would like people to say about me that I -- 5 that I stood for justice, for righteousness, the right 6 things. That I was kind and that I walked in the way 7 of the Lord. 8 Q. What suggestions would you offer for 9 improving the backlog of cases on the docket in Circuit 10 Court for the common pleas and for general sessions? 11 A. Well, members of the legislature might not 12 like to hear this, but I think one thing we could do is 13 increase the number of judges that we have. We do have 14 three new judgeships that have been approved but not 15 funded, and I think that needs to be an item that needs 16 to be taken up and addressed. So I think more judges 17 would be an important factor that we need to consider. 18 The criminal courts have undertaken in 19 certain areas of the state this differentiating case 20 management systems that we have seen in many of the 21 solicitors. I think you could graph that onto the 22 civil side of the court system as well. 23 Differentiating case management systems seem to be 24 working pretty well from what I've read about that. 25 And in the civil arena, it would be helpful 0009 1 to -- I think you could almost do this. I mean, the 2 motion sheet is already set up to where you check off 3 the type of case that you're filing, and I think 4 certain cases could be differentiated as relatively 5 simple cases and can be streamlined going through the 6 system rather quickly. Other cases may be more complex 7 and require more time for them to evolve and develop. 8 One of the biggest problems that I've seen as 9 a trial lawyer in the civil arena has been the lack of 10 ability to procure -- easily procure scheduling orders. 11 You have to file a motion for a scheduling order and 12 then before that, you try to work it out with the other 13 party. It's very difficult to get that worked out 14 sometimes. So what I would recommend we try to do is 15 make it mandated that you have a scheduling order in 16 place that would force people to come together in terms 17 of trying to determine when this case can be ready for 18 trial. 19 So early in my career, I happened to be 20 associated with a case down in Florida. They had a 21 similar situation or similar manner in which they file 22 cases down there, and you literally had to say when 23 your discovery -- it's just very much like the federal 24 rule -- when your discovery would be completed, when 25 your experts would be named and when their opinions 0010 1 would be ready for review by the adverse party. And 2 you were required mediation across the entire state. I 3 think we could do that in this state as well. Require 4 mediation across the state rather than being simply a 5 voluntary matter that you undertake. That would be a 6 big help. 7 Now, let me backtrack just a little bit about 8 something. I think, Professor Freeman, you may 9 appreciate this, you may not appreciate this. But one 10 of the biggest problems we have in the judicial system 11 is the hourly rate. Lawyers who work on the hourly 12 rate have no motivation to complete their cases in a 13 very timely manner, so you get stuck if you're a 14 plaintiff's lawyer representing a plaintiff, you have 15 somebody who is representing a defendant and is on an 16 hourly rate, there's very little incentive for that 17 person on the hourly rate to push that case forward and 18 get it over and done with quickly. 19 I say that partly in jest. I understand that 20 would be very difficult to do, but it does bring up the 21 issue and the economics of lawsuits. You may notice 22 that in my PDQ, I haven't tried a lot of cases in the 23 last five years. That's because I work very hard with 24 my clients for them to understand what the cost of 25 litigation is. And I'd like to see -- I don't know if 0011 1 they do this in law school or not, but it may be an 2 appropriate type of required course in the economics of 3 the lawsuit. Not only the cost of the lawsuit in terms 4 of dollars and cents, the cost of time of the 5 litigants, and also there's another very important 6 factor and that's the psychological cost of clients and 7 litigants that are faced with litigation. 8 So maybe if people were more -- lawyers were 9 more cognizant of what those costs were, there would be 10 fewer cases brought into the system and we would have a 11 less -- less of a problem in terms of the number of 12 cases that were there. 13 So I really try hard to keep my clients out 14 of court. I work hard to make sure they understand the 15 cost that it's going to take in order to pursue it. 16 Q. Mr. Chellis, your performance on the test 17 administered by the commission, your performance was 18 below expectations, and your PDQ indicates that you 19 have not been involved in any jury trials in the past 20 five years. 21 Based on your legal experience and practice 22 thus far, are there any areas that you feel that you 23 would need to additionally prepare for and how would 24 you go about handling that additional preparation? 25 A. May I make a comment about the test itself? 0012 1 First of all, let everybody know, I don't 2 take tests very well. One of those things I don't do. 3 So I'm not a bit surprised that I have trouble with it. 4 But at any rate, I work very hard and that's where I 5 make up the difference. 6 You know, I go to church but I don't sing in 7 the choir is one way of looking at it. So I may not be 8 a perfect test-taker, but I work hard and I really 9 generally know what I'm involved in when I try a case 10 or involved with a lawsuit. 11 The weaknesses in my resume in terms of 12 presentation for a judicial position would be no 13 question in my mind the lack of criminal experience in 14 the last 25 or so years of my career. I just haven't 15 done a lot of it. Part of that is because in 16 Dorchester County we created a Public Defender 17 Corporation. I happen to be the lawyer who really 18 kicked that off. I formed the corporation and got it 19 started in Dorchester County. So that's another thing 20 about my PDQ. A lot of my civic work was done early in 21 my career, and so that was the type of thing I did. 22 Because of the Public Defender Corporation, 23 we didn't get appointed to cases and consequently I 24 wasn't involved in criminal work. It just wasn't my 25 thing, if you will. I didn't particularly like it. I 0013 1 don't particularly like having to deal with persons 2 charged with crimes. 3 Now, on the other hand, as a judge, I 4 wouldn't have a problem judging that, but I didn't want 5 to make a career of it, defending people. 6 Q. Mr. Chellis, you appeared before the 7 Commission on Lawyer Conduct earlier this morning to 8 answer formal charges filed by the Office of 9 Disciplinary Counsel. The disciplinary counsel charges 10 you with violating Canon 5 of the Code of Judicial 11 Conduct which prohibits judges and judicial candidates 12 from engaging in inappropriate political activity. 13 The charges stem from an anonymous complaint 14 in the fall of 2007, you violated Canon 5 by endorsing 15 a candidate for the House of Representatives after 16 applying to be seated as Circuit Court judge for 17 at-large seat 13. 18 This morning, after hearing arguments and 19 considering evidence from both sides, the commission on 20 lawyer conduct found that you were indeed a candidate 21 as defined in Rule 501 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. 22 The commission will be issuing you a letter of caution 23 for violating Canon 5 by publicly endorsing a candidate 24 for public office while you were a candidate for the 25 Circuit Court. 0014 1 The commission has yet to rule on the issue 2 of assessing the cost for the procedure. 3 Would you like to comment on the commission's 4 decision and/or the hearing this morning, earlier 5 today? 6 A. Yes, I would. First of all, I thought the 7 hearing was an interesting process. Never had to go 8 through that before. But at any rate, it's important 9 for the committee to understand that the hearing panel 10 found -- they found that I -- that for purposes of Rule 11 501, that I was a candidate but that my conduct was 12 minor misconduct and they would recommend a letter of 13 caution without a sanction, which is important for 14 those of you who are nonlawyers. Not having a sanction 15 against you is important because you don't have to 16 report nonsanctions to malpractice carriers or other 17 folks. It really is not a matter on your record in 18 terms of misconduct. 19 So I guess the important point is that my 20 lawyer and I felt strongly that you're not a candidate 21 under the Rules of Professional -- of Judicial Conduct 22 until you're nominated out of the committee and are 23 hence subject to being elected. 24 Rule 501, the particular section that I was 25 charged with says that "a judge or candidate for 0015 1 election shall not publicly endorse a candidate." And 2 so our argument was essentially, first of all, I was 3 not a candidate under the definition of candidate under 4 the Rules of Judicial Conduct; but secondly, the issue 5 of not being a candidate for election because I'm not a 6 candidate for election until I would be nominated out 7 by this commission to be before the General Assembly. 8 But at any rate, I guess the important thing 9 is minor misconduct, letter of caution, no sanction. 10 Q. Thank you, Mr. Chellis. 11 Some housekeeping issues for us to deal with. 12 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 13 legislator prior to this day? 14 A. No. 15 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 16 conditional pledge of support from any legislator 17 pending the outcome of your screening? 18 A. No. 19 Q. Have you asked any third party to contact 20 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 21 A. No. 22 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 23 commission? 24 A. No. 25 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 0016 1 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 2 after the formal release of the commission's report? 3 A. Yes. 4 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guideline 5 on pledging? 6 A. Yes. 7 Q. And as a follow up, are you aware of the 8 penalties for violating the pledging rules, and that 9 is, it is a misdemeanor and upon conviction, a violator 10 must be fined no more than $1,000 and imprisoned for 11 not more than 90 days? 12 A. I understand that. 13 Q. Thank you. 14 I would also note that the Lowcountry 15 Citizens Committee reported the following regarding 16 Mr. Chellis. 17 As to constitutional qualifications: 18 Mr. Chellis meets the constitutional qualifications for 19 the judicial position he seeks. 20 As to ethical fitness: Persons interviewed 21 by the committee indicated that Mr. Chellis is 22 considered ethical. 23 As to professional and academic ability: The 24 committee gave Mr. Chellis a good rating in this area. 25 As to character: The committee reported that 0017 1 Mr. Chellis' character is unquestionable. 2 As to reputation: Mr. Chellis enjoys a good 3 reputation in the community and among his peers; 4 however, the committee took note of the fact that there 5 is an outstanding Office of Disciplinary Counsel 6 proceeding pending against him, which Mr. Chellis 7 voluntarily disclosed in his application materials, and 8 questions were raised concerning the status of that 9 investigation. 10 As to physical and mental health: There is 11 evidence that Mr. Chellis is physically and mentally 12 capable of performing the duties required of a Circuit 13 Court judge. 14 As to experience: The committee recognizes 15 Mr. Chellis' good legal experience mainly is in the 16 civil area. 17 As to the judicial temperament: The 18 committee gave Mr. Chellis a good rating in this 19 category. 20 I would note for the record that any concerns 21 raised during the investigation regarding the candidate 22 were incorporated in the questioning of the candidate 23 today. 24 Mr. Chairman, I have no more question. 25 REP. DELLENEY: Members of the Commission? 0018 1 Senator Ford. 2 SEN. FORD: Just one question. 3 BY SEN. FORD: 4 Q. Mr. Chellis, why didn't you seek our support 5 prior to this meeting? 6 A. Your support for? 7 Q. To become a judge. 8 A. What was involved? 9 Q. But I thought you said you wasn't a candidate 10 until we let you out. 11 A. Well, the rule reads that you're a candidate 12 for screening or words to that effect. 13 Q. So that don't apply to you endorsing a 14 candidate? 15 A. No, sir. Admittedly, we had to split some 16 hairs. But my thinking was that as a candidate before 17 the commission is not the same thing as a candidate for 18 election. But the 48-hour rule applies to parties 19 before the screening commission as well as candidates 20 for election. 21 BY PROF. FREEMAN: 22 Q. Here's a problem that I have with splitting 23 hairs, though, James, and we go way back. And I think 24 the world of you but I've got a problem with the logic 25 here. And that is that you must apply and submit your 0019 1 application material before the general election in the 2 fall, right? Because your material has to be in 3 September, doesn't it? 4 A. Yes, sir. 5 Q. Okay. During that hiatus, let's assume 6 you're a multimillionaire. You could put newspaper ads 7 up for every incumbent in the legislature and give, 8 between you and your wife, each of them -- every 9 incumbent in the legislature thousands of dollars 10 before we even screen here because you're not a 11 candidate, right? 12 A. Yes, sir, that's right. 13 Q. If you had the money, you could do that, 14 under your logic. You see why that might be a problem 15 or why some of us might think that that's a problem? 16 A. Yes, sir. 17 PROF. FREEMAN: That's all. 18 REP. DELLENEY: Any other questions? 19 Senator from Lexington. 20 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 21 Q. I notice you said a while ago that the 22 question on the Sons of Confederate Veterans was a 23 problem last time. Is that why you did not renew your 24 membership this time? 25 A. Yes, sir. 0020 1 Q. You didn't have a problem with the Sons of 2 Confederate Veterans, you just felt like it was going 3 to create you a problem? 4 A. Well, actually I asked what -- 5 Professor Freeman brought this up in the prior hearing. 6 The question was whether or not that discriminates 7 based on race, sex, national origin. And I found out 8 that only male descendents of confederate veterans can 9 be members of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. 10 And for that reason, it would be an institution which 11 discriminates lawyers. And so I thought it would be 12 inappropriate to renew my membership because of that 13 basis, and I want to be a judge. 14 BY SEN. FORD: 15 Q. The blacks, you know, ain't no such thing as 16 a Black Son of Confederate Veterans? Why do you figure 17 that was discrimination? 18 A. Because it's male -- it discriminates based 19 on sex. 20 Q. But back then there was no women fighting in 21 the infantry or combat. That's not discrimination. 22 SEN. KNOTTS: You've got Daughters of 23 Confederate Veterans, also. That's for the females. 24 SEN. FORD: That's not the same thing. 25 That's not discrimination. 0021 1 MR. CHELLIS: Let's just take it off the 2 table if it doesn't have to be a part of my future in 3 terms of membership. 4 SEN. FORD: Yeah, but I would prefer you 5 fight for your rights for something like that. I mean, 6 if your descendents was confederate veterans and you 7 want to be a part of their sons, I cannot see you 8 giving up that easy. My leader didn't. 9 MR. CHELLIS: The rule is that judges can't 10 be members of organizations which discriminate on sex, 11 and this would be an organization that would 12 discriminate based on the sex of the members. 13 PROF. FREEMAN: So are the Boy Scouts or the 14 Girl Scouts. 15 SEN. FORD: And I've seen three scouts this 16 morning. 17 SEN. KNOTTS: Eagle scouts. 18 SEN. FORD: I think you owe it to your 19 organization to fight for it. 20 MR. CHELLIS: Well taken. 21 SEN. MCCONNELL: Any other questions? 22 All right. Then that concludes this stage of 23 the screening process. We leave the record open until 24 such time as 48 hours has passed from the unofficial 25 report. 0022 1 During that time, we can recall you for 2 additional questions, not to indicate there's anything 3 outstanding, that is the policy of this commission, 4 always to thoroughly look at everything, even up to the 5 last minute. 6 That having been said, we, of course, remind 7 you of the 48-hour rule. We ask you also to not 8 discuss the questions that we've asked you today with 9 the other candidates so that they are sitting on an 10 equal footing with you when they are sitting in that 11 chair. 12 Lastly, we want to thank you for your 13 cooperation with our staff on getting all the material 14 together and your willingness to serve the people of 15 South Carolina. With that, that concludes this stage 16 of the hearing, and you're free to leave. 17 Thank you, sir. 18 MR. CHELLIS: Thank you. 19 (Mr. Chellis exits the room.) 20 SEN. FORD: Do we have proxies? 21 SEN. MCCONNELL: I've got a proxy over here. 22 MS. SHULER: I think rather than vote at the 23 end of this race, let's wait. 24 SEN. MCCONNELL: We'll get back and stop and 25 discuss -- 0023 1 MS. SHULER: Let's proceed to the next race. 2 SEN. MCCONNELL: Which one will that be, tab 3 what? 4 MS. SHULER: Tab 11, Mr. Able. And Paula 5 Benson is the screening attorney. 6 (Mr. Bryan Able enters the room.) 7 SEN. MCCONNELL: All right. We'll go back on 8 the record at this point. 9 And we have before us Mr. Bryan Able, who is 10 a candidate for the Circuit Court for the Eighth 11 Judicial Circuit, seat number 2. 12 MR. ABLE: Yes, sir. 13 SEN. MCCONNELL: Do you have anybody here 14 today you wish to introduce before I swear you in? 15 MR. ABLE: My wife, Toni. 16 SEN. MCCONNELL: We're delighted to have you 17 with us. 18 MRS. ABLE: Thank you. 19 SEN. MCCONNELL: If you would be so kind as 20 to raise your right hand. 21 Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole 22 truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 23 MR. ABLE: Yes, sir. 24 SEN. MCCONNELL: Thank you. 25 The Judicial Merit Selection has thoroughly 0024 1 investigated your qualifications for the bench. Our 2 inquiry is focused on nine evaluative criteria and it 3 has included a survey of the bench and the bar, a 4 thorough study of your application materials, 5 verification of your compliance with state ethics laws, 6 a search of newspaper articles in which your name 7 appears, a study of previous screenings and a check for 8 economic conflicts of interest. 9 We have received no affidavits filed in 10 opposition to your election. No witnesses are present 11 to testify. 12 I would ask you if you have any brief opening 13 statement you wish to give us before I turn you over to 14 counsel, Ms. Benson, who will have some questions for 15 you. Once she is finished with her questions, members 16 of the commission may have some questions and then 17 we'll do a quick wrap-up. The opening statement is 18 completely optional with you. 19 MR. ABLE: No, sir. I have no opening 20 statement. 21 SEN. MCCONNELL: All right, sir. 22 Please answer Ms. Benson's questions. 23 MR. ABLE: Yes, sir. Thank you. 24 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman and Members of the 25 Commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 0025 1 care of. 2 Mr. Able, you have given us your personal 3 data questionnaire, and I believe we have a document of 4 that produced for you. 5 Do you have any corrections or changes that 6 you would make to that document? 7 MR. ABLE: No, ma'am, other than some minor 8 spelling errors. 9 MS. BENSON: Mr. Able and I went over some 10 things, but I have been informed that those will be 11 fine. 12 MR. ABLE: The one thing I think that you and 13 I talked about previously, in question number 34, "Have 14 you ever been sued either personally or 15 professionally?" I had included a couple of things on 16 my confidential financial statement net worth as far as 17 my general information. 18 When I answered question number 34 on the 19 personal data questionnaire asking "Have you ever been 20 sued," I took that to mean in the past tense, have I 21 ever been sued, were these lawsuits that were resolved? 22 And then over at the general information, 23 "Are you a defendant in any suits or legal actions?" 24 and I took that to mean are there any ongoing legal 25 actions where you're named here. And that's where I 0026 1 listed two things on the financial information sheet 2 that I didn't list on the personal data questionnaire. 3 Now, I would like to point out, however, that 4 of all these things, the majority of them are where 5 I've been named as a personal representative for an 6 estate so that a lawsuit could proceed against that 7 estate. I've never been sued individually or 8 personally where anyone had sued me or my law firm 9 except on one occasion, which was 34(a), Ronald Savage 10 versus Rhett Burney, Turner & Able Law Firm, Bryan Able 11 and Michael Turner. And that suit involved Mr. Burney, 12 one of my past partners, had represented Mr. Ronald 13 Savage in a magistrate's court case. 14 Mr. Burney, as a matter of fact, got a 15 judgment for $5,000 in favor of Mr. Savage, and then 16 Mr. Savage sued my law firm and the partners 17 individually because Mr. Burney couldn't collect that 18 judgment. He thought that since we couldn't collect 19 the judgment against the defendant in this case, that 20 he could sue us and try to get that money. 21 So that matter was dismissed pursuant to a 22 12(B)(6) motion. The judge threw it out at the 23 magistrate court level, and he abandoned his appeal. 24 But the other, I think, three or -- four or 25 five that are listed are simply where I was either a 0027 1 judgment creditor against someone or I was named as a 2 personal representative of the estate for purposes to 3 allow that plaintiff to sue the estate. So it was 4 nothing individually. Nobody had ever alleged 5 negligence or anything on my part. 6 But that would be the only correction I would 7 make to the personal data questionnaire, is that I 8 answer that question over here and did include those 9 over here. 10 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman and Members of the 11 Commission, the question came up as I was going over 12 materials and because Mr. Able had listed these 13 additional pending matters on his confidential 14 statement, I had not asked him to make any amendment to 15 his personal data questionnaire. 16 At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would like to 17 ask that Mr. Able's personal data questionnaire be 18 entered as an exhibit into the hearing record. 19 SEN. MCCONNELL: All right. Is there any 20 objection? 21 Hearing none, the personal data questionnaire 22 and any sworn statements will be entered into the 23 record at this time. 24 (EXHIBIT 3, Personal Data Questionnaire of 25 Bryan C. Able, admitted.) 0028 1 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman, in addition, 2 Mr. Able has provided a sworn statement with detailed 3 answers to over 30 questions regarding judicial 4 conduct, statutory qualifications, office 5 administration and temperament. That statement was 6 provided to all commission members earlier and is 7 included in your notebooks. 8 I have no concerns with the statement and 9 with the commission's approval, I would ask that those 10 questions be waived at the public hearing today. 11 SEN. MCCONNELL: All right. Is there any 12 objection? 13 Hearing none, the sworn statement and any 14 amendment will be entered into the record at this time. 15 (EXHIBIT 4, Sworn Statement of Bryan C. Able, 16 admitted.) 17 MS. BENSON: And Mr. Able, you had no 18 amendment? 19 MR. ABLE: No, ma'am. 20 MS. BENSON: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 21 would like to ask that the sworn statement be included, 22 and I think you have done that. 23 SEN. MCCONNELL: Yes, I have. 24 MS. BENSON: Thank you. 25 There is only one procedural matter. I would 0029 1 note for the record that based on the testimony 2 contained in the candidate's PDQ, that has been 3 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 4 that Bryan C. Able meets the statutory requirements for 5 this position regarding age, residence and years of 6 practice. 7 BY MS. BENSON: 8 Q. Mr. Able, you served as a contract attorney 9 for DSS -- 10 A. Yes, ma'am. 11 Q. -- an assistant public defender, and you've 12 have been in private practice as well. Could you 13 please describe your practice to the commission and 14 explain why you now want to serve on the Circuit Court? 15 A. The practice I have right now is a sole 16 practice. I had practiced for 14 years in a law firm 17 which started out as Culbertson, Whitesides & Turner, 18 when I started practicing law in 1997. Four years 19 after that, I became a partner and it was Culbertson, 20 Whitesides, Turner & Able. 21 Pretty much it was a general practice, 22 primarily a lot of family court. In the area that I'm 23 from, Laurens County, we're a rather rural county and a 24 lot of what comes in our door is family court 25 litigation. 0030 1 Now, that doesn't mean I haven't practiced in 2 other areas. A lot of what I do is family court 3 related, however, I do civil litigation. I have always 4 done that, have always practiced in the Court of 5 General Sessions as well. And that practice continues 6 to this day. I practiced in -- I don't think I've ever 7 argued a case in the Supreme Court. I know I haven't. 8 I have argued a case before the Court of Appeals, then 9 in the Court of Common Pleas, Court of General 10 Sessions, of course family court, probate court. So I 11 think I present a well-rounded experience, legal 12 experience to take to the bench with me. 13 I believe the experience I do have will help 14 me when elected to the bench, if elected to the bench. 15 I did serve for a number of years -- I think it was 12 16 or 13 years as a contract attorney for the Department 17 of Social Services. And what I did for them, I still 18 had a private practice but I contracted with them to 19 handle all their abuse and neglect cases. Started that 20 in Laurens County. I went from Laurens County and they 21 contracted with me for Laurens, Greenwood and 22 Abbeville, and then I wound up a few years later doing 23 the whole Eighth Circuit. I was doing Laurens, 24 Greenwood, Abbeville and Newberry County. 25 And basically what I did for the Department 0031 1 of Social Services was handle all of their court 2 matters involving alleged abuse and neglect cases, 3 trying those cases in the family court. And I have to 4 say that was -- it was a heavy case load. Some 5 mornings I would go pick up my case files, and I 6 wouldn't be back in the office that day because I would 7 be in two or three counties in one morning or during 8 the day, be in a couple of counties that morning, a 9 couple of counties that afternoon. 10 But it was a lot of trial experience. 11 Although it wasn't before a jury, I still appeared 12 before many, many judges and in every courtroom, family 13 courtroom in the circuit and tried a tremendous number 14 of cases. 15 For a couple of years, I had contracted with 16 Mr. Claude Howe, who is the public defender in Laurens 17 County. He had mentioned to me that he needed some 18 help with the public defender's office, and I 19 contracted with him for about two years just to help 20 him out, handle some cases. Tried some cases, handled 21 a tremendous number of cases. Of course, a lot of the 22 cases, as in any court, are settled, enter a guilty 23 plea. I tried some cases -- not -- I'm not going to 24 say I was in trial a lot, but tried some cases, but 25 most of them were guilty pleas. 0032 1 But the second part of your question, why I 2 want to be a judge, that's the hardest question I've 3 been asked since I've involved myself in this process. 4 Several people have asked, "Why do you want to be a 5 judge?" 6 Well, I think it goes back to the same thing 7 when we first go to law school and people say, "Well, 8 why do you want to be a lawyer?" 9 Well, you don't know what it's like to be a 10 lawyer until you are a lawyer, and you don't know what 11 it's like to be a judge until you are a judge. 12 As basic as it may sound, the reason I want 13 to be a judge is because I think I can do a good job. 14 I think I can help. It's not for me personally. To 15 have an honorable or judge in front of my name, that 16 doesn't interest me. But the interest I have is doing 17 a job and doing it well, and that's the way I've always 18 tried to practice law. 19 As I mentioned a moment ago, I believe I 20 would bring to the bench 21 years of experience in all 21 the courts in this state. Like I said, a lot of it 22 being family court law. And somebody might look and 23 say, "Why did you practice a lot in Family Court? How 24 does that translate to common pleas and general 25 sessions?" 0033 1 Well, as I mentioned, I've practiced in both 2 of those courts for 21 years, but it's still basically 3 the rules of evidence are the same in all the courts. 4 Basically the rules of procedure are the same in all 5 the courts, and I would be able to bring that 6 experience, not just from the family court but from the 7 other courts and bring that to the bench as well. 8 So in short, to answer your question, why do 9 I want to be a judge? I think I can do it. I think I 10 can do a good job. 11 Q. How would you prepare yourself for the 12 experiences that you have not had in the courtroom 13 already that you would face as a Circuit Court judge? 14 A. Well, you never stop learning. I mean, 15 that's the thing about being a lawyer. I've got a 16 trial next week. I've got a trial that starts Monday, 17 a case involving allegations of criminal sexual 18 conduct. The case involving -- or an indictment for a 19 lewd act with a minor. And in preparing for those -- 20 I've handled cases like that before, but in preparing 21 for those, you still prepare, I do, as if it's your 22 first case. And you always try to learn as much as you 23 can about whatever the case might be. 24 In preparing for this trial next week, I've 25 learned more about it than I had about those particular 0034 1 types of cases and read about them, cases that have 2 been handed down since then. 3 So I don't think you ever stop learning to 4 help prepare myself for whatever particular case might 5 come before me if elected to the bench, don't stop 6 learning. Continue to read, try to prepare yourself as 7 much as you can. Read whatever you can. Of course, 8 the advance sheets come out every week, read those 9 advance sheets and continue -- I don't see becoming a 10 judge as the end of the road. I see it as just the 11 beginning. I would have to continue to learn and apply 12 what you learned to what you have before you on the 13 bench. 14 Q. Mr. Able, you have described that you have 15 been a member of several different law firms. How 16 would you handle cases that came before you as a judge 17 if members of a former law firm -- 18 A. Now, of the partners that I've had, it's 19 really only been four. Paul Culbertson, who has now 20 passed. Mr. Culbertson died about four years ago. 21 Robert Whitesides, who when I last spoke with him, he 22 is semiretired. And he's not doing a lot of trial work 23 anyway. So the only two ex-partners that I have that 24 are actively practicing are Mike Turner and Rhett 25 Burney. I consider both of them to be friends of mine. 0035 1 I'm not going to sit here and say, you know, I cut all 2 ties with these people when I ended our partnership or 3 when our partnership dissolved. 4 Rhett Burney is a very, very good friend of 5 mine. As a matter of fact, he and I, in September, 6 took a trip to New York so that he could go to Yankee 7 Stadium before they closed it down. But those would be 8 the only two that I would see where any possible 9 conflict would arise. 10 Of course, again, being in a small rural 11 county, you're going have those conflicts where 12 Mr. Turner or Mr. Burney would appear in front of me. 13 If it were something that I believed could be handled 14 relatively simply, I would handle -- I would handle any 15 possible conflict the same way. If it were Mike or 16 Rhett appearing before me, I would, of course, inform 17 both sides that there could be a possible conflict or 18 an appearance of a conflict. I would ask them to 19 decide among themselves if they considered the 20 conflict, of course, outside of my presence. If 21 anybody did raise it as a possible conflict, I would 22 recuse myself. 23 I would feel more comfortable deciding it on 24 a case-by-case basis, of course. If you have something 25 where they come in before you, it's a relatively simple 0036 1 matter where they have entered into an agreement, I 2 don't think that would be a problem. 3 I would still, for the record, indicate that 4 Mr. Burney or Mr. Turner had been a prior law partner, 5 however, the parties had asked that I accept this 6 agreement and I would put it on the record. However, 7 if anybody at any time raised a question about those 8 two, again, looking at it on a case-by-case basis, an 9 emergency, whatever it might be. But if somebody 10 raised it as a problem, then I would probably most 11 likely recuse myself. 12 Q. Mr. Able, you have addressed this in your 13 sworn affidavit, but could you briefly tell the members 14 of the commission what you think the appropriate 15 demeanor is for a judge. 16 A. I believe a judge is just part of the system. 17 I believe a judge should be humble, a judge should be 18 patient. Most importantly, I think a judge should 19 realize that he's just part of this big system. His 20 job, I don't view a judge's job as any more important 21 or superior than anybody else's because everybody in 22 the courtroom has a job to do and without everybody 23 there, we're not going to be able to move it forward. 24 So first of all, I think a judge needs to 25 realize although he's the one who is moving things 0037 1 forward, of course, he's leading it, he's moving it 2 forward, I think he has to view his job with some 3 humility and say it's a team effort. We need to move 4 it -- this docket forward, we need to move this case 5 forward, whatever it might be. But look at it as I'm 6 here to do a job with people and not work against 7 people. 8 As I said, I think a judge should be humble, 9 and I think a judge should be patient. The thing you 10 have to remember about a trial judge, especially in 11 these type cases, a lot of people are going to appear 12 and they're not going to have attorneys with them. I 13 don't believe they should be hurried. I think 14 everybody should have an opportunity to express 15 themselves fully and then make a decision. I think 16 patience is a great virtue in a courtroom. Keeping in 17 mind, however, you are the person moving things 18 forward. 19 I don't think a judge at any time should 20 display any anger, no matter who the person is before 21 you in a criminal case, no matter what the crime, I 22 don't think it's the judge's place to display anger. 23 He has to remember he's sitting there as a symbol of 24 the state. And although he might be angry, it's not 25 his job to express that anger. He's there to 0038 1 adjudicate the case and do so impartially and move 2 forward from there. 3 Q. When you leave the bench, what is it you 4 would like your legacy to be as a judge on the Circuit 5 Court bench? 6 A. That's a hard question. I've been practicing 7 law 21 years, and I would like pretty much my legacy 8 after I were to leave the bench, if elected to the 9 bench, to be the same as it is when I'm a lawyer. That 10 he's a good man and he's fair and he listens to people 11 and then he makes a decision. 12 The work is important. Just as being a 13 lawyer, I believe my work as a lawyer is important. I 14 would want people after I leave the bench to say he was 15 a good judge. He was a fair judge. He was an 16 impartial judge, and he made decisions not based upon 17 anything but the law. 18 Q. What suggestions would you offer for 19 improving the backlog of cases in the Circuit Court for 20 the common pleas or general sessions? 21 A. It's just a lot of downtime in court, 22 especially in common pleas, general sessions court. 23 One thing I would like to see done, and, of course, 24 you're going back to when we first started speaking 25 about why do you want to be a judge, well, you have to 0039 1 get there and see what you can do as a judge. 2 One thing I would like to see done to 3 hopefully alleviate some of the backlog and especially 4 in general sessions court -- excuse me, I think things 5 could start a little bit earlier and end a later and 6 take shorter lunch breaks. I mean, I'm used to getting 7 to my office at 8:00 in the morning, between 7:30 and 8 8:00 in the morning. And that's the way I was taught 9 to practice law. When I came to work with Paul 10 Culbertson, you were at work -- he wanted you there by 11 8:00. 12 And Paul Culbertson, when I first took the 13 job with Mr. Culbertson, I didn't realize they worked 14 all day Saturday, too. This was in '87. Well, I 15 didn't want to work all day Saturday, so I came in at 16 8:00 and left at 1:00 on Saturday. And they thought 17 that was just terrible that I would leave at 1:00 on a 18 Saturday afternoon. 19 But I think court could start earlier. I 20 don't like to show up at court at 9:00 and then have 21 things get cranked up at 10:30 or 11:00. Whether it's 22 the judge's decision, whether it's the solicitor's 23 decision, whatever it might be, I think things could 24 start earlier. 25 I don't like to see two-hour lunch breaks. 0040 1 There's no sense in that. I mean, an hour, hour and 15 2 minutes for lunch, that's enough, especially in Laurens 3 or some of the bigger places to go get a sandwich and 4 come back. I usually bring my lunch to my office. 5 Even though I live only two miles from my office, I 6 usually bring my lunch and eat at my office. 7 And then I don't like to see court end at 8 4:00, 4:30 and 5:00. I think you can work a little bit 9 past. But my question there always is you have to take 10 into consideration the other people in the courtroom, 11 the court reporter, what they might have to do or 12 whatever it might be. But I think that's the biggest 13 consideration right now about the backlog is starting 14 court early on Monday, working hard all week and 15 working Friday afternoons, too. They don't work a lot 16 on Friday afternoons. 17 PROF. FREEMAN: Has somebody been leaking 18 information to you? 19 SEN. KNOTTS: Has somebody been talking to 20 you? 21 MR. ABLE: I'm sorry, am I repeating 22 somebody's answer? 23 SEN. FORD: No, that's all the stuff he 24 likes. 25 MR. ABLE: I'm just being honest. 0041 1 SEN. FORD: Are you -- where is the Eighth? 2 The Eighth Circuit, where is that? 3 MR. ABLE: Laurens, Greenwood, Newberry and 4 Anderson. 5 SEN. FORD: You need to come to Charleston, 6 man. 7 MR. ABLE: No, we have full dockets. Don't 8 get me wrong. I ran for solicitor four years ago in 9 hopes of cleaning up these dockets. Mr. Peace won it 10 and more power to him. I'm happy he won. 11 SEN. FORD: Nobody briefed you on -- 12 MR. ABLE: No, sir. I haven't talked to 13 anyone. I've been standing out in the hall for four 14 hours. 15 SEN. FORD: Have you been listening? 16 MR. ABLE: No, sir. I went and ate lunch 17 with my wife and just been standing in the hallway. 18 SEN. FORD: You're not interested in moving 19 to Charleston? 20 MR. ABLE: No. You'd have to pay me a lot 21 more money to come to Charleston. 22 SEN. FORD: What about an at-large seat? 23 MR. ABLE: An at-large seat would be fine. I 24 like Laurens. I like home. 25 SEN. FORD: Why don't you pull your 0042 1 application and run for at-large seat? We could use 2 you in Charleston. 3 SEN. KNOTTS: If you could see what all the 4 other people see when they go to court. 5 SEN. FORD: You need to write a book or 6 something. You need to talk to your colleagues. 7 MR. ABLE: It's true. I don't like to waste 8 time. And I mean, if I -- 9 SEN. FORD: Are you an eagle scout, too? 10 MR. ABLE: Sir? 11 SEN. FORD: Eagle scout. 12 MR. ABLE: I am an eagle scout. I'm an eagle 13 scout. 14 SEN. FORD: I know he had to have something 15 going for him. 16 MR. ABLE: But I think that's the biggest 17 thing is it's just a colossal -- sometimes a colossal 18 waste of my time and everybody's time. 19 SEN. FORD: We like you, man. We like you. 20 MR. ABLE: Well, I appreciate that. I 21 appreciate that, Senator. 22 And as a judge, I think you have to realize 23 that as a Circuit Court judge. Of course, in general 24 sessions, the solicitor controls that docket. And I've 25 often said if I were ever elected judge, the solicitor 0043 1 might control the docket, but I control that courtroom. 2 And I will tell the solicitor -- I would ask the 3 solicitor, you have something for me to do at 9:00 in 4 the morning, this is my courtroom. It might be your 5 docket, but we can find something. We've got 2,000 6 cases on the docket in Laurens County. They ought to 7 be able to find something to do. 8 SEN. FORD: You want to know how many we got 9 in Charleston? 10 MR. ABLE: I'm sure it's a lot more. 11 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman, I have a few more 12 housekeeping issues. 13 REP. DELLENEY: Go ahead. 14 BY MS. BENSON: 15 Q. Mr. Able, have you sought or received the 16 pledge of any legislator prior to this date? 17 A. I have spoken to no one. No, ma'am. 18 Q. Have you sought or been offered a conditional 19 pledge of support by any legislator? 20 A. No, ma'am. 21 Q. Have you asked any third party to contact 22 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 23 A. No, ma'am. 24 Q. And have you contacted any members of the 25 commission? 0044 1 A. No, ma'am. 2 Q. Do you understand that you're prohibited from 3 seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours after the 4 formal release of the commission's report? 5 A. Yes, ma'am, I understand that. 6 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 7 on pledging? 8 A. Yes, ma'am, I have. 9 Q. As a follow up, are you aware of the 10 penalties for violating the pledging rules, that is, it 11 is a misdemeanor and upon conviction, the violator must 12 be fined not more than $1,000 and imprisoned not more 13 than 90 days? 14 A. I read that, yes, ma'am. 15 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman, I'd note that the 16 Piedmont Citizens Committee reported the following 17 regarding Mr. Able. "We find Mr. Bryan C. Able to be 18 qualified. 80 percent of his practice deals with 19 domestic cases. He says he wants to see the Circuit 20 Court start earlier and work a full day and get things 21 done. We say amen to that." 22 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 23 REP. DELLENEY: Any members of the commission 24 have any further questions? 25 SEN. KNOTTS: Amen. 0045 1 SEN. MCCONNELL: There being no further 2 questions, Mr. Able, we would like to thank you for 3 appearing before us today. 4 MR. ABLE: Thank you. 5 SEN. MCCONNELL: Again, I would remind you 6 about the 48-hour rule and the report -- the draft 7 report and 48-hour rule expires from the report of this 8 committee and that's final. However, before that time, 9 if we were so moved to have to call you back and 10 examine you further in a public hearing, we could do 11 that up until the time that report matures into the 12 final report. 13 With that, I would like to thank you and your 14 wife for coming here with you today and hope you have a 15 safe trip back upstate. 16 MR. ABLE: I got to go uptown, and I've got 17 an expert witness I should have met with about 25 18 minutes ago on my trial next week. But I appreciate 19 you all having us. I really do. I enjoyed it. Thank 20 you. Thank you very much. 21 SEN. MCCONNELL: Thank you, sir. You all 22 have a good afternoon. 23 (Mr. Able exits the room.) 24 (Off the record.) 25 (Judge Addy enters the room.) 0046 1 REP. DELLENEY: We have before us today the 2 Honorable Frank R. Addy, Jr., who is now a probate 3 judge and seeks a position on the Circuit Court for the 4 Eighth Judicial Circuit, seat number 2. 5 At this time, Judge, if you would, raise your 6 right hand and be sworn. 7 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 8 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 9 JUDGE ADDY: I do. 10 REP. DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 11 Do you have someone with you today? 12 JUDGE ADDY: I do. This is my wife Kelly. 13 She was kind enough to join me. 14 MRS. ADDY: Hi, nice to meet you. 15 REP. DELLENEY: We're glad she could be with 16 you today. 17 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 18 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for service 19 on the bench. Our inquiry has focused primarily on 20 nine evaluative criteria which have included a survey 21 of the bench and bar, a thorough study of your 22 application, verification of state ethics laws, a study 23 of -- a search of any newspaper articles in which your 24 name may have appeared, a study of any previous 25 screenings and a check for economic conflicts of 0047 1 interest. 2 No one has filed any affidavit in opposition 3 of your candidacy or election, and there are no 4 witnesses here to testify today. 5 Do you have a brief opening statement you 6 would like to make? 7 JUDGE ADDY: No. I understand you're running 8 behind. I thank you for being here. 9 REP. DELLENEY: We appreciate that. If you 10 would, answer any questions our able counsel may have. 11 MS. SHULER: Mr. Chairman, Members of the 12 Commission, there are a few procedural matters to take 13 care of. 14 Judge Addy, there is a document in front of 15 you, the personal data questionnaire. Do you have 16 any amendments that you would like to make to that 17 document? 18 JUDGE ADDY: Yes, ma'am, I do. I have for 19 the PDQ, I have two letters per your request. I would 20 like to amend question 13. There was a typo as to the 21 date I was submitted to practice law. It should 22 reflect 1993. 23 MS. SHULER: Yes, sir. 24 JUDGE ADDY: Additional question 14 provides 25 an additional information concerning the time that I 0048 1 served as special referee in Greenwood. And question 2 34 relating to a traffic accident that took place in 3 2003 involving my wife as a defendant. 4 MS. SHULER: At this time, I would ask that 5 Judge Addy's personal data questionnaire and his 6 amendments be entered as an exhibit into the hearing 7 record. 8 REP. DELLENEY: Without objection, it will be 9 done at this point in the transcript. 10 (EXHIBIT 5, Personal Data Questionnaire of 11 Frank R. Addy, Jr., admitted.) 12 MS. SHULER: Judge Addy also provided sworn 13 statement of detailed answers to over 30 questions 14 regarding judicial conduct, statutory qualifications, 15 office administration and temperament. That statement 16 was provided to all commission members earlier and is 17 included in your notebooks. 18 I have no concerns with his statement. With 19 the commission's approval, I would ask those questions 20 be waived at the public hearing today. 21 (EXHIBIT 6, Sworn Statement of Frank R. Addy, 22 Jr., admitted.) 23 Judge Addy, you have before you your sworn 24 statement that you filed as part of your application 25 process. Do you have any amendments to that statement? 0049 1 JUDGE ADDY: Simply question 26 relating to 2 expenditures. And expenditures as of November 26 now 3 total $266.70, mostly for postage. 4 MS. SHULER: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 5 would ask that Judge Addy's sworn statement and the 6 amendment be entered into the hearing record as an 7 exhibit. 8 REP. DELLENEY: Without objection, Mr. Addy's 9 sworn statement and amendment will be added to the 10 record at this point in the transcript. 11 MS. SHULER: One final procedure matter. I 12 note for the record that based on the testimony in the 13 candidate's PDQ, which has been included in the record 14 with the candidate's consent, Judge Addy meets the 15 statutory requirements for this position regarding age, 16 residence and years of practice. 17 BY MS. SHULER: 18 Q. Judge Addy, after serving for nine years as a 19 probate judge and after being admitted to the 20 South Carolina Bar for 15 years, why do you now want to 21 serve as a Circuit Court judge? 22 A. I appreciate that question. 23 Probably the first question of my sworn 24 statement might be the best answer to that. I 25 understand certainly you all may not have had time to 0050 1 review that, but in the last two years I've been 2 filling in for a circuit judge in Greenville who was 3 sick for a substantial period of time and quite 4 honestly I enjoyed it. I enjoyed that work. 5 And I've held pretty much every position a 6 person can hold in Circuit Court, the assistant 7 solicitor, attorney for private party, public defender, 8 defense attorney privately retained. But the last two 9 years when I was doing the work that I was doing on the 10 circuit bench, I truly enjoyed that. And that is the 11 reason that I am running for this position. 12 I think you do a good job if you're engaged 13 in something that you enjoy. It's a pleasure if you 14 find it challenging, if you find it rewarding. That's 15 not to say I don't find my current position rewarding, 16 I really do. There are great aspects of what I'm doing 17 right now that I find very rewarding and very 18 fulfilling. But I do feel that this is a natural 19 progression of where I want to go. 20 Q. Are there any additional areas that you would 21 need to prepare for on the Circuit Court bench, and if 22 so, what additional preparation would you undertake? 23 A. I believe that probably the area that I need 24 to prepare for the most is simply the question of the 25 docket and the civil backlog docket that we have in 0051 1 some of the counties in the Eighth Circuit and 2 certainly throughout the state. Getting a handle on 3 that, getting a handle on the process or procedure to 4 try and clear that backlog. 5 Certainly I've managed a docket for the last 6 ten years, my own docket with my own court. Obviously 7 there are legitimate reasons for some backlogs. There 8 are legitimate reasons that it could take a case longer 9 to resolve than other cases. Ideally, I think that if 10 you look at the docket and if you know what kind of 11 cases you have pending, you've got a good knowledge of 12 the docket. And this is something I learned when I 13 worked as a deputy solicitor, you can absolutely move a 14 docket if you have a good idea of what cases you have 15 pending. And that is an area probably that I would 16 need to really just delve into and try and get a idea 17 of what is pending, what needs to be moved and how we 18 can develop a process to do that. 19 Q. Thank you, Judge Addy. 20 Although you address this in your sworn 21 affidavit, would you explain to the members of the 22 commission what you believe to be the appropriate 23 demeanor of a judge. 24 A. Certainly patient, thoughtful, knowledgeable 25 about the law. I found a sense of humor helps a great 0052 1 deal because if you find yourself getting angry or 2 getting frustrated, if you're able to step back for a 3 minute and maybe not necessarily actively laugh but at 4 least see the humor in the situation, that's helpful -- 5 that helps you as a judge. 6 Certainly you never get angry. You sometimes 7 have to be firm, but you never get angry. You have to 8 be understanding. And most importantly, I think this 9 is the number one trait for any judge, not only a 10 circuit judge but certainly family, probate, 11 magistrate, I think you have to be an active listener. 12 I think you have to actually hear what people are 13 saying, understand where it is that they're coming 14 from, the emotion that's sometimes behind that. 15 Whether you're listening to a victim, whether you're 16 listening to a defendant, whether you're listening to 17 the plaintiff, defendant, what have you, you have to 18 actively listen and really pay attention. 19 That can be exhausting. That can be very 20 hard to do especially if you're just doing plea after 21 plea after plea, day after day after day for several 22 days, it's very hard to stay that engaged and really 23 try to get to the root of whatever the problem is, 24 whatever the concern is these parties have. I think 25 that's probably the most important trait. 0053 1 Q. Judge Addy, if you're elected to the Circuit 2 Court bench, when you retire, what would you like your 3 legacy to be? 4 A. What would I like my legacy to be? 5 Q. Yes, sir. 6 A. I've had the privilege of working with two 7 really good judges in the past. I grew up literally 8 next door to Jim Moore. His son Travis and I are 9 friends and we have been since we were six. So I 10 understand Justice Moore and I understand his sense of 11 humor and the way he's always presented himself and the 12 way he's run a courtroom, the way he's conducted 13 himself. I would like to be half the man that Justice 14 Moore was, quite honestly. I would be happy with that 15 legacy. 16 Judge Johnson, the gentleman who had this 17 seat, he's the first judge that I ever saw complete a 18 trial, start to finish. It took four days in 19 Abbeville. And it was the first trial I ever saw start 20 to finish, when I was getting -- I think it's called 21 Rule 403s now, we used to call them Rule 5s. But I 22 love the way he conducted himself, very businesslike, 23 very professional, very knowledgeable, kept things 24 moving. Always polite, always courteous. Just a 25 prince of a man, absolute prince of a man. True 0054 1 gentleman. Again, if I could be half the man that he 2 is, I would consider that a successful career. 3 Q. All right. You've already offered a 4 suggestion in terms of a growing edge for you if you 5 were to ascend to the Circuit Court bench. But how 6 would you handle the backlog of cases in the criminal 7 arena? 8 A. That's much more difficult, obviously, for a 9 circuit judge in the criminal arena because the 10 solicitor controls that docket. I do feel that there 11 are opportunities that maybe aren't used as much to try 12 and clear some of that backlog. For example, some 13 judges, I know if they have a common -- if they have a 14 chambers week and they know that the jail is 15 backlogged, it's not that hard to get a court reporter 16 in, to get the solicitor, to get a public defender, get 17 them over there and at least clear a few of those jail 18 pleas that otherwise would have been heard on the next 19 term of general session on Monday. So that's one way. 20 Another way is to simply -- and I've had 21 judges when I was a deputy solicitor in Abbeville, 22 Henry Floyd, for example, he would come in before he 23 rotated into the circuit. He would meet with 24 everybody. He would explain what he expected and the 25 way he wanted to see cases moved and cases run. And he 0055 1 was very helpful and very effective in getting general 2 sessions cases moving. 3 That's one of the reasons we were able to go 4 from a 22-page docket down to a 6-page docket over two 5 years when I took over Abbeville County. You know the 6 inventory. You know what you've got. You've met with 7 the victims. You encourage the solicitor to do that, 8 prepare beforehand. That's probably -- that's the best 9 tool that you can do, make yourself available and just 10 give an expectation of what you expect. 11 Q. Judge Addy, one bench and bar survey was 12 returned in regards to your candidacy, and it raised 13 three issues. One, at times you appear arrogant; two, 14 you may lack humility and understanding of the facts 15 and circumstance; and three, you have not always been 16 diligent in meeting cases as necessary in reference to 17 probate court. 18 What is your response to each of those 19 statements? First, the arrogance statement, second, lack of 20 humility, and the third, the diligence. 21 A. Well, when we had our initial interview and 22 we discussed this, I -- you know, I know this is one 23 survey out of several, I'm sure, that you received, and 24 I'm hoping, perhaps, it's the only one that was 25 reflected negatively on me. 0056 1 Q. It was. 2 A. As far as arrogance, it's hard -- thank you 3 very much. 4 It's a little tricky to disprove a negative, 5 but the way I conduct myself, I do a lot of stuff in my 6 court that would never -- is never going to make the 7 front page of the paper. And when I said a minute ago 8 that what I truly will miss about my job, strange as it 9 may seem, it's dealing with people who are mentally 10 ill. It's dealing with people who are chemically 11 dependent. It's dealing with those people who really 12 have serious problems and trying to help them and 13 trying to give them some kind of direction and put them 14 on a path. 15 One of the most rewarding things about my job 16 is if I'm in a grocery store and somebody walks up to 17 me -- excuse me -- and they say, "Judge Addy, you 18 probably don't remember me, but you saved my life." 19 And I'm like, "You're right, I don't remember 20 you. I'm not sure who you are." 21 They'll introduce themselves, and they'll 22 usually say something like, "Four years ago you 23 insisted I go to rehab. You sent me to rehab, and I 24 didn't want to go and I went kicking and screaming. 25 You even held me in contempt one time and put me in 0057 1 jail for a week because I wasn't doing the aftercare." 2 That's a quiet victory when somebody comes up 3 to you like that. 4 The drug court that I helped establish in 5 Greenwood, those are going to be quiet victories. It's 6 not going to make the front page of the paper. 7 I work with Cub Scouts, and if there's one 8 thing that anyone who's worked with kids knows, if 9 you're working with a group of ten-year-olds, you 10 cannot have an arrogant bone in your body. One of the 11 things I've done with them, this year especially, is 12 they've made up their own rules to the den. And I 13 didn't have any input. I asked them, "Okay, what 14 should the rules be? You need to have some kind of 15 rules that everybody can agree to. You all work on 16 that." 17 And they came up with five very, very good 18 rules. I didn't impose it on them. 19 The lawyers in Greenwood, they still call me 20 Frank. People in the courthouse, they still call me 21 Frank. I don't have a problem with that. 22 So ask anyone who knows me, they'll tell you 23 I'm not arrogant. 24 Q. Let me just return back to the third bench 25 and bar comment. You have not always been diligent in 0058 1 cases as necessary in reference to the probate court. 2 A. As far as probate is concerned, that's a 3 little bit different of an animal. In Greenwood, we're 4 lucky because we have one primary medical provider and 5 that's Self Regional Hospital. It's a charitable 6 hospital. In a lot of the states, if you have someone 7 who has passed away, they have -- it's very often land 8 rich, cash poor. And so you have this widow who often 9 is receiving only Social Security income. The hospital 10 may have a claim against that estate for $60,000. The 11 most that widow can pay is $50 a month. 12 What we often do is we allow that estate to 13 remain open while those payments on that huge bill are 14 being made in small increments. The hospital -- the 15 charitable hospital, it doesn't really mind. So there 16 are a lot of the estates that I do have open where we 17 have payment plans of very, very small amounts of 18 money. 19 The hospital is not asking me to kick the 20 widow out of the house, I'm not going to volunteer to 21 kick the widow out of the house. So that's one reason 22 why some things stay pending in probate court. 23 Another reason, quite honestly, is just its 24 ranking. I had a hearing set for yesterday that was 25 supposed to take several hours in the morning and one 0059 1 of the lawyers for the third time in the last year has 2 been called in -- gotten called in to general sessions 3 court. Case got resolved late yesterday afternoon. 4 I've rescheduled that hearing for Friday. Everybody 5 was available on Friday, so we're going to do that one 6 first thing Friday morning. That has happened on that 7 case. This was the third time it's happened, it's a 8 2005 case, where the litigation just can't get heard 9 because of conflicts and people getting pulled in at 10 the last second. So that's another reason certain 11 cases are old. 12 Q. Thank you, Judge Addy. 13 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 14 legislator prior to this date? 15 A. No, ma'am. 16 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 17 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 18 the outcome of your screening? 19 A. No, ma'am. 20 Q. Have you asked any third party to contact 21 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 22 A. I've had people offer to contact. I've 23 always explained the rule against pledging to them. 24 I'm sure some contacts have been made by certain 25 members of the General Assembly, but I'm quite 0060 1 confident that there would have been no pledging 2 involved. 3 Q. Thank you. 4 Have you contacted any members of the 5 commission? 6 A. Of this commission? 7 Q. Yes, sir. 8 A. I'm certain prior to -- because I know some 9 new members got appointed just last week, and I think 10 perhaps a couple of months ago there were a few new 11 members appointed. I did send out a letter of 12 introduction sometime in late August based upon the old 13 list of the commission members, so it's entirely 14 probable that certain people in this room have received 15 that information. But I believe that any contact I had 16 with them would have been prior to their appointment on 17 this -- on this commission. 18 Q. Thank you, Judge Addy. 19 Do you understand that you're prohibited from 20 seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours after the 21 formal release of the commission's report? 22 A. Yes, ma'am. 23 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 24 on pledging? 25 A. I have. 0061 1 Q. As a follow up, are you aware of the 2 penalties for violating these pledging rules, that is, 3 it is a misdemeanor and upon conviction, the violator 4 must be fined no more than $1,000 and imprisoned not 5 more than 90 days? 6 A. Yes. 7 MS. SHULER: I would note that the Piedmont 8 Citizens Committee reported the following regarding 9 Judge Addy. 10 "We find Frank Addy to be very qualified. He 11 has served as a probate judge in Greenwood County since 12 June of 1999 and has also served as an active Circuit 13 Court judge during 2006 and 2007. He presided over 11 14 terms of Circuit Court by special appointment of the 15 chief justice while the resident Greenwood judge was 16 recovering from cancer. He also has experience 17 presiding over the Eighth Circuit drug court in 2008. 18 "We find Mr. Addy to be a man of high moral 19 character and well regarded in the community." 20 I would just note for the record that any 21 concerns raised during the investigation regarding the 22 candidate were incorporated into the questioning of the 23 candidate. 24 Mr. Chairman, I have no other questions of 25 Judge Addy. 0062 1 REP. DELLENEY: Do any members of the 2 commission have any questions of Judge Addy? 3 Yes, sir, Mr. Ford. 4 SEN. FORD: First, the arrogance comment, 5 that's it? They didn't emphasize? 6 MS. SHULER: No, it was an anonymous survey. 7 It just said he was arrogant. 8 SEN. FORD: How can we get that removed from 9 his record? Because I don't see no arrogance. I see a 10 brilliant young man. 11 REP. DELLENEY: Well, we don't have to put 12 that in the report. 13 BY SEN. FORD: 14 Q. Okay. Now, let's talk about the dockets. 15 Okay. You're the Eight Circuit? 16 A. Yes, sir. 17 Q. What's your counties? 18 A. Greenwood, Laurens, Abbeville and Newberry. 19 Q. Greenwood, Laurens. 20 A. Abbeville. 21 Q. Who else? 22 A. Newberry. 23 SEN. KNOTTS: Next to Lexington. 24 BY SEN. FORD: 25 Q. They have murder cases up there? 0063 1 A. Oh, yes, sir. 2 SEN. KNOTTS: He got one of them off. 3 JUDGE ADDY: Fortunately, he was innocent. 4 BY SEN. FORD: 5 Q. Your dockets went down from 20 pages to 6 6 pages? 7 A. That was in Abbeville, yes, sir, when I was 8 the deputy solicitor over there. 9 Q. Explain how that happened. 10 A. Really, my dad was a jeweler, and this is 11 referenced in my sworn statement. But I worked in that 12 jewelry store since I could walk, either wrapping 13 presents or doing something, until I went off to 14 college. And one thing that my daddy always said is, 15 "You've got to know your inventory in order to move 16 your inventory." 17 If you know what kind of cases, and I came up 18 with a color-coded scheme that I use just for printed 19 docket -- this is before computer and everything. But 20 a green highlight would mean guilty plea. That one is 21 ready to go. A red one would mean definite trial. 22 Blue one meant we're looking at PTI. There were other 23 color codes for like this case has a problem, this 24 case, you know, is a quick trial. And so you could 25 glance at the docket real quick and you could glance at 0064 1 the trial docket. 2 And when you set up the trial docket, what 3 you want to do is you want to lead with the big case, 4 something substantial, just move that because you're 5 not going to be able to set three murder cases for one 6 week in court and expect to move all of those. But you 7 set up a substantial case to begin with then some 8 relatively minor cases. A one-day burglary or 9 something that follows that. 10 Q. Are you familiar with the goings-on in the 11 Ninth Judicial Circuit? 12 A. I'm sorry? 13 Q. Are you familiar with the goings-on in the 14 Ninth Judicial Circuit? 15 A. No, sir. If I may, which circuit is that? 16 Q. It's Charleston. Charleston and Berkeley. 17 A. I don't have any intimate knowledge of what's 18 been happening down there, no, sir. 19 SEN. KNOTTS: He's saying what is happening 20 down there, are you aware of what's happening in 21 Charleston with crime? 22 JUDGE ADDY: Oh, with crime? I don't really 23 follow Charleston as much as certainly my immediate 24 area. 25 BY SEN. FORD: 0065 1 Q. So based on you and the other gentleman, you 2 all don't have -- you all don't have the kind of 3 shenanigans like Charleston, judge shopping or certain 4 lawyers, you all don't have to worry about cases? 5 A. I'm sure we have judge shopping, but I think 6 that's something that you really have to keep an eye 7 on. 8 Q. But you all are able to move your cases? 9 A. I was when I worked with the Solicitor's 10 Office, yes, sir. 11 SEN. KNOTTS: They judge shop. 12 JUDGE ADDY: I wouldn't say that. 13 SEN. FORD: All right. No more questions. 14 REP. DELLENEY: Good. Senator Knotts. 15 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 16 Q. What would be your workday? 17 A. Typically, I take the kids to school in the 18 morning. They got to be there at 8:00. I usually go 19 straight to the office. I'm usually there about 8:30. 20 We have actually gone on a longer workday. 21 The ladies -- 22 Q. I'm talking about if you become judge. 23 A. Okay. 24 Q. I understand what it is now because you have 25 to work to make money. 0066 1 A. Yes, sir. 2 Q. But what would be your workday if you became 3 judge? 4 A. I don't know that it would change a great 5 deal because I put in a great deal of work right now, 6 honestly, Senator. This past Friday I was actually at 7 the office finishing up an order. 8 Q. What is your workday now? 9 A. My workday right now, typically I'll get to 10 the office around 8:15 or 8:30. My ladies start at 11 8:00. They get off at 6:00. I will usually take about 12 an hour for lunch around 1:00, stay until 6:00. 13 Hopefully get most of the stuff wrapped up that I have 14 to absolutely have wrap-up. 15 Q. Do you work on Fridays? 16 A. Yes, sir. 17 Q. To what time? 18 A. Typically -- sometimes I'll get the kids at 19 2:30 because they really and truly like that, 20 especially if I put in some -- and my wife will -- 21 Q. I see -- you said ask anybody anything about 22 you, well, she's shaking her head. 23 A. You can put her under oath, too. I'm sure 24 that would be fine with her. It would be fine with me. 25 I worked this past Friday. I had to get an 0067 1 order out. I wanted to get it out before Monday 2 because it was something that I had heard earlier in 3 the week and I was wanting to get it done. So I worked 4 Friday. 5 Q. What I'm getting at is, you've been in the 6 courtroom a long time. 7 A. Yes, sir. 8 Q. You've seen judges that come to work -- court 9 is supposed to start at 9:00, 8:30 and they show up at 10 10:00, 10:30 and then you're sitting around twiddling 11 your thumbs and trying to wait on a judge and you're 12 getting behind and everything. And they leave on 13 Thursday afternoon because they got something -- go 14 play golf or do something on Friday. 15 A. Right. 16 Q. Do you think that that needs to be changed in 17 the court system? 18 A. I think it has to be changed in the court 19 system. I saw a court reporter yesterday who's a 20 friend of mine who had been assigned to another county, 21 it was a common pleas term, he told me everything had 22 settled and so he was told not to come back until 23 Thursday. I think that's time that could have been 24 used somehow. You could have called the solicitor. 25 You got any pleas? What's your jail situation? Can 0068 1 you move some people out of the jail? 2 You could look at a common pleas nonjury 3 docket -- 4 Q. What would you do in a situation like that if 5 they told you not to come back? 6 A. If the solicitor told me not to come back? 7 Q. Whoever it is that told this judge not to 8 come back until Thursday. 9 PROF. FREEMAN: The court reporter. 10 JUDGE ADDY: It was the court reporter who 11 told me that the judge said that everything had settled 12 and so it would be Thursday before they had anything 13 else. I think the judge, at that point in time, you 14 really have to -- and maybe that docket is in great 15 shape for that county. I don't know what county the 16 court reporter was talking about. 17 But I think you start looking at, okay, if we 18 have nothing jury, let's look at common pleas nonjury. 19 Are there some motions pending? Is there anything we 20 can do to move some jail cases? There's always 21 probably work to be done, if you look hard enough. And 22 if you can't find anything in that county, have your 23 clerk run back to your own county, bring some of the 24 stuff that's pending over there. I would like to 25 believe that there's work to be done. 0069 1 As far as Fridays, those are typically my 2 cleanup days. I try to get as much done for the 3 previous week so that I'm not going into a weekend 4 thinking about it. 5 REP. DELLENEY: Okay. Any other questions of 6 Judge Addy? 7 There being none, again, I would like to 8 remind you of the 48-hour rule. The 48-hour rule 9 simply means that when we issue a report, it's a draft 10 report. It doesn't become the final report of this 11 commission until the 48-hour rule has -- 48 hours have 12 passed. At that point, you are free to get 13 commitments. 14 Up until that time, if we want to reconvene a 15 public hearing, we can do that and bring you back at 16 any time. That's something that's happened only in 17 rare situations and usually involves people getting 18 commitments or suspicions of that. 19 JUDGE ADDY: Yes, sir. 20 REP. DELLENEY: But in any event, I would 21 like to thank you and your wife for appearing before us 22 today and hope you have a safe trip home. 23 JUDGE ADDY: Thank you very much. 24 MRS. ADDY: Thank you. 25 (Judge Addy exits the room.) 0070 1 MS. SHULER: Can I make a comment to all the 2 commission members including the screening attorneys. 3 Can you speak up clearly for the court reporter because 4 we don't have microphones, and she's having a hard time 5 catching some of our comments on the record. And 6 sometimes when there's talking about back and forth 7 between individual members, it's kind of hard for her 8 to pick up because we don't have microphones like we do 9 in a normal hearing room. 10 SEN. MCCONNELL: I had no problem 11 understanding Senator Knotts. 12 REP. DELLENEY: I will point out we're about 13 three hours behind, so if you could be specific in your 14 questioning. 15 (Mr. Griffith enters the room.) 16 REP. DELLENEY: We have before us today 17 Mr. Eugene Griffith who seeks a position on the Eighth 18 Judicial Circuit, seat number 2. 19 If you would please raise your right hand and 20 be sworn. 21 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 22 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 23 MR. GRIFFITH: Yes, sir, I do. 24 REP. DELLENEY: Did you bring anybody with 25 you today? 0071 1 MR. GRIFFITH: This is my wife, Beth. 2 REP. DELLENEY: We're glad to have you with 3 us. Appreciate you being here. 4 MR. GRIFFITH: Thank you. 5 REP. DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit Selection 6 Commission has thoroughly investigated your 7 qualifications for service on the bench. Our inquiry 8 is focused primarily on nine evaluative criteria that 9 includes a survey of the bench and bar, a thorough 10 study of your application materials, verification of 11 your compliance to state ethics laws, a search of any 12 newspaper articles in which your name may have 13 appeared, a study of any previous screenings that you 14 may have been involved in and a check for economic 15 conflicts of interest. 16 There are no affidavits on file in opposition 17 to your candidacy or to your election. There are no 18 witnesses here to testify. 19 Do you have a brief opening statement you 20 would like to make? 21 MR. GRIFFITH: Very briefly, I guess, to 22 hasten the process. It's my pleasure to be here, and 23 it's my humble goal to sit on the bench at the 24 appropriate time. As brief as I can be. 25 REP. DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 0072 1 If you would, answer any question our able 2 counsel might have for you. 3 MR. FIFFICK: Mr. Chairman and members of the 4 commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 5 care of. 6 Do you have a copy of your personal data 7 questionnaire in front of you, Mr. Griffith? 8 MR. GRIFFITH: I do. 9 MR. FIFFICK: Is there any amendments you 10 would like to make to that personal data questionnaire 11 at this time? 12 MR. GRIFFITH: No, there's not. 13 MR. FIFFICK: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 14 would ask that Mr. Griffith's personal data 15 questionnaire be entered in as an exhibit to the 16 hearing record. 17 REP. DELLENEY: It will be done at this point 18 in the transcript, without objection. 19 (EXHIBIT 7, Personal Data Questionnaire of 20 Eugene C. Griffith, Jr., admitted.) 21 MR. FIFFICK: Mr. Griffith also provided a 22 sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 23 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 24 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 25 That statement was provided to all commission members 0073 1 earlier and is included in your notebooks. I have no 2 concerns with the statement and with the commission's 3 approval, I would ask that these questions be waived at 4 the public hearing today. 5 Mr. Griffith, you also have a copy of the 6 sworn statement in front of you; is that correct? 7 MR. GRIFFITH: I see it. 8 MR. FIFFICK: Is there any amendment you 9 would like to make to that statement? 10 MR. GRIFFITH: No, there is none. 11 MR. FIFFICK: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 12 would like to ask that Mr. Griffith's sworn statement 13 be entered as an exhibit into the hearing record. 14 REP. DELLENEY: Without objection, 15 Mr. Griffith's sworn statement will be entered into the 16 record of this transcript. 17 (EXHIBIT 8, Sworn Statement of Eugene C. 18 Griffith, Jr., admitted.) 19 MR. FIFFICK: One final procedural matter. I 20 note for the record that based on the testimony 21 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been 22 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 23 Mr. Griffith meets the statutory requirements for this 24 position regarding age, residence and years of 25 practice. 0074 1 BY MR. FIFFICK: 2 Q. Mr. Griffith, why do you now want to serve as 3 a Circuit Court judge? 4 A. Well, as I said in one of my questionnaires 5 and answers, that when I was a youngster my grandfather 6 was a judge, and I was raised in a house all with 7 lawyers. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, that's just 8 how I was raised. My father was a lawyer. My uncles 9 were lawyers. My grandfather was a sitting judge. And 10 I was kind of raised in a household where granddad was 11 there. 12 In any event, I was grown into a law family, 13 I guess, and went to law school. I met my wife in law 14 school. She's also a lawyer. Her father's an 15 attorney. He's practiced for several years and 16 formerly he served on the circuit bench. He's a 17 sitting judge. And I clerked for Judge Moore, who is 18 just now retired from the Supreme Court, while he was 19 on the circuit bench. I was also a clerk to Jack 20 Gardner from Darlington while he was on the Court of 21 Appeals. 22 I'm going to just say a combination of 23 influences and admiration I had for all of those people 24 and judges has caused me to want to seek the position 25 because I think I can bring to the bench a sense of 0075 1 fairness. And what I want to see in a judge when I 2 appear in court is a judge who listens well. I think 3 I'm a good listener. 4 So I practiced law for more than 18 years now 5 in Newberry as a sole practitioner, and the turnover 6 rate in the Circuit Court is not very rapid and so it's 7 just an appropriate time for me to seek this position. 8 Q. You touched on this just now, although, you 9 addressed it also in your sworn affidavit, could you 10 tell the members of the commission what you think the 11 appropriate demeanor is for a judge. 12 A. I think a judge -- the judges I have always 13 appreciated appearing in front of and the type of 14 demeanor I believe I also possess is one who is very, 15 very patient and a very good listener. Judges who 16 don't listen well, many make poor rulings because they 17 don't listen fully to the arguments of both sides. 18 And I've had the opportunity to appear in 19 front of judges who were good listeners, and it's 20 always a pleasure leaving there, even when they rule 21 against you because you know they heard you. 22 Judges -- I mean, if you practice law, it's 23 easy to pick up when they're not listening to you, and 24 perhaps the argument was not a very good argument. But 25 when the judges don't listen and the ruling goes 0076 1 against your client, it hurts. And I think my 2 personality is one of very -- I describe myself as the 3 laid-back-type person. 4 I'm not certain my wife's ever seen me lose 5 my temper. My mother-in-law tells me she has never 6 seen me lose my temper. And I think that is just my 7 makeup. And so I think that would lend me well and 8 serve me well on the bench as being patient with 9 litigants, with pro se personalities that appear in 10 court from time to time, as the case may be, and would 11 serve me well on the bench. 12 Q. When you leave the bench, what would you like 13 your legacy as a judge to be on the Circuit Court? 14 A. I'd like my legacy to be one that is very 15 typical of my grandfather, is that he was a judge's 16 judge. I'd like that to be said about me. 17 Q. What suggestions could you offer the 18 commission for improving the backlog of cases on the 19 Circuit Court for common pleas and general sessions? 20 A. I think more status conferences and getting 21 the lawyers together more often on the complex cases 22 would improve the backlog in the civil court. The 23 Court of Common Pleas is backed up by -- I don't see 24 very many frivolous cases, but there are some that are 25 probably needlessly filed that could have been resolved 0077 1 by mediation. And perhaps there's a mediation 2 requirement in certain counties. It's not required in 3 Newberry. And I find that some cases that I handle, I 4 do all I can to resolve it before filing suit. That's 5 just the way I handle matters in my office for my 6 clients. I try to do everything short of going to 7 court. 8 I find that some young lawyers are a little 9 quicker to pull the trigger because they see more money 10 if they get in court quicker, and I just don't think 11 that's right. I think more education to the bar as to 12 how to resolve cases outside of the last resort of 13 litigation in a jury trial would help make that backlog 14 perhaps diminish. 15 I think, also, that perhaps on certain cases, 16 numerous cases that are heard by a judge alone, but 17 that would improve the pace on both the Court of Common 18 Pleas and the Court of General Sessions is letting the 19 judge hear the facts. It's a more rapid way to present 20 the case and the judges perhaps could hear it quicker 21 and move the docket along a little faster. 22 Particularly in criminal court these days, 23 if -- I'm going to use Newberry for an example because 24 I'm very familiar with Newberry having acted as a 25 special prosecutor there for the last four years. 0078 1 When the public defender senses that he needs 2 time, he asks for a jury trial on the top three cases 3 we have on the trial roster. And so we have had to 4 reorganize our trial rosters so as to not put him on 5 the top three cases because one jury trial in Newberry 6 having roughly ten weeks of court a year is what 7 Newberry is allotted can back up the entire week. And 8 we move one case when we need to move a hundred. So 9 we've become smarter in dealing with the public 10 defender who carries 65, 70 percent of the case load 11 with private lawyers. 12 And so having the solicitor a little more 13 ready to present the jury trial cases and not allowing 14 the public defender to try to control it with his 15 request for jury trial. So my suggestion may be that 16 certain cases are not allowed -- or have an option for 17 judge only to perhaps hasten the pace of the docket. 18 Q. Regarding your experience as it relates to 19 your candidacy today, can you explain to the commission 20 how you feel your legal and professional experience 21 thus far will help you be an effective Circuit Court 22 judge? 23 A. Well, I'm not certain which answer it was to 24 one of these questions. I don't have the numbers 25 memorized. One of my answers to one of the questions 0079 1 in that regard is in the Court of Common Pleas, which 2 is the civil court, I've handled plaintiff's cases and 3 personal-injury-style cases for people who were 4 wrongful deaths, for injuries, for wrongful 5 terminations and things of that sort. Conversely, 6 because I'm in a small town, I've also been associated 7 by some of the insurance defense firms to handle the 8 exact same thing, wrongful deaths. 9 And so I've sat on both sides of the 10 courtroom in the civil court numerous times. I'm not 11 just a plaintiff's lawyer, but I've also sat as a 12 defense lawyer and understand the different dynamics 13 that those lawyers that handle those cases go through 14 in presenting a case to the jury. So there's a balance 15 there that I think a good judge should understand what 16 the lawyer's faced with when he's handling a case and 17 presenting facts or when a lawyer is defending a case 18 and presenting facts. 19 Consequently, also, going to the Court of 20 General Sessions, I've acted as a criminal defense 21 lawyer for 13 years roughly. I've acted as special 22 prosecutor for the last four years primarily. And so 23 I've sat in both tables in the courtroom in the 24 criminal court. Acted as a prosecutor and had to deal 25 with the parameters and the limitations placed on 0080 1 prosecutors and the evidence they can present and how 2 they handle the informants and the evidence and 3 whatnot. And I've also worked in the defense sector 4 and defended people and gone to the jail and sat there. 5 I just don't think there are very many 6 lawyers out there that have had the opportunity I have 7 by practicing by myself of seeing everything, having to 8 do everything because as a sole practitioner, it's just 9 the way it happens. I took what came in the door that 10 would pay. And so on one occasion it may be this, 11 another occasion it may be that. And that has given me 12 a broad and very wide basis for which my experiences 13 have given me in the courtroom to which I'm seeking 14 this position. I've sat in every table in both 15 courtrooms. 16 Q. Thank you, Mr. Griffith. 17 I have some housekeeping issues to take care 18 of. 19 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 20 legislator prior to this date? 21 A. No, I have not. 22 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 23 conditional pledge of support from any legislator 24 pending the outcome of your screening? 25 A. No, I have not. 0081 1 Q. Have you asked any third party to contact 2 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 3 A. No, I have not. 4 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 5 commission? 6 A. No, I have not. 7 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 8 from seeking a pledge or a commitment until 48 hours 9 after the formal release of the commission report? 10 A. I'm very familiar with that rule. 11 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 12 on pledging? 13 A. Yes, I have. 14 Q. And in follow up, are you aware of the 15 penalty for violating the pledging rule, that is, it is 16 a misdemeanor and upon conviction, the violator must be 17 fined no more than $1,000 and imprisoned for not more 18 than 90 days? 19 A. I'm aware of the penalty. 20 MR. FIFFICK: Finally, I would note that the 21 Piedmont Citizens Committee found Mr. Griffith to be 22 very qualified. He has extensive legal experience in 23 civil, criminal and domestic law. He is a man of high 24 moral character and regarded highly in Newberry County. 25 His grandfather was also a judge. 0082 1 I would also note for the record that any 2 concerns raised during the investigation regarding the 3 candidate were incorporated into the questioning for 4 the candidate today. 5 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 6 REP. DELLENEY: Any members of the commission 7 have any questions? 8 Senator Knotts. 9 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 10 Q. Mr. Griffith, what would your workday consist 11 of if you were elected judge? 12 A. I'm a morning person, I would like to start 13 court a little earlier than 9:30. I like to get to my 14 office -- my current workday goes like this. I 15 wouldn't say I would hold court at 7:30. But I drop my 16 children off at school at 7:30 and I'm in my office. I 17 think you get more done before lunch than late in the 18 afternoon. You're more active, you're more alert and 19 ready to go. 20 If I were a judge, I would probably be in my 21 chambers between 8:00 and 8:15 with hopefully getting 22 court started at 9:00 sharp. I would like to work from 23 9:00 to 1:00 and get five -- I'm sorry, four hours of 24 functional court going between 9:00 and 1:00. And then 25 from 2:00 till about 5:30 or 6:00 in the afternoon. I 0083 1 don't like judges who show up at 10:00. I'm ready to 2 go at 9:00. I like an earlier morning. That's just 3 me. I'm a morning person. 4 Q. Do you see that happening a lot with judges 5 showing up at 10:00? 6 A. Well, yeah, I do. 7 REP. DELLENEY: Any other members of the 8 commission have any questions? 9 There being no further questions, we 10 appreciate your being here with us this afternoon, 11 Mr. Griffith, and appreciate your wife also being here. 12 Tell your father we said hello. 13 MRS. GRIFFITH: I sure will. 14 REP. DELLENEY: And I'll remind you of the 15 48-hour rule, which our report is only a draft. It is 16 initially issued, and 48 hours later it turns into the 17 final report of the commission, which the screening is 18 over but up until that time, we can recall the public 19 hearing and bring you back before us and ask more 20 questions, whatever. It's very unlikely in the 21 situation. It's only happening in cases where there 22 have been some questions about commitments. But it 23 could -- it could -- you know, it could happen, so I 24 would just advise you about that. And I would like to 25 thank you again for being with us here today. I hope 0084 1 you have a safe trip back home. 2 MR. GRIFFITH: It was my pleasure. Thank you 3 all so much. 4 (Mr. Griffith exits the room.) 5 (Judge Hocker enters the room.) 6 REP. DELLENEY: Good afternoon, Judge. 7 JUDGE HOCKER: Good afternoon. 8 REP. DELLENEY: We have before us today the 9 Honorable Donald Bruce Hocker -- 10 JUDGE HOCKER: Yes, sir. 11 REP. DELLENEY: -- who seeks a position in 12 the Circuit Court, Judicial Circuit Number Eight, seat 13 number 2. 14 If you would raise your right hand to be 15 sworn. 16 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 17 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 18 JUDGE HOCKER: Yes, sir, I do. 19 REP. DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 20 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 21 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for service 22 on the bench. Our inquiry has focused primarily on 23 nine evaluative criteria which have included a survey 24 of the bench and bar, a thorough study of your 25 application materials, verification of your compliance 0085 1 with state ethics laws, a search of any newspaper 2 articles in which your name may have appeared, study of 3 any previous judicial screenings you may have gone 4 through and a check for any economic conflicts of 5 interest. 6 There are no affidavits filed in opposition 7 to your candidacy or election. There are no witnesses 8 here to testify. 9 Do you have a brief opening statement you 10 would like to make? 11 JUDGE HOCKER: Well, I just appreciate very 12 much the opportunity to appear before this board, and 13 I'm just very humbled having the opportunity to be a 14 candidate for this judicial position. 15 REP. DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 16 If you would, answer any questions our 17 counsel may have for you. 18 MS. GOLDSMITH: Mr. Chairman and Members of 19 The Commission, I have a few procedural matters for 20 Judge Hocker. 21 Judge Hocker, you've been handed two 22 documents. Is the first document the personal data 23 questionnaire that you completed as a part of your 24 application? 25 JUDGE HOCKER: Yes, ma'am. 0086 1 MS. GOLDSMITH: Do you have any amendments 2 that you would like to make to that? 3 JUDGE HOCKER: I have one slight amendment, 4 Ms. Goldsmith. The question number 40, I have -- my 5 expenses have increased by $40.62 in postage and 6 stationery, making a total of $205.22 that I have spent 7 on postage and stationery. 8 MS. GOLDSMITH: Thank you. 9 I would ask at this time that Judge Hocker's 10 personal data questionnaire and his amendment be marked 11 as an exhibit and placed in the record. 12 REP. DELLENEY: Without objection, his 13 personal data questionnaire and summary and any 14 amendments will be placed -- will be made a part of the 15 record at this point in the transcript. 16 (EXHIBIT 9, Personal Data Questionnaire of 17 Donald Bruce Hocker, admitted.) 18 MS. GOLDSMITH: Judge Hocker also provided a 19 sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 20 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 21 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 22 That statement was provided to all the commission 23 members earlier and is included in your notebooks. 24 I have no concerns with the statement and 25 with the commission's approval, I would ask those 0087 1 questions be waived in the public hearing today. 2 Judge Hocker, is the second document that you 3 were given that sworn statement just referenced? 4 JUDGE HOCKER: Yes, that's correct. 5 MS. GOLDSMITH: And do you have any 6 amendments that you would like to make to that? 7 JUDGE HOCKER: I have none. 8 MS. GOLDSMITH: At this time I would ask 9 Judge Hocker's sworn statement be marked as an exhibit 10 in the record. 11 REP. DELLENEY: Judge Hocker's sworn 12 statement will be made a part of the record at this 13 point in the transcript. 14 (EXHIBIT 10, Sworn Statement of Donald Bruce 15 Hocker, admitted.) 16 MS. GOLDSMITH: I note for the record that 17 based on the testimony contained in Judge Hocker's 18 personal data questionnaire, which has been produced in 19 the record, that Judge Hocker meets the statutory 20 requirements for this position regarding age, residence 21 and years of practice. 22 BY MS. GOLDSMITH: 23 Q. Judge Hocker, after serving as an associate 24 probate court judge, why do you now want to serve as a 25 Circuit Court judge? 0088 1 A. Well, Ms. Goldsmith, I believe that I can 2 serve the public and the community in the capacity as a 3 Circuit Court judge. I feel like I can make a 4 difference in the justice system in South Carolina as a 5 circuit judge. And quite frankly, I enjoy and take 6 very seriously being a judge. 7 Q. Although you addressed this in your sworn 8 statement, could you please tell the members of the 9 commission what you think is the appropriate demeanor 10 for a judge. 11 A. Well, first and foremost, a judge has to be 12 respectful and courteous to litigants. The attorneys 13 in a particular case, anybody that appears before the 14 judge. Secondly, the judge has to be fair and that 15 fairness must be shown to the litigants and the 16 attorneys. 17 You know, our legal system takes hits many 18 times, and you want parties in a case to know that they 19 have gotten a fair shot and have been treated fairly. 20 I think that's of utmost importance. So being 21 courteous and respectful and being fair. 22 Q. Thank you. 23 Can you explain to the commission how you 24 feel your legal and professional experience thus far 25 will help you to be an effective Circuit Court judge? 0089 1 A. Ms. Goldsmith, I have been in private 2 practice almost 28 years. I've practiced extensively 3 in Circuit Court both in the civil common pleas area 4 and also the general sessions criminal area. I've 5 tried a lot of cases, both jury and nonjury. And so 6 that would certainly provide me with the necessary 7 experience to be a circuit judge. 8 And I've been an associate probate judge for 9 24 years, a little over 24 years. And I have presided 10 over cases across the state. I've had the privilege, 11 as I've noted, being appointed by the Supreme Court to 12 preside over cases across the state when a probate 13 judge has a conflict or a need to recuse himself or 14 herself. So I've got a lot of judicial experience as 15 well in addition to my legal experience. 16 Q. Are there any areas of the law that you feel 17 you would need additional preparation when you take the 18 Circuit Court bench and how would you go about that 19 preparation? 20 A. Well, certainly I don't profess to be an 21 expert at any one particular area, but because I 22 practiced for as long as I have and been on the bench 23 for as long as I have, I feel like I've got experience 24 in just about every area. Certainly if there is one 25 specialized area that I would need to attend to, then 0090 1 certainly I would take the necessary steps, whether to 2 take additional courses or read whatever literature on 3 that particular area that I needed to. I would 4 certainly do that. 5 Q. What suggestions would you offer for 6 improving the backlog of cases on the docket in the 7 Circuit Court? 8 A. Well, Ms. Goldsmith, of course the easy 9 answer is to say more judges but we realize because of 10 the economic situation we have in the state, that's not 11 feasible. 12 I would suggest several things. One, I think 13 mediation and arbitration is an excellent tool to help 14 ease the backlog of cases. Certainly it's not 15 mandatory across the state. I think that's something 16 that we really need to focus on. 17 I think a circuit judge needs to be willing 18 to put in more hours, if necessary, whether it's 19 starting early, going late, working Friday afternoons, 20 working weekends. I know as a lawyer, I put in those 21 hours, and I think, if necessary, a circuit judge needs 22 to do that. 23 And I think finally, Ms. Goldsmith, the 24 circuit judge needs to be more proactive in not only 25 the criminal docket. I'm not suggesting the circuit 0091 1 judge take the docket over as it has been suggested 2 previously, but be more proactive in working with the 3 solicitor to try to ease the backlog of cases in the 4 criminal area and be more proactive with the bar and 5 the civil area, holding more status conferences, 6 assisting lawyers in trying to resolve their cases and 7 settle the cases. 8 Q. When you leave the bench, what would you like 9 your legacy to be as a judge on the Circuit Court? 10 A. I would like for my legacy to be that I was 11 fair and impartial and courteous to everybody that 12 appeared before me. 13 Q. Thank you, Judge Hocker. 14 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 15 legislator prior to today? 16 A. No, ma'am. 17 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 18 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 19 the outcome of your screening? 20 A. No. 21 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 22 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 23 A. No, ma'am. 24 Q. Have you contacted any members of this 25 commission? 0092 1 A. No, ma'am. 2 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 3 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 4 after the formal release of the commission's report? 5 A. I'm aware of that. 6 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 7 on pledging? 8 A. I have. 9 Q. Just as a reminder, the penalty for violating 10 the pledging rules is that that would be a misdemeanor 11 and that is a fine of not more than $1,000 or 12 imprisonment of not more than 90 days. 13 A. I understand that. 14 MS. GOLDSMITH: I would note that the 15 Piedmont Citizens Committee found Judge Hocker to be 16 qualified and specifically recognize Judge Hocker's 24 17 years of service as an assistant probate judge and 18 noted that the committee believed that Judge Hocker 19 would do a fine job as a Circuit Court judge. 20 I would note for the record that any concerns 21 raised during the investigation regarding Judge Hocker 22 were incorporated into the questioning of him today. 23 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 24 REP. DELLENEY: Questions by the commission? 25 Senator Knotts. 0093 1 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 2 Q. Judge Hocker, you said that you thought maybe 3 judges need to work a little longer? 4 A. Well, I think if it is required to dispose of 5 more cases, I'm certainly not adverse to starting court 6 earlier and going later and working Friday afternoons 7 and -- 8 Q. What about being on time? Whenever you say 9 court is going to start at 9:00, you think the judge 10 ought to be on the bench at 9:00? 11 A. Exactly. Because he requires the parties and 12 the litigants and the attorneys to be there on time, 13 certainly there's nothing worse to be sitting in the 14 courtroom waiting for a judge to come. So I truly 15 believe that's very important, Senator. 16 REP. DELLENEY: Any other questions from the 17 commission? 18 There been being no further questions, we 19 appreciate your willingness to appear before us today, 20 Judge Hocker. And I would just remind you about the 21 48-hour rule. 22 JUDGE HOCKER: Certainly. 23 REP. DELLENEY: And the commission's report 24 initially is a draft; 48 hours later it's a permanent 25 report of this commission. 0094 1 JUDGE HOCKER: Yes, sir. 2 REP. DELLENEY: Prior to that time, we might 3 recall a public hearing in yours or any other case and 4 bring you back before us to testify. That's something 5 that rarely happens and usually when it has happened, 6 it has happened because there was some question of 7 contact that wasn't permissible in the General 8 Assembly. But with that, I would just like to thank 9 you again and hope you have a safe trip home. 10 JUDGE HOCKER: You very much, Mr. Chairman. 11 (Judge Hocker exits the room.) 12 REP. DELLENEY: All right. Next we have the 13 Honorable Walter Rutledge Martin. Then we're going to 14 take up Judge Smithfield. And then we're going to 15 vote, go into executive session and talk and come out 16 of executive session and talk on a previous matter. 17 (Judge Martin enters the room.) 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us today 19 the Honorable Walker Rutledge Martin who serves as a 20 magistrate; is that correct? 21 JUDGE MARTIN: Yes. 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: And he seeks a position 23 on the Circuit Court, Eighth Judicial Circuit, seat 24 number 2. 25 If you would please raise your right hand to 0095 1 be sworn. 2 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 3 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 4 JUDGE MARTIN: I do. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 6 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 7 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for serving 8 on the bench. Our investigation has primarily centered 9 on nine evaluative criteria which include a survey of 10 the bench and bar, a thorough study of your application 11 materials, verification of your compliance with state 12 ethics laws, a search of any newspaper articles in 13 which your name may have appeared, a study of any 14 previous screenings you may have been involved in and a 15 check of any economic conflicts of interest. 16 There are no affidavits filed in opposition 17 to your candidacy or election. There are no witnesses 18 present here to testify. 19 If you have a brief opening statement that 20 you would like to make. 21 JUDGE MARTIN: Sir, I'll waive opening at 22 this time. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We appreciate that. You 24 get points for that. 25 If you would at this time, please answer any 0096 1 questions our able counsel might have. 2 JUDGE MARTIN: Yes. 3 MS. SHULER: Mr. Chairman, members of the 4 commission, a few procedural matters to take care of. 5 Mr. Martin, before you is your personal data 6 questionnaire that you submitted as part of your 7 application. Do you have any amendments to the 8 personal data questionnaire? 9 JUDGE MARTIN: Yes, ma'am, I do. My response 10 to question 40 needs to be amended. At the time I 11 filled out the application, I had not spent the money 12 yet on my application or on my candidacy, but I've now 13 spent $36.33 getting my application and some of the 14 other supporting materials copied. I spent $5.20 15 mailing it. And I've spent $6 in Executive Services 16 bringing the letters. 17 MS. SHULER: Thank you, Judge Martin. 18 Mr. Chairman, at this time I would ask that 19 Judge Martin's personal data questionnaire and his 20 amendment be entered as an exhibit into the record. 21 (EXHIBIT 11, Personal Data Questionnaire of 22 Walker Rutledge Martin, admitted.) 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, the 24 personal data questionnaire summary and the amendment 25 will be entered into the record at this point in the 0097 1 transcript. 2 MS. SHULER: Judge Martin also provided a 3 sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 4 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 5 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 6 That statement was provided to the all commission 7 members and has been included in the notebooks. 8 I have no concerns with statement and with 9 the commission's approval, I asked that those questions 10 be waived at the hearing today. 11 Judge Martin, you have before you your sworn 12 statement. Do you have any amendments to that sworn 13 statement? 14 JUDGE MARTIN: No, ma'am. 15 MS. SHULER: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 16 would ask that Judge Martin's sworn statement be 17 entered as an exhibit into this record. 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done at this 19 point in the transcript, without objection. 20 (EXHIBIT 12, Sworn Statement of Walker 21 Rutledge Martin, admitted.) 22 MS. SHULER: One final procedural matter. I 23 note for the record that based on the testimony 24 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been 25 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 0098 1 Judge Martin meets the statutory requirements for this 2 position regarding age, residence and years of 3 practice. 4 BY MS. SHULER: 5 Q. Judge Martin, you have been serving as a 6 magistrate and so why do you now want to serve as a 7 Circuit Court judge? 8 A. Well, there's several reasons I would like to 9 serve. I had a -- mainly, though, I have a passion for 10 justice. I believe I can take that passion and my 11 abilities to the next level and use those things to 12 serve the people of South Carolina in the bigger cases 13 held in Circuit Court, both civil and criminal. 14 I believe in the rule of law. I believe 15 that -- I enjoy being a judge. I'm proud to serve as a 16 judge, and I think being a judge fits my goals and 17 values in life. I believe I will be a good judge 18 because I am firm, both in the courtroom. I believe 19 that I'm firm but without being pompous or gratuitous 20 or abusive, and I'm fair. I believe that I'm fair. I 21 don't play favorites. And I believe that I have a lot 22 of experience that I could use to serve the people of 23 South Carolina, experience, knowledge of the law. 24 My experience is multifaceted. I've been a 25 public defender. I've been a prosecutor. I've been in 0099 1 the criminal -- I was in the criminal appeals division 2 at the Attorney General's Office for three and a half 3 years. I've read a lot of transcripts. I've written a 4 lot of briefs. I know what -- I have a pretty good 5 feel for what appellate courts are looking for when 6 they're reviewing a case. And because of that 7 experience, I believe that I can do the things in the 8 courtroom that would be necessary to make my decisions 9 stick on appeal. 10 For instance, I would be thinking about the 11 fact that the appellate level, the only thing the 12 judges know about is what's in the transcript. And I 13 would be making comments to make sure that somebody 14 reading that transcript five years down the road could 15 understand what was going on in the courtroom that day, 16 five years earlier. And I believe that that would 17 contribute to judicial efficiency and economy. 18 And I think that sums it up. But I do 19 have -- mainly I have a passion for justice, and I'd 20 like to take it to the next level. 21 Q. Thank you, Judge Martin. 22 Judge Martin, although you address this in 23 your sworn affidavit, would you explain to the members 24 of the commission what you believe to be the 25 appropriate demeanor for a judge? 0100 1 A. Well, a judge has to be firm to maintain 2 control of the courtroom. The temper, emotions run 3 high in a courtroom. Different people want to take 4 control of the courtroom. The judge must be firm to 5 maintain control of the courtroom. And that's actually 6 demanded of judges and the judicial candidates, demand 7 the judge maintain control of the courtroom. And 8 firmness is an absolutely essential part of that. 9 But, of course, the judge must be careful not 10 to balance the firmness with some sort of empathy for 11 the feelings of the people out there, to not embarrass 12 them, to be, as I said before, not pompous and not 13 gratuitously abusive. In certain situations a 14 courtroom participant may force the judge to hold him 15 or her in contempt or put that person -- let that 16 person know that that person is not in control of the 17 courtroom, the judge is in control of the courtroom. 18 Q. Thank you, Judge Martin. 19 If you're selected to the Circuit Court bench 20 and after serving your term, what would you want your 21 legacy to be as a Circuit Court judge? 22 A. I would like the people to think that I 23 was -- that I was a judge who was smart, who knew the 24 law, who didn't let it -- who was humble, who was 25 effective but humble and was down -- stayed down to 0101 1 earth and didn't let it go to his head that, oh, I'm a 2 big judge and I'm -- you know, I can get away with 3 things that ordinary people can't get away. And 4 somebody that's down to earth and realize that the 5 judge who is effective could realize that he's just as 6 imperfect as any other human being out there. A firm, 7 effective, intelligent judge who maintained his 8 humility. That's the way I would like to be 9 remembered. 10 Q. Judge Martin, what suggestions would you have 11 to offer for improving the backlog of cases on the 12 docket, the Circuit Court and Court of Common Pleas 13 and/or General Sessions? 14 A. Well, I was speaking to -- I'm going to 15 address the common pleas first. That's what I would 16 note. I was speaking to a clerk over -- who handles 17 common pleas the other day and she said that they 18 generally have about 80 to a hundred cases that go onto 19 the trial roster automatically that turn 12 months old. 20 And that by the time all the continuances are granted, 21 that's chopped down to about 30 cases. 22 Now, I haven't been in the common pleas 23 enough to know whether they stay busy all the time. 24 But if they're staying busy, that's okay for them to 25 chop it down to 30 days, but if they're not staying 0102 1 busy, then I think the judges should be a lot more 2 hesitant to grant continuances than they are. Of 3 course, the same principle applies in general sessions. 4 The main thing a judge can do to help with 5 the backlog is to deny continuances except when they're 6 absolutely necessary. 7 And am I allowed to make -- my suggestion to 8 the legislators could be to take some control of the 9 docket, place some limitations on the ability of the 10 solicitor to -- on the solicitor's control of the 11 docket because the system is set up presently, the 12 solicitor basically has a blank check to grant himself 13 or herself a continuance on any case for any reason or 14 no reason at all at any time. And the result of that 15 can be that cases a solicitor doesn't want to try may 16 get to be five years old because it's a bad case from 17 the solicitor's point. 18 In my opinion, that could be done either by, 19 say, maybe when a case gets to a certain age, the judge 20 would have the authority to call that case upon a 21 motion of the defense or there could be some speedy 22 trial rights. 23 I set bonds over at the Greenville County 24 jail all the time. I was talking to the major over 25 there. This happened to be back on October the 17th 0103 1 when he got this report to me. On October 17th, there 2 were 22 people in the Greenwood County Jail who had 3 been held without trial for over one year. And I can 4 start with Jerome Chisholm was incarcerated on January 5 the 17th, 2005, and he's charged with criminal sexual 6 conduct with a minor. He's been held without trial for 7 over three years now. 8 So one of two things: Either Mr. Chisholm is 9 guilty or he's not guilty. Now, if he's not guilty, 10 then that victim has been denied justice for three 11 years -- if he is guilty, that victim has been denied 12 justice for three years. If he's not guilty, then 13 Mr. Chisholm has lost three years of his life for no 14 good reason. 15 There are 22 people that have been there for 16 more than -- in the care for more than a year. And 17 this doesn't even touch on the people that are not 18 incarcerated that haven't been tried. I know that 19 there's a -- for instance, there's an assault battery 20 of high and aggravated nature case that was indicted in 21 2002 that's still pending. 22 Now, if that person is not -- is guilty of 23 that assault and battery of a high and aggravated 24 nature, then that victim has been denied justice for 25 six years. If the defendant is not guilty, then the 0104 1 defendant has had that hanging over his head for the 2 last six years and hasn't been able to leave the state 3 of South Carolina. When you're on bond, you're not 4 allowed to leave the state of South Carolina without 5 permission, as you all probably know. That just seems 6 ridiculous to me. 7 I just think maybe a year -- a case gets to 8 be a year old or two years old, that some point the -- 9 some of these are old because the solicitor doesn't 10 want to try them and some of them may be old because 11 the defense attorneys have been moving for continuances 12 and some of them may be old just for valid reasons such 13 as DNA test hasn't been done or there's a mental 14 evaluations that have to be done to the defendant. 15 Things like that. 16 But I think at a certain point, the 17 prosecutor and the defense attorney need to answer to 18 the judge and explain to the judge why Jerome Chisholm 19 has been in jail since 2005 without being tried. So I 20 think that the judge should have more control, more 21 input in the ability to call cases and dispose of old 22 cases one way or another. 23 Q. Thank you, Judge Martin. 24 In your PDQ, you mentioned two instances in 25 which you had formal complaints filed against you by the 0105 1 Office of Disciplinary Counsel. First you filed 2 against yourself, and the second was filed by a former 3 client whom you represented as a public defender. 4 Can you please briefly describe the nature 5 and disposition of those complaints. 6 A. Well, to make a long story short, both 7 complaints were dismissed by the disciplinary counsel. 8 First complaint was in 1998. He made a series of 9 complaints that were -- and I don't remember the exact 10 nature of all the complaints, but most of the 11 complaints were things that were really -- really 12 matters for a postconviction relief. The defendant was 13 saying I was ineffective in one way or another. 14 And then a couple of -- I think the only 15 other one I can remember would not have been 16 postconviction relief related, would have been I didn't 17 talk to him at various times. But I had kept a record 18 of the times I did talk to him. And I reported that to 19 disciplinary counsel, and they dismiss the complaint 20 without a hearing. 21 The other time I self-reported because I used 22 a curse word in court in addressing the pro se civil 23 litigant, and I reported because I felt that that was a 24 violation of -- I believe it's canon 3, that a judge 25 should -- well, it's in here. It's one of the canons 0106 1 that demands that a judge act with courtesy to all 2 litigants. And that was dismissed, also. 3 But I do hope -- as I said before, I'm not 4 going to be remembered as a perfect judge. I'm human. 5 I'm fallible, and I make mistakes. And I did make a 6 mistake, and I regret that, but I hope I learn from it. 7 And I'll remember that for the rest of my tenure as a 8 judge. 9 Q. Thank you, Judge Martin. 10 To cover some housekeeping issues with you, 11 have you sought or received the pledge of any 12 legislator prior to this date? 13 A. I have not. 14 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 15 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 16 the outcome of your screening? 17 A. I have not. 18 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 19 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 20 A. I have not. 21 Q. Have you contacted any members of the General 22 Assembly? 23 A. I have not. 24 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 25 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 0107 1 after the formal release of the commission's report? 2 A. I do. 3 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 4 on pledging? 5 A. I have. 6 Q. As a follow up, are you aware of the 7 penalties for violating the pledging rules, that is, 8 that it's a misdemeanor and upon conviction, the 9 violator must be fined not more than a $1,000 and 10 imprisoned not more than 90 days? 11 A. I do understand that. 12 MS. SHULER: I would note that the Piedmont 13 Citizens Committee reported that Judge Martin is found 14 to be qualified for the office he is seeking. 15 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions of 16 this candidate. 17 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Did you bring anyone with 18 you? 19 JUDGE MARTIN: I did. My wife, Cindy, is 20 over here. 21 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I apologize for my bad 22 manners. I didn't see you come in over there. We are 23 glad to have you with us. 24 Does any member of the commission have any 25 questions for Judge Martin? 0108 1 Senator Knotts. 2 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 3 Q. Judge Martin, how long have you been a 4 magistrate? 5 A. I became a magistrate in May of 2007. 6 Q. A little over a year? 7 A. Yes, sir. 8 Q. Okay. In your experience as a lawyer and as 9 a magistrate, I notice you had some concerns about this 10 guy being in jail for these long periods of time and 11 not going to court, right? 12 A. Yes. 13 Q. I notice you talked about the solicitor not 14 wanting to try it or whatever, the lawyers and all 15 that. 16 A. Yes, sir. 17 Q. Do you realize that the judicial system 18 starts with the magistrate's office, usually? 19 A. That's correct. 20 Q. Signed by a law enforcement officer? 21 A. That's correct. 22 Q. I notice you didn't say anything about the 23 possibility of a law enforcement officer that has 24 investigated the case maybe didn't make the case good 25 enough to be tried and dumped into the solicitor's 0109 1 office because a warrant was signed by a magistrate. 2 A. That's correct. That's absolutely correct. 3 Q. And there's no way to put it back on the 4 sheriff or police chief, who might have a rapist out 5 there that he's getting a lot of heat on, and you go 6 out and arrest somebody because they feel like they got 7 the right person, but they really don't. There's a lot 8 of difference between probable cause and beyond a 9 reasonable doubt. 10 A. Absolutely. 11 Q. So it could be possibly that the police 12 officers just dumped them into the Solicitor's Office 13 and hoped the guy would plead, right? 14 A. That happens all the time. 15 Q. What do you -- you've been in the courtroom 16 throughout this state in numerous cases, right? 17 A. Yes, sir. 18 Q. Have you seen judges that were supposed to 19 start court at 9:00 and didn't show up till 10:00 while 20 everybody is waiting on them? 21 A. Oh, yeah. Yes, sir. 22 Q. Did that happen? 23 A. It happens all the time. 24 Q. What would your workweek be like if you 25 became a circuit judge? 0110 1 A. 8:30 sounds like a reasonable time to me. I 2 would say 8:30 to -- and I believe that the -- I don't 3 know this for sure, but I think the chief justice 4 ordered the judges not to keep jurors beyond, I think 5 it's 5:30 or so, if at all possible. 6 Q. Unless you have a jury out? 7 A. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. There's a tremendous 8 amount of dead time in court, also. A lot of times a 9 judge is back there reading the newspaper. That is 10 really -- I mean, it sounds crazy but it's true. You 11 probably already know this, but a lot of times there 12 are 2,000 pending warrants out there and the judge 13 spends the afternoon reading the newspaper. Not 14 necessarily because it's the judge's fault but because 15 there's nothing ready to go in front of the judge. 16 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any further questions? 17 There apparently being no other questions, 18 Judge Martin, we appreciate you and Mrs. Martin being 19 with us here today. And I would just remind you about 20 the 48-hour rule. Just restate that we have a report, 21 the draft report, 48 hours after it's issued it becomes 22 a final report of this commission. But before that 23 time, we could reconvene a public hearing and bring you 24 back and question you and usually that does not happen. 25 A few times that it has happened, it usually involves 0111 1 someone perceived some inappropriate conduct with 2 members of the General Assembly in regard to pledging 3 and that sort of thing. 4 But with that, I would like to again thank 5 you and Ms. Martin for being with us today. Have a 6 safe trip home. 7 THE WITNESS: Thank you all for your time. 8 (Judge Martin exits the room.) 9 (Mr. Smithdeal enters the room.) 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us 11 Mr. Joseph C. Smithdeal who seeks a position on the 12 Circuit Court for the Eighth Judicial Circuit, seat 13 number 2. 14 Do you have someone with you? 15 MR. SMITHDEAL: Yes, sir. I would proudly 16 recognize and introduce my son Henry. 17 Henry, stand up. 18 Henry is a freshman at Emerald High School in 19 Greenwood, South Carolina. He is a Boy Scout, a star 20 scout right now. And he swims for the Emerald swim 21 team. He's a straight A student. 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Very good. 23 MR. SMITHDEAL: I thought he could use a day 24 out from school to see the process in action. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I assume he's going to 0112 1 The Citadel, also? 2 MR. SMITHDEAL: If he wants to. 3 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Mr. Smithdeal, if you 4 would please raise your right hand. 5 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 6 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 7 MR. SMITHDEAL: I do. 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit 9 Selection Commission has thoroughly investigated your 10 qualifications for service on the bench. Our inquiry 11 is focused primarily on nine evaluative criteria which 12 have included a survey of the bench and bar, a thorough 13 study of your application materials, verification of 14 your compliance with state ethics laws, a search of any 15 newspaper articles in which your name may have 16 appeared, a study of any previous screenings you may 17 have been involved in, a check for economic conflicts 18 of interest. 19 We have not received any affidavits in 20 opposition to your candidacy, and there are no 21 witnesses here to testify. 22 Do you have a brief opening statement you 23 would like to make? 24 MR. SMITHDEAL: Very briefly. I'd just like 25 to thank Ms. Shuler and her staff, especially Patrick 0113 1 Dennis who has been very helpful in this process. And 2 thank you all for having me here today. I know it's 3 been a long day for you, and I'm glad to be here. 4 Thank you, sir. 5 If you would, answer any questions that our 6 able counsel may have. 7 MS. SHULER: Mr. Chairman, members of the 8 commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 9 care of. 10 Before you, Mr. Smithdeal, is your personal 11 data questionnaire. Do you have any amendments to the 12 questionnaire? 13 MR. SMITHDEAL: No, ma'am. 14 MS. SHULER: Mr. Chairman, at this time I 15 would ask that Mr. Smithdeal's personal data 16 questionnaire be entered into the hearing record as an 17 exhibit. 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done at this 19 point in the transcript, without objection. 20 (EXHIBIT 13, Personal Data Questionnaire of 21 Joseph C. Smithdeal, admitted.) 22 MS. SHULER: Mr. Smithdeal has also provided 23 a sworn statement of detailed answers to over 30 24 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 25 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 0114 1 That statement was provided to all commission members 2 earlier and is included in your notebooks. I have no 3 concerns with the statement, and with the commission's 4 approval, I would ask that those questions be waived at 5 the public hearing today. 6 Before you, Mr. Smithdeal, is also your sworn 7 statement you submitted as part of your application. 8 Do you have any amendments to the sworn statement? 9 MR. SMITHDEAL: No, ma'am. 10 MS. SHULER: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 11 would like to ask Mr. Smithdeal's sworn statement be 12 entered into the hearing record. 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, it 14 will be done at this point in the transcript. 15 (EXHIBIT 14, Sworn Statement of Joseph C. 16 Smithdeal, admitted.) 17 MS. SHULER: One final procedural matter. I 18 note for the record that based on the testimony 19 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which is being 20 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 21 Mr. Smithdeal meets the statutory requirements for this 22 position regarding age, residence and years of 23 practice. 24 BY MS. SHULER: 25 Q. Mr. Smithdeal, after practicing law since 0115 1 1992, why do you now want to serve as a circuit court 2 judge? 3 A. Well, first and foremost, I would say I want 4 to serve as a judge because I feel I'm qualified, and I 5 feel like I would do a good job. Being a judge is 6 something I considered for a number of years now, most 7 recently when our resident judge, Wyatt Sanders, got 8 ill a couple of years ago. And I started thinking to 9 myself, you know, why not me? I practiced law in 10 federal and state courts. I've practiced law under 11 workers' compensation committee and family courts and 12 probate courts and criminal and civil courts. And I 13 feel comfortable in the courtroom. 14 I've seen examples of good judging, and I'd 15 like to follow in the footsteps of those judges. It's 16 something I want to do. I feel like it's a good fit 17 for myself and my family. I think it would be a good 18 move for me. 19 Q. Thank you, Mr. Smithdeal. 20 Although you addressed this in your sworn 21 affidavit, would you explain to the commission members 22 what you believe to be the appropriate demeanor for a 23 judge. 24 A. I think a judge ought to be -- well, I think 25 a judge ought to be courteous to everybody, but I think 0116 1 a judge ought to be firm. I think a judge ought to be 2 fair and a judge ought to be consistent with people. 3 People come to court with a lot of nerves, especially 4 litigants, oftentimes lawyers. I know I'm nervous when 5 I go to court, even if I'm -- which I usually am 6 completely prepared. 7 Judges ought to be respectful and listen to 8 what each party and each side has to say. A judge 9 ought to be on time. That's one of the complaints I 10 hear most about judges, especially in, you know, family 11 court is that judges don't show up on time. For me, 12 punctuality is important as is courtesy and fairness. 13 So proper demeanor for a judge, to sum it up, firm, 14 fair and consistent and courteous to all the litigants 15 and attorneys. 16 Q. Thank you. 17 If you're elected to the Circuit Court bench 18 and when you eventually retire, what would you like 19 your legacy to be known as in that Circuit Court 20 position? 21 A. My legacy. I would have to say that my 22 legacy would be what I always strive for and that is my 23 reputation for good character and for hard work. I 24 pride myself on honesty with all my clients. I've had 25 clients leave my office in a huff many times because 0117 1 they didn't like what I had to say. But I wasn't going 2 to tell them anything other than what I knew to be the 3 truth. 4 So I think that my legacy, if I were to ever 5 have one, is to -- would be that I was honest and a man 6 of character. 7 Q. Thank you. 8 What suggestions would you offer for 9 improving the backlog of cases on the docket in a 10 Circuit Court for common pleas and/or general sessions 11 court? 12 A. Well, you know, sometimes it's tough 13 because -- and I don't really blame the judges all that 14 much because it's tough sometimes when cases are 15 scheduled to go to trial. You've got a roster of 50 16 cases. The first 20 or so are, you know, kind of on 17 standby, kind of not. Everybody thinks the first case 18 is going. The first one falls through, the second one 19 falls through, the third one -- and the lawyers have to 20 have these people subpoenaed and ready and these 21 subpoenas cost money. You've got to have them served. 22 I think the -- I think having -- picking 23 multiple juries on Monday helps. I really do. I've 24 seen judges do it. I like it when they do it. I like 25 it when I know when I'm going to trial. I think most 0118 1 lawyers like it. And they know they've got a jury 2 picked and don't have to sit there and wait. 3 As far as criminal cases go -- that's in the 4 civil courts. In the criminal courts, I know one 5 circuit has recently allowed the judge to set the 6 docket. I don't know if I -- if I agree with that or 7 not, but, you know, if it works, I'm willing to give it 8 a try. The lawyers, the solicitor knows what cases 9 he's got prepared, what evidence he has and which 10 information he has back from SLED, you know, so he or 11 she should know what cases are ready. And so, you 12 know, giving it to the judge kind of takes it out of 13 his hands. And that might help -- if it does, I'm all 14 for it. And I'm willing to try it. I would be more 15 than willing to set the docket for criminal cases. 16 Q. Thank you. 17 I have a few housekeeping issues to cover 18 with you. 19 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 20 legislator prior to this date? 21 A. No, ma'am. 22 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 23 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 24 the outcome of your screening? 25 A. No, ma'am. 0119 1 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 2 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 3 A. No, ma'am. 4 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 5 commission? 6 A. No, ma'am. 7 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 8 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 9 after the formal ruling of the commission's report? 10 A. Yes, ma'am. 11 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 12 on pledging? 13 A. Yes, ma'am. 14 Q. As a follow up, are you aware of the 15 penalties for violating the pledging rules, that is, it 16 is a misdemeanor and if you're convicted, you must be 17 fined not more than $1,000 and imprisoned not more than 18 90 days? 19 A. Yes, ma'am. 20 MS. SHULER: I would note that the Piedmont 21 Citizens Committee reported the following regarding 22 Mr. Smithdeal. 23 "Mr. Joseph Smithdeal is very qualified. He 24 looks younger than his age of 41 years. By all 25 accounts, he is level-headed and is capable of doing a 0120 1 good job." 2 We just note for the record that any concerns 3 raised during investigation regarding this candidate 4 were incorporated into the questioning of this 5 candidate today. 6 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions for 7 Mr. Smithdeal. 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Members of the commission 9 have questions for Mr. Smithdeal? 10 There being no questions, Mr. Smithdeal, I 11 would remind you of the 48-hour rule. Simply stated, 12 you will have a draft report, which 48 hours after it's 13 issued it becomes the final report of this commission. 14 Up to that point in time, we may reconvene a public 15 hearing for any candidate and bring that candidate back 16 before us and elicit further testimony. 17 That's happened on very rare occasions and 18 usually occasions where there's been some questions 19 about impropriety as far as contacting the members of 20 the General Assembly. In any event, I hope you and 21 your son have a safe trip home and thank you for 22 appearing before us. 23 MR. SMITHDEAL: Thank you very much, 24 Mr. Chairman and the commission. Thank you. 25 (Mr. Smithdeal exits the room.) 0121 1 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We need to take a short 2 session of executive session. 3 Is there motion for executive session? 4 SEN. FORD: So moved. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor, aye. 6 (Members respond.) 7 (The members went into executive session.) 8 (The hearing was continued under a separate 9 restricted record.) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 0144 1 * * * * * 2 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Now we have to vote on 3 candidates for circuit court, First Circuit, seat 4 number 1. 5 PROF. FREEMAN: I have a motion that all be 6 found qualified. 7 SEN. FORD: Second. 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All right. We will find 9 all qualified. 10 Next I'm going to call them out one at a 11 time. 12 All in favor of finding all the candidates 13 qualified, raise your hand. 14 (Members respond.) 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All right. Unanimous 16 that all candidates are found qualified. 17 We're going to go through them one at a time. 18 You can only vote for three. So we're only reporting 19 three out, so you can only vote for three. 20 MS. SHULER: Let me ask a question. You 21 voted your proxy for Mr. Sellers on finding all qualified? 22 MR. HARRELL: Yes, I did. And for each one 23 of my votes. 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: First candidate is Bryan 25 C. Able. 0145 1 MS. SHULER: Wait a minute. 2 SEN. KNOTTS: Wrong race. 3 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: First race is the 4 Honorable Pandora Jones-Glover. All in favor of 5 finding her qualified and nominated, raise your hand. 6 MS. SHULER: All right. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Next is Maite Murphy. 8 All in favor of finding Maite Murphy qualified and 9 nominated, raise your hand. 10 Edgar Warren Dickson. All in favor of 11 finding Edgar Warren Dickson nominated and qualified, 12 raise your hand. 13 MS. SHULER: And your proxy? 14 MR. HARRELL: And my proxy. That's ten. 15 SEN. FORD: Ten-zero. 16 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 17 D'Anne Haydel qualified and nominated, raise your hand. 18 All in favor of finding James Benjamin 19 Jackson, Jr., nominated and qualified, raise your hand. 20 MS. SHULER: Six counting your proxy? 21 MR. HARRELL: Counting my proxy. 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 23 Michael P. Horger nominated and qualified, raise your 24 hand. 25 MS. SHULER: Four. 0146 1 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 2 Jeffrey P. Bloom qualified and nominated, raise your 3 hand. 4 MS. SHULER: Nine. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 6 James E. Chellis nominated and qualified, raise your 7 hand. 8 Okay. We'll move on to -- would you announce 9 who they are? 10 MS. SHULER: Edgar Warren Dickson with ten 11 votes. James Benjamin Jackson, Jr., with six votes. 12 And Jeffrey Bloom with nine votes. 13 Laurie, will you collect the ballots from 14 everybody? 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All right. Next we have 16 the Eight Circuit, seat number 2. And is there any 17 problem with finding all the candidates qualified? 18 SEN. FORD: So moved. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All right. Everybody in 20 favor of finding all the candidates qualified, raise 21 your hand. 22 Unanimous vote. 23 MS. SHULER: Counting the proxy? 24 MR. HARRELL: Counting the proxy. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Now we can only vote for 0147 1 three candidates. Finding qualified and nominated. 2 Bryan C. Able, all in favor of finding Bryan 3 C. Able nominated and qualified, raise your hand. 4 MS. SHULER: Four. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 6 the Honorable Frank R. Addy, Jr., nominated and 7 qualified, raise your hand. 8 MS. SHULER: Six. Counting the proxy? 9 MR. HARRELL: Counting the proxy. 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 11 Eugene C. Griffith, Jr., nominated and qualified, raise 12 your hand. 13 MS. SHULER: Ten. 14 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 15 the Honorable Donald Bruce Hocker qualified and 16 nominated, raise your hand. 17 MS. SHULER: Zero. 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 19 Honorable Walter Rutledge Martin nominated and 20 qualified, raise your hand. 21 MS. SHULER: Zero. 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 23 Joseph C. Smithdeal nominated and qualified, raise your 24 hand. 25 MS. SHULER: Eight. That is two people who didn't 0148 1 vote. 2 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I can't vote. Can I go 3 back and vote for Addy? 4 SEN. FORD: That's four winners then. 5 MS. SHULER: No, I was short two votes. 6 REP. MACK: Put me down for Martin. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Okay. And so what does 8 that give me? 9 MS. SHULER: That gives us four votes for 10 Able, eight votes for Addy, ten votes for Griffith, one 11 for Martin and eight for Smithdeal. 12 So three for Able. That's 30. That comes 13 out correctly. So three for Able, eight for Addy, ten 14 for Griffith, zero for Hocker, one for Martin and eight 15 for Smithdeal. 16 So that leaves Addy, Griffith and Smithdeal 17 as qualified and nominated. 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Okay. 19 (David Craig Brown enters the room.) 20 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Okay. We have before us 21 this evening David Craig Brown -- Craig Brown who is 22 running for the Circuit Court at-large, seat number 23 one. 24 If you would, Mr. Brown, please raise your 25 right hand. 0149 1 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 2 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 3 MR. BROWN: Yes, sir, I do. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 5 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 6 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for service 7 on the bench. Our inquiry has primarily focused on 8 nine evaluative criteria, which have included a survey 9 of the bench and bar, a thorough study of your 10 application materials, a verification of your 11 compliance with state ethics laws, a search of any 12 newspaper articles in which your name may have 13 appeared, a study of the previous screenings, and a 14 check for economic conflicts of interest. 15 There are no affidavits filed in opposition 16 to your candidacy or election. There are no witnesses 17 here to testify. 18 Do you have a brief opening statement that 19 you would like to make? 20 MR. BROWN: No, sir. The only thing I would 21 like to say is I'm glad to be here, and I appreciate 22 you giving me the opportunity to be here. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 24 If you would, answer any questions our able 25 counsel might have for you. 0150 1 MS. WELLS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 2 Mr. Brown, if you would look to the left, I 3 believe there is a document, your personal data 4 questionnaire. Is that the same document you submitted 5 as part of your application? 6 MR. BROWN: Yes, ma'am, it is. 7 MS. WELLS: And is there any amendment you 8 would like to make at this time to your personal data 9 questionnaire? 10 MR. BROWN: Yes, ma'am, there is. 11 MS. WELLS: It's on 31. 12 MR. BROWN: Question number 31. Yes, ma'am. 13 I have an amendment to that that reflects the fact that 14 I was arrested in 1988 for a DUI. I subsequently pled 15 guilty to a minor in possession of an open container, 16 and the DUI was dismissed. I put on my application 17 that I thought that matter had been expunged. That 18 happened when I was a freshman at The Citadel. I 19 subsequently went to work for the probation and parole 20 department. That matter was dropped, and that was my 21 reasoning for that and that was explained. 22 MS. WELLS: Could you speak up a little. The 23 court reporter doesn't have a microphone. 24 At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would like to 25 ask that Mr. Brown's personal data questionnaire and 0151 1 amendment be admitted as an exhibit into the hearing 2 record. 3 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, it 4 will be done at this point in the transcript. 5 (EXHIBIT 15, Personal Data Questionnaire of 6 David Craig Brown, admitted.) 7 SEN. FORD: Mr. Chairman, I don't know if I 8 heard the gentleman right. You said a freshman 9 drinking at The Citadel? 10 MR. BROWN: I was on Christmas break. 11 SEN. KNOTTS: He was a minor 20 years ago. 12 MS. WELLS: Mr. Brown also provided a sworn 13 statement with detailed answers to over 30 questions 14 regarding judicial conduct, statutory qualifications, 15 office administration and temperament. That statement 16 was provided to all commission members earlier and is 17 included in your notebooks. 18 I have no concerns with the statement and 19 with the commission's approval, I would ask those 20 questions be waived in this public hearing today. 21 Mr. Brown, the document you see before you is 22 a copy of your sworn statement that was part of your 23 application. Is there any amendment you would like to 24 make at this time to your sworn statement? 25 MR. BROWN: Yes, ma'am, there is. There was 0152 1 a letter that I sent. Question number 26, which asked 2 about expenditures. I had some additional expenditures 3 that I have sent a letter to the House Legislative 4 Ethics Committee as well as the Senate Ethics Committee 5 as well. I have a copy of that letter. 6 MS. WELLS: Mr. Chairman, at this time, I 7 would like to ask that Mr. Brown's sworn statement be 8 entered and his amendment be entered into -- as an 9 exhibit into the hearing record. 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, the 11 sworn statement will be entered into the record at this 12 point in the transcript. 13 (EXHIBIT 16, Sworn Statement of David Craig 14 Brown, admitted.) 15 MS. WELLS: One final procedural matter. I 16 note for the record that based on the testimony 17 contained in the candidate's personal data 18 questionnaire, which has been included in the record 19 with the candidate's consent, Mr. Brown meets the 20 statutory requirements for this position regarding age, 21 residence and years of practice. 22 BY MS. WELLS: 23 Q. Mr. Brown, could you tell the commission 24 members why you want to serve as a Circuit Court judge? 25 A. Yes, ma'am. When I graduated from high 0153 1 school, I clerked with Judge Duane Shuler who was on 2 the Circuit Court bench at that time. After clerking 3 with Judge Shuler, I came to the realization that after 4 seeing the positive impact that he made as a Circuit 5 Court judge, I wanted to have the opportunity to 6 hopefully cause an impact, not only locally but 7 throughout the state as well. 8 Q. Thank you, Mr. Brown. 9 Would you please explain to the commission 10 how you feel your legal and professional experience 11 thus far would help you to be an effective Circuit 12 Court judge? 13 A. Yes, ma'am. When I -- after clerking with 14 Judge Shuler, I went to work for an insurance defense 15 firm. I worked with them for about two and a half 16 years. In May of 2001, I went into private practice. 17 Continued to do some insurance defense work as well 18 doing some plaintiff's work. 19 Over the last seven and a half years I've 20 been in private practice, I've done some public 21 defender work. I represented criminal defendants in 22 state and federal court. I believe that my experience 23 in civil and criminal court would bode well in me being 24 a circuit court judge. 25 As I indicated previously, after clerking 0154 1 with Judge Shuler, I had a desire to become a Circuit 2 Court judge. And I had moved my practice around doing 3 both civil and criminal work over the last ten years. 4 I have been in practice for that purpose of having 5 experience on both sides. 6 Q. Thank you. 7 Are there any areas that you feel you would 8 need to additionally prepare for to be an effective 9 Circuit Court judge, and if so, how would you go about 10 handling those additional preparations? 11 A. It may be some issues concerning nonjury 12 matters, like appeals from magistrate's court. I don't 13 do a whole lot of magistrate's court work. I may need 14 to do some things to prepare in handling those type of 15 issues that might come before me. 16 I do believe my experience with criminal as 17 well as civil court and having both plaintiff and 18 defense cases as well as representing defendants in 19 criminal court give me the type of experience that I 20 would need to sit on the bench as a Circuit Court 21 judge. 22 Q. Although you address this in your sworn 23 affidavit, Mr. Brown, could you please tell the members 24 of the commission what you think is the appropriate 25 demeanor of a Circuit Court judge? 0155 1 A. I think the appropriate demeanor of a Circuit 2 Court judge should be one that treats people -- all 3 people who come to court and work with them with 4 respect and dignity that they deserve. That's how I 5 would treat people that come into court with me. 6 Q. Mr. Brown, when you mentioned your amendment 7 to your personal data questionnaire, you talked about 8 an arrest in 1988 for a DUI in which the charge was 9 dismissed, but you did plead guilty to the lesser 10 charges of minor possession of alcohol and an open 11 container. 12 Would you please explain to the commission 13 the circumstances of this incident and why you believe 14 this would not hinder your ability to be a capable 15 circuit court judge. 16 A. As indicated previously, that was something 17 that happened when I was 19 years old. Since that 18 time, I don't even drink anymore. I learned a valuable 19 lesson at that point in my life. I'm very thankful 20 that I didn't hurt myself in that situation, more 21 importantly didn't hurt somebody else. 22 Q. Thank you. 23 Do you have any suggestions to offer for 24 improving the backlog of cases that exist today in the 25 docket in circuit court, both common pleas and the 0156 1 general sessions? 2 A. What I've seen with regards to common pleas, 3 we have in Florence the mandatory 4 mediation/arbitration. And I think that has 5 tremendously helped the docket -- the circuit court 6 docket with regards to common pleas in Florence County. 7 I think some type of implementation throughout the 8 state and these other counties that have maybe a 9 possible backlog with regards to civil docket, I think 10 that would be very beneficial. 11 With regards to the criminal docket, I 12 believe that -- I don't know that this will ever 13 happen. Right now the solicitor is in control of that 14 docket and there needs to be some additional working 15 together of the solicitor's office as well as the 16 public defender's offices. I think one of the things 17 that goes a long way with addressing the docket issue 18 is from what I've seen is properly funded solicitor's 19 offices as well as properly funded public defender's 20 offices because that's like a machine. Both of those 21 entities have to work together for them to move cases 22 in an efficient manner. 23 Q. Thank you. 24 If you were to be elected to the bench and 25 then retire, what would you like your legacy to be as a 0157 1 judge on the Circuit Court? 2 A. I would want to -- my legacy to be of someone 3 who was fair, someone who is impartial, someone who 4 treated others with respect, someone who was diligent, 5 hard working, those are the type of things I would want 6 to be remembered as. 7 Q. Thank you. 8 A few housekeeping issues. 9 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 10 legislator prior to this date? 11 A. No, ma'am. 12 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 13 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 14 the outcome of your screening? 15 A. No, ma'am. 16 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 17 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 18 A. No, ma'am. 19 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 20 commission? 21 A. No, ma'am. 22 Q. Do you understand that -- 23 A. Let me -- what I did, which is referenced in 24 my -- one of my sworn statements, I believe, there were 25 some things that were sent out inadvertently I sent 0158 1 before -- 2 Q. Right. 3 A. If you want to address that. 4 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 5 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 6 after the formal release of the commission's report? 7 A. Yes, ma'am. 8 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 9 on pledging? 10 A. Yes, ma'am. 11 Q. As a follow up, are you aware of the 12 penalties for violating the pledging rules, that is, it 13 is a misdemeanor and upon conviction, the violator must 14 be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more 15 than 90 days? 16 A. Yes, ma'am. 17 MS. WELLS: I would note for the record that 18 the Pee Dee Citizens Committee reported that Mr. Brown 19 is a good candidate who would ably serve on the Circuit 20 Court bench. 21 Mr. Chairman, I would note also for the 22 record that any concerns raised in the investigation 23 regarding the candidate were incorporated in the 24 questioning I did just now. And I have no further 25 questions. 0159 1 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Senator Ford. 2 SEN. FORD: You say the Pee Dee Citizen 3 Committee? 4 MS. WELLS: That's correct. The Pee Dee 5 Citizens Committee. 6 SEN. FORD: This is an at-large seat, right? 7 MS. WELLS: Yes. They can be -- the 8 candidates can reside in any part of the state for an 9 at-large -- and still run for an at-large seat. 10 SEN. FORD: Now, most of the work going to be 11 done in the Pee Dee? 12 SEN. KNOTTS: That's where he lives. 13 MS. WELLS: That's where the judge who's 14 retiring -- 15 SEN. FORD: He can wind up going all over the 16 state? 17 MS. WELLS: He can wind up going wherever the 18 chief justice sends him. 19 SEN. FORD: Did you all present the 20 lowcountry problems to these candidates about crime and 21 all that and the stuff with the program that Senator 22 McConnell funded? 23 MS. WELLS: Can I answer that? No, sir, we 24 did not. We did mention on -- to some of the 25 candidates. Senator Ford, I staffed that criminal 0160 1 justice system task force -- 2 SEN. FORD: You did a great job. 3 MS. WELLS: -- so I ask the questions to my 4 candidates and mentioned that. But a lot of the other 5 staff attorneys did not necessarily staff that, and I 6 don't know if they asked questions to all the 7 candidates or not. 8 SEN. FORD: See, the problem of mine is that 9 I don't want to prolong this. So I thought you all 10 would have done that. I mean, you can't come to 11 Charleston unless you got some ideas to helping us 12 solve these problems, and you all should have found 13 that out. 14 So now I can't answer the question because 15 it's going to look like I'm trying to keep you all here 16 all night. No, I can't. I wouldn't do that. 17 SEN. KNOTTS: Go ahead. 18 SEN. FORD: No. I have to go. I'm a player. 19 SEN. KNOTTS: Mr. Brown. 20 MR. BROWN: Yes, sir. 21 SEN. KNOTTS: You practice in federal court 22 and state court? 23 MR. BROWN: I do, sir. 24 SEN. KNOTTS: Do you see a difference in the 25 way judges -- their attendance in state court to the 0161 1 bench as well as the way judges' attendance in federal 2 court as far as taking the bench when they're supposed 3 to be? 4 MR. BROWN: Federal court is run much more on 5 a schedule. They do tell us -- one of the things that 6 I like as far as being a solo practitioner, they will 7 tell us specific date and time that we need to be in 8 federal court. Doesn't always go that way. If I'm 9 told to be there at 10:50, that I get addressed at 10 10:50 or my case gets addressed at 10:50. But I do 11 like that standpoint as far as federal court goes. 12 SEN. KNOTTS: What about state court? 13 MR. BROWN: State court, you're not -- 14 typically, you're either told to be there at 9:30 on, 15 say, a Monday morning for roll call, et cetera, for 16 nonjury issues, and you may not be addressed until 17 later in the day. A lawyer may be there all day 18 addressing those types of issues. 19 SEN. KNOTTS: As a judge, would you take the 20 bench when you were supposed to take the bench and try 21 to change the system? 22 MR. BROWN: I would be known as a 23 hard-working judge. Yes, sir. 24 SEN. KNOTTS: What time do you think court 25 should start and how many days a week? 0162 1 MR. BROWN: I think court should run five 2 days a week. 3 SEN. KNOTTS: Full days? 4 MR. BROWN: Yes, sir. I think that's one of 5 the ways I think you can address the backlog of cases 6 in civil court. 7 SEN. FORD: Say that again. I can't hear 8 you. 9 SEN. KNOTTS: He said court should work five 10 days a week, and he thinks that is one of the ways you 11 can address the backlog. He would be known as a 12 hard-working judge. And it's different in federal 13 court. 14 SEN. FORD: Okay. 15 MR. BROWN: But it's part of a whole machine 16 with criminal system with the public defender's office 17 and the solicitor's office and the judicial side of it 18 working together as well as the civil side. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Mr. Clemmons -- 20 Representative Clemmons. 21 REP. CLEMMONS: Thank you. Mr. Brown. 22 MR. BROWN: Yes, sir. 23 REP. CLEMMONS: Speaking of that hard work, I 24 note that you have experience working a gladiola farm. 25 MR. BROWN: Yes, sir. 0163 1 REP. CLEMMONS: Changing tires at gas 2 stations and working production line at a Tupperware 3 plant. 4 MR. BROWN: Yes, sir. 5 REP. CLEMMONS: I think you know how to work. 6 As far as your criminal experience or 7 criminal litigation experience is concerned -- 8 MR. BROWN: Yes, sir. 9 REP. CLEMMONS: -- I note in your material 10 that most of that has been towards the criminal defense 11 side of the bar. 12 MR. BROWN: Yes, sir. 13 REP. CLEMMONS: Share with us, if you would, 14 what bias you take, if any, to trying criminal cases. 15 My impression would be that having experienced mostly 16 that side of the litigation question that there might 17 be a bias towards a criminal defendant. Would you 18 share? 19 MR. BROWN: I mean, I treat everybody -- I 20 tell all of my clients, when they become my clients, 21 that I'm going to represent them exactly how I would 22 want them to represent me if I were in their shoes. 23 And I treat them like that. And I understand that 24 they've committed a crime or possibly committed a 25 crime, but I have a responsibility, an ethical 0164 1 responsibility to represent them with my best and 2 fullest ability and that's what I do. 3 REP. CLEMMONS: Once on the bench, will you 4 see -- how would you balance that past experience 5 against the needs of the victims? 6 MR. BROWN: Well, I mean, I would listen to 7 what the victims have to say. Clearly take that into 8 consideration. And implement a sentence that the 9 legislators have authorized me to implement in those 10 situations. 11 REP. CLEMMONS: Thank you. 12 SEN. KNOTTS: Senator Ford. 13 SEN. FORD: Didn't we pass a bill in the 14 senate to equalize the pay between -- I mean the 15 finance between the solicitor's office and the public 16 defender's? Did we? 17 MS. WELLS: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. The public 18 defender's offices are now voted on on a circuitwide 19 basis with the circuit public defender. And I believe 20 the funding issue might be better addressed by some of 21 the legislators. 22 SEN. FORD: He again raised that point, that 23 funding. But they should be equalized. We had already 24 done that in the senate. 25 SEN. KNOTTS: Public defender makes more than 0165 1 the solicitor. They do. 2 SEN. FORD: Have you all passed any of our 3 task force bills? 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I don't know. She says 5 we did. 6 SEN. FORD: If you all pass those bills, you 7 can reduce crime in Charleston by 70 percent. 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We'll pass them. 9 Any other questions of Mr. Brown? 10 Mr. Brown, we appreciate you being here with 11 us today. I will remind you about the 48-hour rule, 12 which basically means we'll issue a report, a draft 13 report. And according to the time period of 48 hours, 14 which expires after we issue it, it gets laid on the 15 desk of the General Assembly. After that time, it 16 becomes the official report of the final report of this 17 commission. And it can't be changed or entered into. 18 But before that time, we could recall you for 19 a public hearing if we wanted to and ask you more 20 questions. And we rarely do that. It has been done on 21 occasions. Most of the time it's when someone has done 22 something inappropriate as far as commitments go. No 23 contact with members of the General Assembly. In any 24 event, I'll just tell you about that and remind you 25 about that. And with that, we thank you for your 0166 1 willingness to participate in the process and for 2 appearing before us today. 3 MR. BROWN: Thank you, sir. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We hope you have a safe 5 trip home back to Florence. 6 MR. BROWN: Thank you. 7 (Mr. Brown exits the room.) 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Next we have Allen 9 Fretwell. 10 (Mr. Fretwell enters the room.) 11 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Mr. Fretwell. We have 12 before us today Mr. Allen O. Fretwell who seeks a 13 judicial Circuit Court at-large, seat number 1. 14 If you would, Mr. Fretwell, please raise your 15 right hand and be sworn. 16 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 17 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 18 MR. FRETWELL: I do. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 20 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 21 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for service 22 on the bench. Our inquiry has focused primarily on 23 nine evaluative criteria which have included a survey 24 of the bench and bar, a thorough study of your 25 application materials, verification of your compliance 0167 1 with state ethics law, a search of any newspaper 2 articles in which your name may appear, a study of any 3 previous screenings and a check for economic conflicts 4 of interest. 5 No affidavits have been filed in opposition 6 to your candidacy or election, and no witnesses are 7 here to testify today. 8 Do you have a brief opening statement you 9 would like to make? 10 MR. FRETWELL: Nothing other than just to 11 thank the commission for the opportunity to participate 12 in this process, and also to commend the commission and 13 their fine staff that have dealt very graciously with 14 me. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 16 Did you bring folks with you today? 17 MR. FRETWELL: I did. I brought my wife, 18 April. She's a high school art teacher, and we've been 19 married for four years. I also brought my 20 father-in-law, Danny Blackmon. Danny has served in 21 every branch of the armed services with the exception 22 of the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. He's quite a 23 role model for me. 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We appreciate you all 25 being here today. 0168 1 If you would, at this time, Mr. Fretwell, 2 answer any questions our counsel may have for you. 3 MS. SHULER: Mr. Chairman and members of the 4 commission, there are a few procedural matters to take 5 care of. 6 Mr. Fretwell, before you is your personal 7 data questionnaire that you submitted as part of your 8 application. Are there any amendments you would like 9 to make to that personal data questionnaire? 10 MR. FRETWELL: Yes, ma'am. I have them in a 11 letter form. 12 MS. SHULER: If you will just put it with 13 your personal data questionnaire. 14 At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would like to 15 ask Mr. Fretwell's personal data questionnaire and his 16 amendments be entered as an exhibit to the record. 17 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, it 18 will be done at this point in the transcript. 19 (EXHIBIT 17, Personal Data Questionnaire of 20 Allen O. Fretwell, admitted.) 21 MS. SHULER: Mr. Fretwell also provided a 22 sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 23 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 24 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 25 That statement was provided to all commission members 0169 1 earlier and is included in your notebook. 2 I have no concerns with that statement and 3 with the commission's approval, I would ask those 4 questions be waived at the public hearing. 5 Mr. Fretwell, you have that sworn statement 6 in front of you. Do you have any amendments to that 7 sworn statement? 8 MR. FRETWELL: Yes, ma'am. 9 MS. SHULER: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 10 would like to ask that Mr. Fretwell's sworn statement 11 and his amendments be entered as an exhibit into the 12 hearing record. 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: At this point in the 14 transcript, without objection, Mr. Fretwell's sworn 15 statement will be entered as part of the record. 16 (EXHIBIT 18, Sworn Statement of Allen O. 17 Fretwell, admitted.) 18 MS. SHULER: Thank you. 19 One final procedural matter. I note for the 20 record that based on the testimony contained in the 21 candidate's PDQ, which has been included in the record 22 with the candidate's consent, Mr. Fretwell meets the 23 statutory requirements of this position regarding age, 24 residence and years of practice. 25 BY MS. SHULER: 0170 1 Q. Mr. Fretwell, after serving for nine years as 2 an assistant solicitor, why do you now want to serve as 3 a Circuit Court judge? 4 A. Be sure I have a deep appreciation for the 5 law and for the order that brings to our lives. I 6 mean, our adversarial system of justice, it's the judge 7 that makes a determination that both sides must abide 8 by the rules and provide justice for all. 9 And I think of few higher callings for my 10 life personally than to ensure that my fellow citizens 11 are afforded the rights and liberties under our law. 12 Q. Mr. Fretwell, your sole experience, legal 13 experience has been in the criminal arena. How would 14 you compensate for that lack of civil experience? 15 A. Well, I can tell the members of the 16 commission that I did well in law school, and I do love 17 learning. Because of the extensive nature of carrying 18 a prosecutor's docket, I'm not at liberty generally to 19 look at fundamentals of civil law. But I will tell the 20 members of the commission that I have been involved as 21 a member of South Carolina Bar and Lawyer Education 22 Committee. I've been involved in the mock trial 23 program. I have served in that program as an attorney, 24 coach for a high school team that has twice won the 25 state championship and won the national championship in 0171 1 2004. 2 In that program, the cases that come out 3 alternate from criminal to civil. And I can tell you 4 this, that teaching high school students about the law 5 is really a pickle. They don't have sense of decorum 6 to the extent that if they think you're wrong, they'll 7 just call you on it, you know, tell you about it right 8 to your face. So I've had to explain those legal 9 concepts and principles to high school students and 10 literally break it down so that a high school student 11 could understand it. 12 I've also been involved in judging at the 13 mock trial on the middle school, high school and the 14 collegiate level, including the national championship 15 for the high school mock trial. I've very much enjoyed 16 that. I would have to know the rules of evidence as a 17 prosecutor to have to know the rules of procedure. I 18 apply those rules every day in evaluating what kind of 19 evidence I have to go to trial. And I plan to use 20 those same skills to educate myself on the civil 21 principles of the law. I think that I would enjoy 22 doing that. 23 Q. Thank you. 24 What would you describe as the appropriate 25 demeanor for a Circuit Court judge? 0172 1 A. I think a circuit court judge should 2 basically treat everyone like he or she would want to 3 be treated. I have been a litigant in a courtroom. I 4 have had to wait on judges that were late in coming 5 out, and I have had to make judges wait on my witnesses 6 that did not show up. In those instances where I have 7 been treated graciously, it just kind of makes 8 everything go a lot better. And I think the 9 appropriate demeanor for a judge is to treat everybody 10 with fairness. To certainly understand that the only 11 difference between the judge and the lawyers 12 participating is that one has to make a decision. I 13 certainly don't think I'm unduly qualified for the 14 position. There are many lawyers with whom I practice 15 that are just as qualified. But somebody needs to make 16 those decisions. I look forward to it. 17 Q. Mr. Fretwell, could you briefly offer some 18 suggestions for improving the backlog of cases for the 19 docket in Circuit Court, either or both common pleas or 20 general sessions? 21 A. Yes, ma'am. I think primarily we need 22 accountability with the docket. I think most circuits 23 have adopted some sort of electronic case management 24 system, and I think we have yet to see what affect that 25 electronic accountability will have on the backlog in 0173 1 general sessions court. 2 I also believe that each circuit ought to 3 have regular meetings of the bench and bar and discuss 4 factors that are unique to that particular circuit 5 about ways in which to move the process along in a way 6 that provides justice but also keeps accountability. 7 I think finally and perhaps most importantly, 8 the way I administer my docket as a prosecutor is 9 personal responsibility. I constantly reexamine the 10 way I dispose of cases and the way I end cases, the way 11 I approach the system. And I think -- I certainly talk 12 to other prosecutors and find out how they do it in an 13 attempt to revise the process. I've been doing that 14 for almost a decade now, and I've been able to keep my 15 docket in very good shape. And I think that ultimately 16 to keep a backlog down in South Carolina is going to 17 take some personal responsibility. 18 Q. Thank you. 19 You reported that a former criminal defendant 20 filed a suit against you as well as against other 21 numerous parties in connection with a defendant's 22 guilty plea. Could you explain briefly the nature of 23 the lawsuit and that status? 24 A. Yes, ma'am. This was an inmate that filed 25 suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which is a civil rights 0174 1 violation. It was alleged that there was a violation 2 of his civil rights. He basically named in his initial 3 pleadings everyone who had signed the sentencing sheet 4 including the court reporter, his attorney, the judge, 5 the judge who signed the arrest warrants. 6 I was not aware -- I've never been served 7 with pleadings in this particular case. But the way I 8 became aware of it was I Googled my name, perhaps in 9 thinking about this hearing today and making sure there 10 wasn't something I wasn't aware out there. My 11 grandfather had the same name as I have. I don't think 12 he got into too much trouble during his life. But I 13 saw myself as a defendant in a case and immediately 14 called somebody that had a lot of experience with the 15 federal bar. They looked at the case for me on the 16 electronic online case reporting system. 17 And apparently what happens in these kind of 18 situations, pro se litigants in federal cases file 19 numerous cases. And the federal courts are constantly 20 inundated with these types of cases. What happens 21 initially is that the cases are assigned to a U.S. 22 magistrate, and that magistrate indicates to the pro se 23 litigant that those pleadings need to conform to the 24 requirements of the federal rules. 25 And that was done in this particular case. 0175 1 And it is my understanding that at the current time, 2 the recommendation -- I haven't actually brought a copy 3 of the order in the case signed by federal magistrate 4 George Kosko indicating or recommended to the federal 5 district judge that the case be dismissed. 6 He discussed in specific detail the immunity 7 of the judges that were sued in the case and the 8 prosecutorial immunity of myself and the assistant 9 attorney general that was named in the suit. It was my 10 understanding that the matter will not go further. 11 That's to the best of my knowledge. 12 Q. Thank you, Mr. Fretwell. 13 A. Yes, ma'am. 14 Q. You received one bench and bar survey which 15 causes me to ask you an additional question. In 16 summary, it basically alleges that you are unable to be 17 impartial to the defense since you serve as an 18 assistant solicitor and that you are unwilling to 19 accept the others' interpretations of the law in 20 factual scenarios. 21 What response would you offer to those 22 allegations? 23 A. Well, I can tell you that ever since you 24 advised me of those comments, I've taken them to heart 25 and thought about them. And I can tell the members of 0176 1 the commission that certainly I take my job as a 2 prosecutor very seriously. I would take my position as 3 a circuit judge very seriously. And I want to assure 4 the members of the commission that as a prosecutor, I 5 am an advocate. I have a bias on behalf of the state. 6 But I also want to assure the commission that as a 7 judge, I understand that I am not an advocate and that 8 I have no bias and that I have, in the words of the old 9 legal adage, no friends to reward or enemies to punish. 10 So I certainly understand that in the 11 performance of my duties as a prosecutor, as I have 12 discussed earlier, I try to keep my docket on track. I 13 try to encourage defense attorneys to abide by the time 14 requirements in the system, an electronic system. And 15 at times I've received some frustration and resistance 16 from the defense for that. And I certainly appreciate 17 that. 18 But I can tell the commission that what I 19 would want ultimately is this lawyer, being six years 20 after me, being a circuit judge, to determine that I 21 was before that judge and I was wrong about that. He 22 can be fair. He is fair. And that would be my goal as 23 a circuit judge. Not only that, I want to have the 24 sworn statement. I want to have this personal data 25 questionnaire before me that I can review on a periodic 0177 1 basis to make sure that I'm keeping in line with what 2 I've told this commission and what I ultimately would 3 tell the General Assembly that I'm going to do. 4 Q. Thank you. 5 A. Yes, ma'am. 6 Q. Have you sought or received the pledge of any 7 legislator prior to this day? 8 A. No, ma'am, I have not. 9 Q. Have you sought or been offered a conditional 10 pledge of support of any legislator pending the outcome 11 of your screening? 12 A. No, ma'am. 13 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 14 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 15 A. No, ma'am. 16 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 17 commission? 18 A. I have. I was a candidate last year. And at 19 the time at which pledges were appropriate to be 20 sought, very soon thereafter I determined that one of 21 the fellow judges or judicial candidates in the race 22 had sufficient votes to be elected judge, so I withdrew 23 from the race at that point. 24 Following that time, I called 25 Professor Freeman and we went to lunch, and I talked to 0178 1 Professor Freeman a little bit at lunch about my 2 experience as a judicial candidate. And I think in 3 hindsight I have not seen him other than today since 4 that time at the end of the judicial race last year. 5 I also want to tell the members of the 6 commission that I spoke with Representative Fletcher 7 Smith. I spoke with Representative Smith after he lost 8 his primary, and I was under the understanding that he 9 would no longer be a member of this commission. He 10 informed me during our conversation that he believed he 11 would be a member of this commission until relieved 12 sometime in the fall. I immediately ended my 13 conversation, and I have not discussed anything with 14 him. 15 Q. Thank you. 16 A. Yes, ma'am. 17 Q. Do you understand that you're prohibited from 18 seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours after the 19 formal release of the commission's report? 20 A. I do understand that. 21 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 22 on pledging? 23 A. Yes, ma'am, I have. 24 Q. Are you aware of those penalties? 25 A. Yes, ma'am. It's my understanding the 0179 1 misdemeanor up to 90 days and a fine of $1,000. 2 Q. Thank you. 3 A. Yes, ma'am. 4 MS. SHULER: I would note that the Upstate 5 Citizens Committee reported that they found no 6 additional information that would alter the report from 7 earlier this year. The 2007 Upstate Citizens Committee 8 report stated that Mr. Fretwell's qualifications meet 9 and exceed expectations set forth in evaluative 10 criteria. 11 Mr. Chairman, I have no further additional 12 questions for Mr. Fretwell. 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Senator Ford. 14 BY SEN. FORD: 15 Q. Greenville, that's the largest county in the 16 state. What kind of backlog do you have in Greenville? 17 A. I think our criminal court, we have somewhere 18 between 10- and 12,000 cases pending. 19 Q. You were saying earlier about in your -- the 20 cases that you handle, you have no backlog? 21 A. The docket that is personally assigned to me, 22 the goal for each prosecutor is to keep that backlog 23 somewhere under a year of age. And I have been able to 24 keep my docket relatively close to a year, even close 25 to nine months over the course of being a prosecutor. 0180 1 Q. Explain that to me. 2 A. How I do that is I constantly review my 3 cases. I talk to the defense lawyer. I review the 4 case initially when it comes in and schedule a pretrial 5 conference with the officer. If I think that there are 6 any issues to the case that would make it possible for 7 me to go forward or give me difficulty going forward, I 8 set that pretrial conference up with the officer, bring 9 them in, talk to them about the case. Sometimes the 10 case ends there because there simply is not evidence to 11 go forward. 12 If there is evidence to go forward, then I 13 send a prefiled bill of indictment to the clerk's 14 office for purposes of an eventual grand jury 15 indictment. Then when I receive those cases back, I 16 immediately evaluate them for purposes of making a plea 17 offer to the defense counsel. 18 Now, there are electronic kind of time tables 19 in our system that give you a certain amount of time in 20 which to get that plea offer out and to do different 21 things. And I'll tell you honestly, sometimes you 22 don't get all the information from the law enforcement 23 because they are unable to get it from -- you may have 24 something in DNA analysis at SLED. There may be some 25 difficulty in completing that file. 0181 1 But to the extent that you can get a file 2 completed, then always being vigilant, look at your 3 cases and determine when you can move forward and call 4 defense counsel and work out some sort of resolution to 5 the case, is how I've been successful with my docket. 6 Q. Most of the cases that you have is against -- 7 I mean, the lawyers on the other side of you are the 8 public defenders? 9 A. I would say the majority, yes, sir. 10 Q. Okay. Now, this is the at-large seat? 11 A. Yes, sir. 12 Q. Now, I'm not -- I'm trying to get clear on 13 that. So this is not a Pee Dee seat, this is an 14 at-large seat? 15 A. Yes, sir. 16 Q. Does that mean you're going to be stationed 17 in Greenville? 18 A. I think I would be available to be sent 19 wherever court administration needs a judge. 20 Q. Primarily Greenville? 21 A. I think there are times in which that's the 22 case. But to tell you that -- even our resident judges 23 go all over the state depending on where court 24 administration needs them. 25 SEN. FORD: Can you explain that to me again? 0182 1 MS. SHULER: At large, you can reside 2 anywhere in the state. Is not tied to a specific 3 jurisdiction. 4 SEN. FORD: But most of the time would be 5 spent where he lives? 6 MS. SHULER: It's where court administration 7 assigns him. 8 BY SEN. FORD: 9 Q. You got like 12,000 pending cases? 10 A. We have an active docket. Now, understand, 11 we got about a thousand cases in every month in general 12 sessions. And we dispose of anywhere from 900 to about 13 1,100 cases a month. 14 Q. So you're going to keep building and building 15 and building? 16 A. Sometimes it does, sir; sometimes it doesn't. 17 Q. In Charleston it's worse. 18 A. I'm not familiar with -- 19 Q. It's bad. 20 A. Yes, sir. 21 Q. What kind of the solutions do you have for 22 the backlog problem in Greenville, Charleston, Richland 23 and Spartanburg? 24 A. Well, I can tell you that before they 25 initiated this electronic accounting system -- this has 0183 1 not been in place very long. We received our 2 administrative order, I believe, last year. So we 3 haven't really been able to see the benefit from 4 having -- the attorneys on both sides kind of have some 5 constraints on how long they can let a case just kind 6 of languish out there. I don't do that with my cases. 7 I have a system that I follow with my cases early on 8 that it's kind of irrespective of the electronic 9 system. But I think it's good overall because it 10 requires people to have accountability on moving those 11 cases forward. 12 But I think, also, what's very important is 13 to have conversation between the bench and the bar in 14 any given circuit and between the defense and the 15 plaintiff's bar, the defense and the solicitor's office 16 to look at reasons why cases languish. 17 The chief public defender in my circuit is a 18 man named John Abdalla, and he gave me one time a 19 little bracelet that says "Justice delayed is justice 20 denied." And I've always thought about that. 21 Q. One final question. 22 A. Yes, sir. 23 Q. As a former solicitor, let's say you are very 24 successful -- let's say you're successful in getting 25 this seat. 0184 1 A. Yes, sir. 2 Q. As a judge, would you stand for lawyers -- 3 certain lawyers to delay the process because, you know, 4 because they got certain -- what is the big-time 5 lawyers and they might be ready and they might not be 6 ready, might not be ready, and that could go on for 7 five and six and seven years. In the meantime, in my 8 district killing folks and everything. How would you 9 deal with it? 10 A. I think that no matter if you have a pro se 11 litigant before you -- 12 Q. What does that mean, pro se litigant? 13 A. A person that represents himself or herself. 14 If they have no lawyer or if they have the highest 15 priced lawyer in town, the justice system is not 16 supposed to be a respecter of persons. 17 Q. You wouldn't stand for that as a judge? 18 A. No, sir. No, sir. Not on that basis, no, 19 sir. 20 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Senator Knotts. 21 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 22 Q. Yes, sir. Mr. Fretwell. 23 A. Yes. 24 Q. How do you foresee your workday and your 25 workweek as a Circuit Court judge? 0185 1 A. How do I foresee it in a sense of the timing? 2 Q. Timing. When would you be on the bench and 3 when would you leave the bench each day? 4 A. Senator Knotts, I would want to be on the 5 bench as soon as there was work for me to be done. I 6 can tell you from managing a courtroom for purposes of 7 pleas, that sometimes it's difficult to get pleas ready 8 in the morning on a particular day, to get the judge 9 out on the bench. But I don't think there's any reason 10 why the judge is not supposed to be in the courthouse 11 at the appropriate time. 8:30 in the morning is when 12 most people go to work. 8:00, 8:30 in the morning. I 13 believe that you work 8:30, 8:00 to 5:00 every day, 14 including Fridays. I think that is what I'm being paid 15 to do, and I think that's what I need to do. 16 Q. Have you seen judges that say they're going 17 to be on the bench at 9:00 and they don't show up till 18 10:00, 10:30? 19 A. Yes, sir. 20 Q. Do you see them leave on Friday -- or 21 Thursday afternoon and not work on Friday? 22 A. Yes, sir, I've seen them. 23 Q. Would that be your practice? 24 A. No, sir. 25 Q. You'd keep court running? 0186 1 A. To the extent that it's possible for me to 2 keep the court running, yes, sir, I would. 3 SEN. KNOTTS: All right. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: No further questions? 5 Okay. Mr. Fretwell, we appreciate you and 6 your family, your wife, father-in-law for being here 7 with us. 8 MR. FRETWELL: Thank you very much. Thank 9 you. 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I would remind you of the 11 48-hour rule. 12 MR. FRETWELL: Yes, sir. 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I hope you have a safe 14 trip home. 15 MR. FRETWELL: Thank you very much, 16 Mr. Chairman. You all take care. 17 (Mr. Fretwell exits the room.) 18 (Off the record.) 19 (Ms. Glover enters the room.) 20 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Good evening, Ms. Glover. 21 MS. GLOVER: Good morning. 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us today 23 Lisa C. Glover, former Workers' Compensation 24 Commissioner who seeks a position on the Circuit Court 25 at-large, seat number 1. 0187 1 If you would, Ms. Glover, raise your right 2 hand to be sworn. 3 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 4 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 5 MS. GLOVER: I do. 6 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, ma'am. 7 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 8 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for service 9 on the bench. Our investigation has primarily focused 10 on nine evaluative criteria which have included a 11 survey of the bench and bar, a thorough study of your 12 application material, a verification of your compliance 13 with state ethics law, a search of newspaper articles 14 in which your name may have appeared, a study of any 15 previous screenings and a check of any economic 16 conflicts of interest. 17 We have not received any affidavits in 18 opposition to your election, and there are no witnesses 19 here to testify. 20 Do you have a brief opening statement you 21 would like to make? 22 MS. GLOVER: Nothing other than I would like 23 to say thank you all for having me and thank you for 24 this opportunity. I would like to thank Ms. Shuler and 25 her staff for helping me politely with the process. 0188 1 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, ma'am. 2 If you would answer any questions Ms. Shuler 3 might have for you. 4 MS. SHULER: Mr. Chairman and members of the 5 commission, I have a few procedural matters to take of. 6 Ms. Glover, before you is your personal data 7 questionnaire. Do you have any amendments you would 8 like to make to that document? 9 MS. GLOVER: No. 10 MS. SHULER: Mr. Chairman, at this time I 11 would ask that Ms. Glover's personal data questionnaire 12 be entered as an exhibit into the hearing record. 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Her PDQ questionnaire 14 will be entered into the record at this point in the 15 transcript without objection. 16 (EXHIBIT 19, Personal Data Questionnaire of 17 Lisa C. Glover, admitted.) 18 MS. SHULER: Ms. Glover also provided a sworn 19 statement with detailed answers to over 30 questions 20 regarding judicial conduct, statutory qualification, 21 office administration and temperament. That statement 22 is provided to all commission members earlier and is 23 included in the notebook. I have no concerns with the 24 statement and with the commission's approval, I would 25 ask those questions be waived at the hearing today. 0189 1 Ms. Glover, before you is a sworn statement. 2 Do you have any amendments to that document? 3 MS. GLOVER: No, I do not. 4 MS. SHULER: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 5 would ask that Ms. Glover's sworn statement be entered 6 as an exhibit to this hearing record. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, her 8 sworn statement will be entered into the record at this 9 point in the transcript. 10 (EXHIBIT 20, Sworn Statement of Lisa C. 11 Glover, admitted.) 12 MS. SHULER: One final procedural matter. I 13 note for the record that based on the testimony 14 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been 15 included in the record, Lisa Glover meets the statutory 16 requirements for this position regarding age, residence 17 and years of practice. 18 BY MS. SHULER: 19 Q. Ms. Glover, you have spent your legal career 20 as an assistant solicitor, a workers' compensation 21 commissioner and presently as a deputy general counsel 22 for the Second Injury Fund. 23 Why do you now want to serve as a Circuit 24 Court judge? 25 A. I want to serve as a Circuit Court judge to 0190 1 continue my career in the public service arena. I 2 believe that I could serve in this capacity to continue 3 updating or furthering the advancement of the laws in 4 this state, to advance the constitution of this state 5 as well as this country. 6 Q. Thank you. 7 Ms. Glover, in April of 2006, you were 8 screened for a position as administrative law judge. 9 You were asked why you wanted to serve as an 10 administrative law judge. And you answered, quote, I 11 didn't feel as if I had enough civil experience to 12 pursue a Circuit Court seat, so that's why I chose the 13 ALJ seat because I think I could probably do a better 14 job of the ALJ seat, learning that area of the law 15 versus trying to dive strictly into, you know, civil 16 area of the law. I won't necessarily say it's more 17 complicated, but it's just as involved as the 18 administrative area. 19 Given what you said in your prior hearing, 20 how would you prepare to handle matters for which 21 you're not currently experienced in? 22 A. I would prepare myself by studying the law 23 through the advance sheets, through publications from 24 the bar. And since my last screening two years ago, in 25 my new position as deputy general counsel of the Second 0191 1 Injury Fund, I have engaged in other job activities 2 that I didn't previously engage in before, such as 3 conducting depositions, actually writing orders, 4 writing briefs, making arguments to higher courts. 5 That was something I had not previously done. And I 6 would just continue to study as far as the Rules of 7 Civil Procedure and familiarize myself more with the 8 operations of common pleas court. 9 Q. Okay. Ms. Glover, you indicate in your 10 personal data questionnaire that you recently dealt 11 with a foreclosure action. 12 Could you explain to the commission how this 13 action arose and how it's been resolved. 14 A. My husband and I suffered some financial 15 difficulties during the year, late 2006 and 2007. And 16 I made a decision, along with my husband, to not make 17 two mortgage payments. That kind of went on -- it was 18 no more than two payments. The banks filed action. I 19 was served with the papers, I think maybe a week before 20 I filed my application. Since that time I have paid 21 off the bank and been back in good standing with them. 22 I made the payments -- I think there was two months' 23 worth of payments. I paid it off in full. And I'm 24 back on track with my mortgage. 25 MS. SHULER: I would note for the commission 0192 1 that Ms. Glover's financial information indicated that 2 she had some outstanding accounts. Ms. Glover has 3 provided staff with documents showing that those 4 matters also have been resolved. 5 BY MS. SHULER: 6 Q. Ms. Glover, could you explain to the 7 commission what you think is the appropriate demeanor 8 for a judge? 9 A. I believe the appropriate demeanor for a 10 judge is one of being cordial. One of listening to all 11 parties, not just -- especially pro se claimants, I 12 would say. Give them their opportunity to be heard. 13 As lawyers, we go to court every day, we talk all the 14 time and we get our positions on the record. 15 I think once a party goes into the court, you 16 know, this may be their only opportunity. This is 17 their day in court. So I believe that the demeanor of 18 the judge to be first and foremost to treat all the 19 parties with respect and dignity, to be cordial and to 20 let the parties be heard. 21 Now, that doesn't mean that they should go on 22 all day long, but enough time so that they feel 23 comfortable with the process to know that they're not 24 being run over by the process. That their position can 25 be heard and their feelings are known. 0193 1 Q. Thank you. 2 Briefly, what suggestions would you offer for 3 improving the backlog of cases on the docket in the 4 Circuit Court for common pleas and general sessions? 5 A. I believe the first thing I would suggest is 6 pretrial conferences. I think pretrial conferences can 7 help you flesh out exactly what the case involves. And 8 that way, the parties could identify those issues and 9 possibly they could stipulate to those matters so that 10 those matters would not have to be litigated. If the 11 parties can agree as to what certain matters are, you 12 can move on to the other areas where they possibly can 13 not agree to that. 14 Another area would be mediation. I believe 15 that the parties could get together and come to an 16 agreement on a certified mediator. Maybe where both 17 parties would agree to pay for the services of a 18 mediator and have a mediator decide the case. 19 Last thing I would suggest is maybe hiring or 20 having -- make sure that there is associate counsel. 21 Sometimes the lead attorney on the case gets bogged 22 down doing other things and the case gets called and 23 they'll inform the court, well, I can't do this because 24 I'm required to be here. If you had an associate 25 counsel who was familiar with the case, that associate 0194 1 counsel could go forward with the case. 2 Q. Thank you. 3 I would note that the judicial qualifications 4 committee of the South Carolina Bar found Ms. Glover to 5 be unqualified and made the following comments. "After 6 interviewing more than the minimum of 30 members of the 7 bar who have knowledge of the candidate's integrity, 8 competence and temperament and interviewing the 9 candidate, the committee reports the following 10 information. 11 "Members of the bar reported that Ms. Glover 12 possesses average legal knowledge and average judicial 13 temperament. Concerns were raised, however, about her 14 diligence while she was a Workers' Compensation 15 Commissioner. She was described as being 16 lackadaisical, indecisive and oftentimes late with 17 decisions. 18 "Based on the information and interview, the 19 committee reports that it is the collective opinion 20 that the candidate is not qualified to serve as a 21 circuit court judge." 22 Ms. Glover, what response do you have to the 23 South Carolina Bar judicial qualifications committee 24 report? 25 A. Well, I disagree with it, and that's one of 0195 1 the main reasons why I'm here tonight. I got that 2 report and was surprised by it. I initially thought 3 about withdrawing, but I decided not to because I don't 4 believe -- I'm not lackadaisical. I'm not indecisive. 5 I was never that way when I was on the commission. I 6 feel like I've been socked in the eye. 7 One thing I told Ms. Benson, who was my 8 screening attorney, when you have a black eye, the 9 black eye heals. So I'm here to stand up for myself. 10 I was never lackadaisical. I always attended my 11 hearings. I was not late to my hearings. I made sure 12 that I got there. I made sure that I did not keep the 13 attorneys waiting. I did not keep the pro se claimants 14 waiting. I was there to do my hearings. 15 I made decisions. I don't think I was 16 indecisive. The decisions that I made, maybe they 17 weren't what one side or the other wanted me to decide. 18 I think our system is great because we have a system of 19 checks and balances. Our checks and balances is the 20 appeal process. If a party wasn't satisfied with the 21 ruling that I made, they were open to file appeals. 22 That was certainly done on my hearings. I've had cases 23 that went all the way up to the Supreme Court and to 24 Court of Appeals. 25 Before this application process, we were 0196 1 asked to list five significant cases. I listed five 2 significant cases that went -- I believe two of them 3 went to the Supreme Court and the other three went to 4 the Court of Appeals. As a fellow commissioner, those 5 courts affirmed the rulings that I made. That being 6 said, I think, like I said, it is good that we have a 7 system of checks and balances. 8 I think I've always been a hard worker. I've 9 always been diligent in my jobs. I haven't been 10 lackadaisical. That word also means apathetic and lazy 11 to me. I'm none of those things. I'm none of those 12 things. And I disagree with the bar report. And, you 13 know, as you indicated earlier, I was here two years 14 ago. I was found qualified by the bar two years ago, 15 so I don't know what happened between that time and 16 this time, how they've come to make that decision, you 17 know, based on the people that they spoke with. So I 18 disagree with it. 19 Q. Have you sought or received the pledge of any 20 legislator prior to this date? 21 A. No, I have not. 22 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 23 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 24 the outcome of your screenings? 25 A. No, I have not. 0197 1 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 2 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 3 A. No, I have not. 4 Q. Have you contacted any? 5 A. No, I have not. 6 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 7 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 8 after formal release of the commission's report? 9 A. Yes, I do. 10 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 11 on pledging? 12 A. Yes, I have. 13 Q. Are you aware of the penalty for violating 14 the pledging rules, that is, it's a misdemeanor and 15 upon conviction, fined not more than a $1,000 and 16 imprisoned not more than 90 days? 17 A. Yes, I am. 18 MS. SHULER: I would note that the Midlands 19 Citizens Committee found Ms. Glover to be a highly 20 qualified and highly regarded candidate who would ably 21 serve on the Circuit Court bench. 22 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Senator Ford. 24 SEN. FORD: I have a few questions to 25 Ms. Jane. 0198 1 Did you research the information that she 2 just provided on her qualifications about based on what 3 the bar -- the bar said and based on what she just 4 said, did you investigate it, investigate some of that? 5 MS. SHULER: The bar report actually just 6 came out. 7 MS. GLOVER: I just received that bar report 8 this past Tuesday. 9 MS. SHULER: Right. And they do not furnish 10 us anything more than what is in their report. They've 11 actually reduced the amount that they put in the 12 report. And I asked them after last screening in the 13 spring when they just sent in unqualified, to at least 14 put an explanation as to why they're finding a 15 candidate unqualified. So they provided us this one 16 paragraph summary. 17 SEN. FORD: She said two years ago the same 18 bar ruled that she was qualified? 19 MS. SHULER: That's right. But I will make 20 you aware that different people make up the judicial 21 qualifications committee, that they change each year. 22 So I don't know if she had the same people interviewing 23 her as those who interviewed her two years ago. 24 SEN. FORD: What about the Midlands Citizen 25 Committee, they said that she was qualified. 0199 1 MS. SHULER: They did. They're the 2 grassroots citizens committee. 3 SEN. FORD: So which one -- which one got the 4 most weight? 5 PROF. FREEMAN: That's for us to decide. 6 MS. SHULER: That's for you to decide, not 7 for me. 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Senator Knotts. 9 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 10 Q. Ms. Glover, when you were a Workers' 11 Compensation Commissioner, what was the longest time 12 that you took to make a decision, sat on your desk 13 waiting on an order to be signed? 14 A. I'm not sure. That was one of the concerns 15 that I had -- or that's been raised before about me. I 16 had some timeliness issues as far as getting orders 17 out. And my explanation for that would be in workers' 18 comp, sometimes a record gets left open for the 19 submission of doctor's depositions, sometimes that 20 takes a little bit longer than we would like. Other 21 times it dealt with me making a decision, you know, and 22 my determination as to the complexity of the case. 23 Some cases were pretty easy to decide, other cases 24 weren't. And in those situations, I took my time in 25 making those decisions because I want to try to make 0200 1 the right decision the first time, you know, instead of 2 having it appealed and going back through the process 3 of having someone else having to do the work over 4 again. I'm not quite sure how long it took, but that 5 was an issue that I had while I was on the commission. 6 And that would be something that I would need to work 7 on. 8 If I were a Circuit Court judge, I would do a 9 better job of docketing as to when things were due, do 10 a better job of getting back with the lawyers as far as 11 them submitting proposed orders on -- the commissioners 12 themselves do not draft orders. Some commissioners do 13 now since I'm on the other side of it. Some 14 commissioners do. But I did not draft orders. I sent 15 out order instructions, and I asked the lawyers to send 16 in orders. So like I said, timeliness was an issue for 17 me. 18 Q. In fact, it was sometimes 18 months on one, 19 right? 20 A. I'm not quite sure. It could very well have 21 been. I can't say for sure that it was. I'm not sure. 22 Q. What would you think that your work ethic 23 would be on the bench? When would you feel like you 24 need to start court and what would be your normal 25 workday? 0201 1 A. I would start -- I like to start court at 2 9:00 no matter where it would be held. As a workers' 3 compensation commissioner, I traveled all over the 4 state and generally that was what time I started my 5 hearings. My hearings were set for 9:00 in the 6 morning, and I end court at 5:00 in the afternoon. If 7 a trial were in process, after that point, maybe work 8 to 6:30, 7:00, depending on what trial I'm in, if 9 that's what's going on. 10 Q. What measure would -- what measures have you 11 taken to make sure that your timeliness in making 12 decisions would be better as a circuit judge than when 13 it was when you was a workers' compensation? 14 A. Right now I'm tasked with drafting orders. 15 And generally speaking, we have 30 days to draft orders 16 so I make sure I calendar it. I put on my calender 17 when the actual due date is. And I also back up to 18 make sure I have it done a week prior to. And if I run 19 into a problem getting the order done, I look at the 20 commissioner and ask for an extension of time. And 21 sometimes that's granted and sometimes it's not. 22 But generally speaking, I would try to have 23 it done the week prior to the due date. 24 Q. Do you realize in criminal court, and that's 25 what I'm talking about, sometimes in criminal court an 0202 1 order that is not ruled on in a timely fashion can 2 crowd the docket tremendously. 3 A. Yes, sir. 4 Q. And, you know, I just want to make sure that 5 you -- that you would not be taking as much time to 6 sign orders or make decisions as a Circuit Court judge 7 as you did whenever you were administrative -- I mean, 8 workers' compensation commissioner. 9 A. Yes, sir. I think criminal court would be a 10 little bit different. First and foremost you have 11 someone's freedom at stake and generally those would 12 come in the form of motions. 13 Q. Now, Ms. Glover, whenever you were in 14 workers' comp, you had someone's livelihood as to 15 whether or not they go back to work and make a living 16 and feed their family that are not criminals. So, I 17 mean, a person is charged with a crime is different 18 than a working man out there trying to make a living to 19 feed his family. 20 A. Yes, sir. 21 Q. So, I mean, I wouldn't use that as a 22 comparison. 23 A. Well, I think in workers' comp, I wasn't 24 tasked with making a decision as to whether or not the 25 person would go back to work. In some cases that was 0203 1 the decision of the employer, in other cases it was the 2 decision of the doctor as to whether or not that person 3 was released to return to work. 4 I think in the criminal arena, especially if 5 someone is in jail, decisions need to be made quickly 6 and the right decisions need to be made. But as I 7 stated earlier, I would use a docketing system to make 8 sure that I timely got out decisions and orders. 9 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any more questions? 10 I would just like to state to the commission 11 as someone who does a fair amount of workers' 12 compensation, of course Ms. Glover no longer serves on 13 the Workers' Compensation Commission, I never saw any 14 of those problems, nor did I never hear of anybody else 15 having problems with that. 16 SEN. KNOTTS: I believe she's admitted it. 17 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Pardon me? 18 SEN. KNOTTS: I believe she's admitted she 19 had the problems. 20 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Well, I didn't hear 21 anything. That's fine. 22 SEN. KNOTTS: Did you not say you had those 23 problems? 24 MS. GLOVER: I said I had issues with 25 timeliness. 0204 1 SEN. KNOTTS: Issues with timeliness. 2 MS. GLOVER: With timeliness only. I deny 3 that I was lackadaisical or indecisiveness. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I never saw any of that. 5 SEN. MCCONNELL: Can I ask her one question? 6 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Sure. 7 SEN. MCCONNELL: Back when you served on the 8 commission, did you all have a full contingent of 9 commissioners? 10 MS. GLOVER: Sometimes, sometimes not. At 11 one point when I was on the commission, we were down to 12 five commissioners. And in that situation, what we 13 would do, we would split the district. If I were 14 assigned to the Charleston district, if we were down 15 one or two commissioners, say, the Richland County 16 district was open, all the commissioners would take 17 those 200 cases assigned to the Richland County 18 district and divide them up between the five of us that 19 were there. So we had the extra workload. 20 SEN. MCCONNELL: It would be a fair statement 21 that during the times the commission was down, your 22 case load was much heavier than it was when there was a 23 full commission? 24 MS. GLOVER: Yes. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any further questions? 0205 1 There being no further questions, Ms. Glover, 2 of course you have been through this process before and 3 you understand the 48-hour rule? 4 MS. GLOVER: Yes, sir. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We issue a report and -- 6 we issue a draft report and 48 hours later it becomes 7 the final report. Up until it becomes the final 8 report, we could reconvene and call you back to testify 9 if there were any issues that cropped up or anything of 10 that nature. That's not happened many times, and 11 almost every time it was some impropriety with General 12 Assembly or some perceived impropriety about pledging 13 and that sort of thing. I would just caution you about 14 that. 15 And with that, I thank you for your 16 willingness to take part in the process and thank you 17 for your willingness to serve. Have a safe trip back 18 home. 19 MS. GLOVER: Thank you very much. 20 (Ms. Glover exits the room.) 21 (Off the record.) 22 (Mr. von Herrmann enters the room.) 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Good evening, sir. 24 Today we have before us William B. 25 von Herrmann who seeks a position for circuit court 0206 1 at-large, seat number 1. 2 If you would please, sir, raise your right 3 hand and be sworn. 4 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 5 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 6 MR. VON HERRMANN: Yes, sir, I do. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit 8 Selection Commission has thoroughly investigated your 9 qualifications for service on the bench. Our focus has 10 primarily been the nine evaluative criteria which 11 include a survey of the bench and bar, a thorough study 12 of your application materials, a verification of your 13 compliance with state ethics laws, a search of 14 newspaper articles in which your name may have 15 appeared, a study of any previous screenings and a 16 check for economic conflicts of interest. 17 We have no affidavits in opposition to your 18 election. There are no witnesses present here to 19 testify. 20 Do you have a brief opening statement which 21 you would like to make? 22 MR. VON HERRMANN: Yes, sir. I understand it 23 is late in the day, and I don't want to take too much 24 of your time. I do want to tell you how much I 25 appreciate you all allowing me the opportunity to 0207 1 appear before you. I just want to compliment your 2 staff on how they've handled everything throughout the 3 entire process. It really has gone as smoothly as I 4 think it possibly could. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 6 If you would, at this time, answer any 7 questions counsel may have for you. 8 MR. FIFFICK: Mr. Chairman and members of the 9 Commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 10 care of. 11 Is that document in front of you from the 12 personal data questionnaire you submitted as part of 13 your application? 14 MR. VON HERRMANN: Yes, sir, it is. 15 MR. FIFFICK: And is there any amendment you 16 would like to make at this time to your personal data 17 questionnaire? 18 MR. VON HERRMANN: Yes, sir. I bought a 19 letter in compliance with your request changing 20 question number one. I currently reside at 5680 Old 21 Bucksville Road. I've recently moved. 22 As to question five, it should reflect in 23 part A that I was married to Heather Lea von Herrmann, 24 November 15th, 2008. And also my son, Evan 25 von Herrmann, is now eight years old, and Alex is five 0208 1 years old, both having had a birthday since the 2 submission of the form. 3 MR. FIFFICK: Thank you, sir. 4 At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would ask that 5 Mr. von Herrmann's personal data questionnaire be 6 entered as an exhibit to the hearing record. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done at this 8 point in the transcript without objection. 9 (EXHIBIT 21, Personal Data Questionnaire of 10 William B. von Herrmann, admitted.) 11 MR. FIFFICK: Mr. von Herrmann also provided 12 a sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 13 questions regarding judicial conflict, statutory 14 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 15 That statement was provided to all commissioners -- all 16 commission members earlier and is included in your 17 notebooks. 18 I have no concerns with the statement and 19 with the commission's approval, I would ask those 20 questions be waived at the public hearing today. 21 Is that document you have in front of you the 22 sworn statement you submitted as part of your 23 application? 24 MR. VON HERRMANN: Yes, sir, it is. 25 MR. FIFFICK: Is there any amendment you 0209 1 would like to make to the sworn statement? 2 MR. VON HERRMANN: No, there is not. 3 MR. FIFFICK: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 4 would ask that Mr. von Herrmann's sworn statement be 5 entered as an exhibit to the hearing record. 6 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: At this point his sworn 7 statement will be admitted as an exhibit and without 8 any objection. 9 (EXHIBIT 22, Sworn Statement of William B. 10 von Herrmann, admitted.) 11 MR. FIFFICK: One final procedural matter. I 12 note for the record that based on the testimony 13 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which was been 14 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 15 Mr. von Herrmann meets the statutory requirement for 16 this position regarding age, residence and years of 17 practice. 18 BY MR. FIFFICK: 19 Q. Mr. von Herrmann, why do you now want to 20 serve as a Circuit Court judge? 21 A. I believe it's more of a twofold answer. 22 First and foremost, my service to the community as a 23 solicitor for over ten years and now I'm in private 24 practice and I've had the opportunity to serve my 25 community even in that capacity. I think it's a 0210 1 continued effort. I came from a long line of public 2 service. My father was a park ranger, and my mother 3 was a school teacher. I think it continues and leaves 4 a great legacy for my children, both Evan and Alex, to 5 grow up in a situation where their father is a public 6 servant and continue to show them that way. 7 In addition, I think an equally important 8 issue is my belief that we have perhaps one of the most 9 well-thought-out, informed, fair, judicial systems that 10 we can possibly have. I know that there are certainly 11 things we can improve and there are certainly things 12 that need to be done, but I believe the people are out 13 there and they are making good effort toward doing 14 that. 15 And I feel like my time at the solicitor's 16 office gave me all the opportunity in which I was there 17 for to do that. And I believe it's time for me to move 18 on and take a more effective role, if you will, in 19 increasing and producing -- effecting the judicial 20 system. 21 Q. Mr. von Herrmann, although you addressed this 22 in your sworn affidavit, would you please tell the 23 members of the commission what you think the 24 appropriate demeanor is for a judge. 25 A. I think the appropriate demeanor is to 0211 1 constantly be available, fair, to be an individual that 2 is approachable within the confines of the canons, 3 ethics, the judicial ethics. I believe that the 4 appropriate way to handle things is not by temper but 5 by showing grace and allowing an opportunity for all 6 the litigants to have an opportunity within reason to 7 express their interest or their concerns and have those 8 resolved in court by either the judge or by, you know, 9 reconciling their differences between the parties or by 10 a jury trial. 11 Q. What suggestions would you offer for 12 improving the backlog of cases in the docket of the 13 Circuit Court, common pleas and/or general sessions? 14 A. In the -- as I looked at that particular 15 question, it came to mind relatively quickly that it 16 was actually kind of a three-part question. The first, 17 I guess, is what can you do overall? What can a judge 18 do? 19 I think the first thing that a judge needs to 20 do is have the proper work ethic and set the standards 21 for the lawyers if he needs to, or if he determines or 22 she determines that 8:30 is the time to be at work or 23 8:00 is the time to be at work, you need to expect 24 court to start on time. I believe that we need to 25 fulfill that obligation and not be there at 9:00 or 0212 1 9:30. And I think the lawyers respect that. I think 2 the lawyers count on that, and I think they emulate 3 that. 4 So first and foremost, I would say as a whole 5 system, I would say that the judge has to set the tone 6 of how things are going to be conducted and be 7 accessible to the lawyers. A lot of times when you 8 have a jury coming in, either civil or criminal, at a 9 particular time, there's issues that need to be brought 10 to the attention of the judge prior to. And I think 11 the judge should make sure he's available to those 12 lawyers at the time that he says he is going to be 13 there. 14 And put in, you know, a fair day's work. I 15 think there's no Friday exceptions, there's no we leave 16 at 4:00 or any of those kind of things. I think that 17 there's certainly been criticism in the media over it. 18 And I believe work ethic is probably number one for the 19 overall determination of resolving a backlog of cases. 20 When you get into specifics of, for instance, 21 general session cases, our constitution obviously 22 provides the solicitor is in charge of calling the 23 cases and bringing the cases before the court. And 24 while that does limit it to a certain extent, the 25 judges' interaction and role and the ability to cure 0213 1 the backlog, that's more by constitution and function 2 of the solicitor, there is, I think, an opportunity for 3 the court to -- or for the court to interact with the 4 judges, discuss with -- or excuse me, with the 5 solicitor, discuss what the judge can help the 6 solicitor do with moving cases more rapidly. 7 I think -- and this is far above my paygrade 8 in the position that I'm applying for, but in thinking 9 about ways and having had the experience as a 10 solicitor, transfer court is currently -- transfer 11 court, for those unfamiliar, are any charge for which 12 carries a year or less or a $5,000 fine or less, can be 13 transferred and held in the magistrate's court. That 14 is completely underutilized right now, at least in the 15 Fifteenth Circuit, in my experience. 16 I think transfer court would be a good chance 17 for the General Assembly to look at and possibly find a 18 way to make that more availing or more appealing to the 19 defendant. And I think that would take a workload or 20 some of the work off of the Circuit Court in the 21 general sessions court. 22 As far as for civil docket, obviously status 23 conferences have worked tremendously. I think 24 Judge Baxley has come in and done an outstanding job. 25 The General Assembly has seen fit to change the rule 0214 1 from 180 days to 120 days to get to trial. I think 2 that's been very successful. 3 I think that there are other alternatives 4 that can be done, mediation, arbitration where 5 appropriate, where agreed. I think that, you know, the 6 number one thing that a judge can do when we have 7 pretrial conferences with regard to those type issues 8 is they have to understand that that judge will attempt 9 and do everything he can to mediate without forcing the 10 party to settle. But understanding that that judge is 11 also capable and had the understanding and have tried 12 cases and done things and is prepared to go and draw a 13 jury and allow these litigants to resolve their issues 14 before a jury. 15 And I think that the part of what the judge's 16 responsibility is is to know and to have participated 17 in trials and doing things, understanding rules of 18 evidence, civil procedure, criminal procedure, things 19 of that nature. And I think that's how ultimately the 20 judicial process works. 21 One thing that I did leave out that I 22 think -- I think the General Assembly and I think most 23 of the solicitors in the state have adopted and that I 24 think is a good program is -- and I think it's been 25 successful in a number of cases, I think time will tell 0215 1 whether it's overall going to be. There are a number 2 of other programs that they've instituted, such as drug 3 court, which is determined it is more about 4 rehabilitation of drug offenders who have these type of 5 issues. And I think that those type of alternative 6 programs, and I don't want to go through all of them, 7 you know, alcohol diversion programs, PTI. I don't 8 want to get bogged down into details of those. There 9 are a number of programs that the General Assembly and 10 the folks could come up with that will divert those 11 cases and allow the focus on the more serious, more 12 violent offenders and allow the situation to be 13 resolved quickly. 14 Q. Based upon your legal experience and practice 15 thus far, are there any areas you feel you would need 16 to additionally prepare for and how would you go about 17 handling that additional preparation? 18 A. There are a couple of areas that I feel that 19 I would need to brush up on, if you will. I have 20 done -- in my practice now I do civil litigation, so 21 I've obviously read advance sheets. I've been screened 22 by the committee on prior occasions. And that is not 23 as big a concern to me. 24 There is some issue with appellant work that 25 Circuit Court judges handle, from workers' comp 0216 1 commission, things like that. Those are areas that I 2 believe I would need to attend CLE, continuing legal 3 education. Things -- you know, things of that nature, 4 more administrative law appeal. While I won't say 5 particularly rare, there are certainly noncommonplace 6 among the Circuit Court judges and perhaps other things 7 I would have to do for as far as investment. 8 Q. Thank you, Mr. von Herrmann. 9 I have a few housekeeping issues. 10 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 11 legislator prior to this date? 12 A. No, sir, I have not. 13 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 14 conditional pledge of support from any legislator 15 pending the outcome of your screening? 16 A. No, sir, I have not. 17 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 18 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 19 A. No, sir, I have not. 20 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 21 commission? 22 A. No, sir, I have not. 23 Q. Do you understand that you're prohibited from 24 seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours after the 25 formal release of the commission's report? 0217 1 A. I do. 2 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 3 on pledging? 4 A. Yes, I have. 5 Q. As a follow up, are you aware that the 6 penalty for violating the pledging rules as a 7 misdemeanor are that upon conviction a violator must be 8 fined no more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 9 90 days? 10 A. Yes, sir, I am. 11 MR. FIFFICK: I would note that the Pee Dee 12 Citizens Advisory Committee reported the following 13 regarding Mr. von Herrmann. 14 As to constitutional qualifications, 15 Mr. von Herrmann meets the constitutional 16 qualifications for the judicial position that he seeks. 17 As to ethical fitness, persons interviewed by 18 the committee indicated that Mr. von Herrmann was 19 considered highly ethical. 20 As to professional and academic ability, the 21 committee gave Mr. von Herrmann a high rating in this 22 area. 23 Character, committee report that 24 Mr. von Herrmann's character was unquestionable. 25 As to reputation, Mr. von Herrmann enjoys an 0218 1 extremely good reputation in the community and among 2 his peers. 3 As to physical and mental health, there is 4 evidence that Mr. von Herrmann is physically and 5 mentally capable of performing the duties required of a 6 circuit court judge. 7 As to experience, the committee recognizes 8 Mr. von Herrmann's broad legal experience is in the 9 criminal area. 10 As to judicial temperament, the committee 11 gave Mr. von Herrmann an excellent rating in that 12 regard. 13 I will just note for the record that any 14 concerns raised during the investigation regarding the 15 candidate are incorporated into the questioning of the 16 candidate today. 17 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Anyone on the commission 19 have any questions for Mr. von Herrmann? 20 There being no questions, Mr. von Herrmann, 21 we appreciate your willingness to participate in this 22 process. And I would just remind you of the 48-hour 23 rule. Once we issue the report, there's a draft report 24 until the 48 hours have expired. At that point in time 25 it becomes a final report of the commission. And up 0219 1 until that time, we could reconvene a public hearing 2 and bring you back to testify. That's something we 3 rarely do, but if an issue does arise and usually that 4 issue would be something along the lines of impropriety 5 with the election process, we could do that. I just 6 caution you about that. 7 And I wish you well and hope you have a safe 8 trip back home. 9 MR. VON HERRMANN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 10 I appreciate it. 11 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 12 (Mr. von Herrmann exits the room.) 13 MS. SHULER: We're going to switch the 14 notebooks out. 15 (Off the record.) 16 (Mr. Hodges enters the room.) 17 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us this 18 evening Mr. Andrew Michael Hodges who seeks a position 19 on the circuit at-large, seat number one. 20 If you would raise your right hand to be 21 sworn. 22 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 23 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 24 MR. HODGES: I do. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit 0220 1 Selection Commission has thoroughly investigated your 2 qualifications for service on the bench. Our inquiry 3 has primarily focused on nine evaluative criteria which 4 have included a survey of the bench and bar, a thorough 5 study of your application materials, verification of 6 your compliance with state ethics laws, a search of any 7 newspaper articles in which your name might have 8 appeared, a study of any previous screening you may 9 have been involved in and a check for economic 10 conflicts of interest. 11 There are no affidavits filed in opposition 12 to your election. There are no witnesses present here 13 to testify. 14 Do you have a brief opening statement you 15 would like to make? 16 MR. HODGES: Briefly, I would just say that 17 I've been impressed with the thoroughness of this 18 process. I appreciate the opportunity to be here this 19 evening. I hope the committee looks favorably on my 20 application and my responses to the questions that I 21 answer. 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Did you bring anyone with 23 you? 24 MR. HODGES: I did. I brought my wife with 25 me. This is Dawn Puderbaugh Hodges. 0221 1 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Ms. Hodges, we're glad to 2 see you tonight. 3 If you would, answer any questions our 4 counsel might have. 5 MS. GOLDSMITH: Mr. Chairman and members of 6 the commission, I just have a few procedural matters to 7 take care of first. 8 Mr. Hodges, you have been handed two 9 documents. I think they are sitting in front of you 10 right now. Is one of those documents your personal 11 data questionnaire that you completed? 12 MR. HODGES: It is. 13 MS. GOLDSMITH: Do you have any amendments 14 that you would like to make to that at this time? 15 MR. HODGES: I do. 16 MS. GOLDSMITH: I would ask that Mr. Hodges' 17 PDQ and his amendment be marked as an exhibit and 18 entered into the record at this time. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Mr. Hodges' PDQ along 20 with any amendments will be entered into the record at 21 this time, in the transcript. 22 (EXHIBIT 23, Personal Data Questionnaire of 23 Andrew Michael Hodges, admitted.) 24 MS. GOLDSMITH: Mr. Hodges, you have also 25 provided a sworn statement with detailed answers to 0222 1 over 30 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 2 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 3 That statement has been provided to all the commission 4 members in your notebook. 5 I have no concerns with the statement and 6 with the commission's approval, I would ask that those 7 questions be waived in the public hearing today. 8 Is the second document that you have your 9 sworn statement? 10 MR. HODGES: It is. 11 MS. GOLDSMITH: Do you have any amendments 12 you would like to make to that? 13 MR. HODGES: I do not. 14 MS. GOLDSMITH: At this time, I would ask 15 that the sworn statement be marked as an exhibit and 16 entered into the record at this time as well. 17 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Hearing no objections, 18 the sworn statement will be made a part of the record 19 at this point in the transcript. 20 (EXHIBIT 24, Sworn Statement of Andrew 21 Michael Hodges, admitted.) 22 MS. GOLDSMITH: Finally, I note for the 23 record that based on the testimony contained in Mr. 24 Hodges' PDQ, that has been included in the record, that 25 Mr. Hodges meets the statutory requirements for this 0223 1 position regarding age, residence and years of 2 practice. 3 BY MS. GOLDSMITH: 4 Q. Mr. Hodges, why do you want to serve as a 5 Circuit Court judge? 6 A. I've been a prosecutor for the last 12 years, 7 and there's a case, State versus King, that basically 8 comments on the role of a solicitor. I'll paraphrase 9 but basically it says that a solicitor occupies a quasi 10 judicial position and should see that justice is done. 11 That's one of the things I try to teach to the 12 assistant solicitors that work for me, is that our job 13 is not to seek convictions, our job is to seek justice. 14 And I've taken that to heart, and I get a real personal 15 sense of satisfaction from that pursuit of justice. 16 But having worked in the solicitor's office 17 for 12 years, I've covered the wide gamut of case law. 18 I've tried DUIs, I've tried capital murders. And the 19 last four years, I've been a deputy solicitor. I've 20 been supervising five attorneys, assistant solicitors, 21 advising them on charging decisions, plea negotiations, 22 doing all the scheduling in court. And other than 23 being the elected solicitor, I feel like I've done 24 about everything there is to do in a solicitor's 25 office. I'm looking for a new challenge. 0224 1 But I would like to stay in the public 2 service, and I would also like to continue that pursuit 3 of justice. And I see being on the circuit bench as an 4 opportunity to do just that, to continue to work in 5 general sessions court but from a different angle. To 6 broaden my legal horizons and getting more into common 7 pleas work and then also to have the opportunity to go 8 to other parts of the state. Kind of get out of my 9 corner of the world in Greenwood and meet other lawyers 10 across the state and court personnel and see how things 11 are done differently across the state. 12 Q. Mr. Hodges, although you address this in your 13 sworn affidavit, could you please tell the members of 14 the commission what you think is the appropriate 15 demeanor for a judge. 16 A. I think one of the most important -- one of 17 the most important aspects of a judge is his patience. 18 I think that one of the things that most people, when 19 they come into court, want is an opportunity to be 20 heard, to voice their concerns, and a judge has got to 21 be patient enough to listen and to take all that into 22 consideration. Judges also have to work hard. That's 23 a very important attribute to have. 24 Conversely, I don't think that anger is an 25 appropriate emotion. Firmness certainly is in making 0225 1 sure that everyone respects the process, but anger, I 2 think, tends to -- if you get angry with one litigant 3 you start looking like you're not partial -- that 4 you're impartial towards that particular litigant. 5 Q. What suggestions would you offer for 6 improving the backlog on cases in the docket in the 7 Circuit Court? 8 A. I think a couple of the things that have been 9 done recently are going to help. I know right this 10 week the clerk's office in our circuit is -- in 11 Greenwood is going through computer training, new 12 software that's linked to the magistrate's office, the 13 clerk's office and our office, and those things that 14 are already in place are going to help. 15 But I think individually a judge can do 16 things to help with the backlog. First off, a judge 17 has got to be accessible and approachable. You know, 18 there's so many cases and so few judges and lawyers, 19 most of the cases have got to be resolved short of 20 trial. They've got to be settled. And I think a judge 21 can go a long way to help that process by being 22 accessible to the lawyers, talking with them, helping 23 them come together and find a way to settle their case. 24 A judge has also got, I think, from the 25 outset set a reputation that is predictable. I've had 0226 1 so many defense attorneys say, well, yeah, I want to 2 plead this case but I don't want to do it in front of 3 that judge because he's so unpredictable, I don't know 4 what he's going to do. So I think you've got to be 5 predictable in what you do and you've got to do things 6 that are fair and that would give -- for instance, in 7 general sessions court, give a defendant a reason to 8 come up there and plead guilty. I'm not saying give 9 away the farm, but you've got to find ways to get the 10 cases resolved short of trial. 11 Q. Are there any areas of the law that you feel 12 you would need additional preparation were you to take 13 the Circuit Court bench and how would you go about that 14 preparation? 15 A. Yeah. Certainly most of my experience is in 16 general sessions court, so clearly my weakness would be 17 in common pleas. And I just have to study hard, go to 18 CLEs, read. Preparation for the test, efficiency test, 19 I did a lot of studying on common pleas areas and even 20 just going through this process have learned a lot in 21 the last couple of months. I work hard, and I don't 22 foresee any problems in learning that material. 23 MS. GOLDSMITH: I do want to note for the 24 commission that Mr. Hodges' score on the proficiency 25 test was the highest of all the Circuit Court 0227 1 candidates who were tested this round. 2 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Congratulations. 3 MS. GOLDSMITH: Congratulations. 4 Just a few more questions for you. 5 BY MS. GOLDSMITH: 6 Q. Have you sought or received the pledge of any 7 legislator prior to today? 8 A. No, ma'am. 9 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 10 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 11 the outcome of your screening? 12 A. No, ma'am. 13 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 14 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 15 A. No, ma'am. 16 Q. Have you contacted any members of this 17 commission? 18 A. No, ma'am. 19 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 20 from seeking a pledge or a commitment until 48 hours 21 after the formal release of the commission's report? 22 A. I do. 23 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 24 on pledging? 25 A. I have. 0228 1 MS. GOLDSMITH: Just as a reminder, the 2 penalty for violating the pledging rules is that that 3 will be a conviction that is a misdemeanor and can be 4 fined more than $1,000 or imprisonment of not more than 5 90 days. 6 I would note that the Piedmont Citizens 7 Committee reported that Mr. Hodges appears to be in 8 good health and appears to be a person of good moral 9 character. The committee found him qualified for the 10 office that he is seeking. 11 I would finally note for the record that any 12 concerns raised during the investigation regarding 13 Mr. Hodges were incorporated into the questioning of 14 him today. 15 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 16 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Senator Ford. 17 BY SEN. FORD: 18 Q. First of all, Mr. Hodges, it is an honor to 19 sit next to you. I'm hoping that something might rub 20 off on me. You're one brilliant young man. 21 A. Thanks. 22 Q. How did you wind up in South Carolina? 23 A. My dad worked for a company called NCR, 24 National Cash Register, for about 45 years. They got 25 bought out by AT&T and sprung back off. And he got 0229 1 transferred to Columbia when I was in law school. The 2 day after he got here, he had a heart attack. I had 3 graduated, didn't have a job yet. 4 Q. Graduated from where? 5 A. University of Kansas. I had graduated but 6 didn't have a job. He had to have bypass surgery. So 7 I came down here to help nurse him back to health. 8 Spent a couple of three months while I was down here, 9 liked it so much I just decided to stay. Took the bar 10 at the end of the summer and Townes Jones called and 11 offered me a job, and I've been in Greenwood. 12 Q. I assume you passed the bar the first time. 13 A. I did. 14 Q. Do you have any suggestions coming from 15 another state on what we can do about the backlog in 16 South Carolina? 17 A. I think it's something that everybody's 18 facing. 19 Q. Oh, this is just not us? 20 A. I don't think so. There's just so -- 21 especially the way the economy is now, you've got 22 limited -- as you all know, you've got limited 23 resources to get more judges, more prosecutors, more 24 defense attorneys. And when the economy tanks, you've 25 got more people out there committing economic-type 0230 1 crimes and the bottom line is there are just more of 2 them than there are of us. 3 Q. If you don't make it this time, are you going 4 to run again? 5 A. Yeah. 6 Q. Because the reason I ask that is because in 7 politics things happen a little different, and I think 8 the Pee Dee are going to claim this seat. I think. I 9 don't know. But that's what I hear. And if that's the 10 case, believe me, I don't think we'll ever get a 11 candidate more qualified than you. 12 A. I'm in it to win, but if I don't make it this 13 time, I'll be back. 14 SEN. KNOTTS: Can I ask staff a question? 15 How do you make a 102 score on a hundred -- 16 MS. SHULER: I threw out a four-point 17 multiple choice question. 18 SEN. KNOTTS: He got it right? 19 MS. SHULER: He got it right. That's 20 correct. 21 SEN. FORD: What was the question? 22 MS. SHULER: It was an ethical judicial 23 question dealing with a judge's recusal due to his 24 nephew's fiancee -- 25 MR. HODGES: It was whether his niece's 0231 1 fiance -- 2 MS. SHULER: Nephew's fiancee. 3 MR. HODGES: It was whether it was in the 4 third degree -- whether they were a relative. 5 SEN. KNOTTS: What was your answer? 6 MR. HODGES: I said no, it's not a conflict. 7 Not until they got married. 8 SEN. FORD: I assume your daddy was smart? 9 MR. HODGES: Yeah. My mom was a teacher for 10 about 35 years, so I credit a lot to her. 11 SEN. FORD: So did you live a normal life 12 coming up? 13 MR. HODGES: I think so. 14 SEN. KNOTTS: Mr. Chairman. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Yes, sir, Senator Knotts. 16 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 17 Q. You worked in the Solicitor's Office for 18 quite a while? 19 A. Yes, sir. 20 Q. And you handled a lot of major cases? 21 A. I have. 22 Q. Have you experienced judges that didn't come 23 to court when they were supposed to come to court and 24 kept you sitting there waiting? 25 A. I have. 0232 1 Q. Do you think we could help the situation if 2 we had judges that would be on the bench when the court 3 opened? 4 A. I will tell you a little anecdote. When I 5 was thinking about running for this position, I talked 6 to a friend of mine. He said you should definitely do 7 that. That's the best part-time job around. 8 SEN. FORD: Somebody tell you that? 9 MR. HODGES: That's the perception, I think, 10 is that judges don't work hard. 11 SEN. KNOTTS: It's the perception of that as 12 a retirement home for lawyers? 13 MR. HODGES: That's certainly one way to cut 14 a backlog is to get folks who want to work. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any further questions? 16 SEN. KNOTTS: You're batting a thousand on 17 this one. 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any further questions? 19 There being no further questions -- 20 SEN. KNOTTS: Let me ask him one. 21 Your work ethic would be run the court five 22 days a week? 23 MR. HODGES: Yes, sir. I do now. Just 24 because the judge isn't there doesn't mean I'm not 25 there. 0233 1 SEN. FORD: If you're elected -- 2 MR. HODGES: I'm not the elected solicitor. 3 I'm deputy to him. 4 SEN. KNOTTS: But you definitely would have 5 good work ethic? 6 THE WITNESS: Yes, sir. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any further questions? 8 There being no other questions, I would like 9 to thank you for appearing before us, Mr. Hodges, and 10 remind you about the 48-hour rule, which simply stated 11 is we issue a report, it's a draft report. 48 hours 12 after we put it on the desk of the legislators and the 13 senators, it becomes the final report for which the 14 screening is over. Up to that time, we could reconvene 15 and have another public hearing for any candidate. 16 That doesn't usually happen, but sometimes it has. And 17 with that, I would hope you have a safe trip back to 18 Greenwood. That's a long haul. 19 MR. HODGES: Thank you. 20 (Mr. Hodges exits the room.) 21 (Judge Young enters the room.) 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us the 23 Honorable William Jeffrey Young who is currently a 24 family court judge and was once in the House and now 25 seeks a seat on the Circuit Court at-large, seat number 0234 1 1. 2 Judge Young, please raise your right hand to 3 be sworn. 4 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 5 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 6 JUDGE YOUNG: I do. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit 8 Selection Commission has thoroughly investigated your 9 qualification for service on the bench. Our inquiry 10 has primarily focused on the nine evaluative criteria 11 which included a survey of the bench and bar, a 12 thorough study of your application materials, a 13 verification of your compliance with state ethics laws, 14 a search of newspaper articles in which your name may 15 have appeared, a study of previous screenings that you 16 may have had, plus a check for economic conflicts of 17 interest. 18 We have no affidavits filed in opposition to 19 your election. No witnesses here to testify. 20 Do you have a brief opening statement you 21 would like to make? 22 JUDGE YOUNG: I do. First of all, good 23 evening and I would first like to say thank you for 24 electing me as a family court judge. And then 25 reelecting me again. I have found that to be an 0235 1 experience that's almost unmatched. The ability to 2 work in people's lives has been one of the greatest 3 tasks I've had an opportunity to be a part of, and I 4 appreciate it. 5 I also appreciate you hearing my testimony 6 today and giving me an opportunity to go to the Circuit 7 Court bench. 8 You all have been here a long day. I'm not 9 going to take a lot of your time. You all have read my 10 information. I'm ready to answer any questions that 11 you all might have at this time. 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. Answer 13 any questions our counsel might have for you. 14 MR. GENTRY: Mr. Chairman and members of the 15 Commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 16 care of. 17 Judge Young, in front of you are two 18 documents. Is the first document before you your 19 personal data questionnaire that you submitted as part 20 of your application? 21 JUDGE YOUNG: It is. 22 MR. GENTRY: Is there any amendment you would 23 like to make at this time to your personal data 24 questionnaire? 25 JUDGE YOUNG: There is. The amendment I 0236 1 would like to make is paragraph 47H. I need to add 2 Sunset Country Club of Sumter is an organization that I 3 have been involved in. And 47I, which is the Riverside 4 Hunt Club, which I resigned from several years back. I 5 was part of that in the last five years. 6 MR. GENTRY: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 7 would ask that Judge Young's personal data 8 questionnaire and amendment be entered as an exhibit in 9 the hearing today. 10 (EXHIBIT 25, Personal Data Questionnaire of 11 William Jeffrey Young, admitted.) 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, it 13 will be done at this point in the transcript. 14 MR. GENTRY: Judge Young also provided a 15 sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 16 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 17 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 18 That statement was provided to all commission members 19 earlier and is included in your notebooks. 20 I have no concerns with the statement and 21 with the commission's approval, I would ask those 22 questions be waived at this public hearing today. 23 Judge Young, is the second document before 24 you your sworn statement submitted as part of your 25 application? 0237 1 JUDGE YOUNG: It is. 2 MR. GENTRY: Is there any amendment you would 3 like to make at this time to your sworn statement? 4 JUDGE YOUNG: No. 5 MR. GENTRY: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I'd 6 ask that Judge Young's sworn statement be entered as an 7 exhibit into the hearing record. 8 (EXHIBIT 26, Sworn Statement of William 9 Jeffrey Young, admitted.) 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, it 11 will be done at this point in the transcript. 12 MR. GENTRY: One final procedural matter. I 13 note for the record that based on the testimony 14 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been 15 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 16 Judge Young meets the statutory requirements for this 17 position regarding age, residence and years of 18 practice. 19 BY MR. GENTRY: 20 Q. Judge Young, why do you want to serve as a 21 circuit court judge? 22 A. Being a family court judge has been one of 23 the fulfilling experiences I've had in my life. At 24 this point in time, I've had almost 16 years in 25 government service, partially -- 14 years partially in 0238 1 the House, as a family court judge. Family court tends 2 to deal with just one section of the law. There's a 3 vast ocean of law out there. I think the Circuit Court 4 will allow me to continue my service with the state and 5 explore other areas of law. 6 I think my temperament, my work ethic and 7 those things will help me to be a good Circuit Court 8 judge. I think by all standards, the feedback that 9 I've gotten, I've been an effective, fair, diligent, 10 family court judge, which I think I can do the same in 11 the Circuit Court. 12 Q. Do you feel there are any additional legal or 13 procedural areas that you feel that you need to further 14 prepare for, and if so, how would you go about that 15 preparation? 16 A. Well, having been on just the family court 17 bench for the last four and a half years, I'm certain 18 that I'm going to have to study some more areas of the 19 Circuit Court, the civil laws. Of course, you know, 20 the test we had just went through every case twice over 21 the last year. And I see there's a lot of areas I 22 intend to study. I have no problems with studying, 23 reading the advance sheets and talking to other judges. 24 I would like to mentor with a judge about how I can 25 become a better Circuit Court judge. 0239 1 Q. Although you address this in your sworn 2 affidavit, can you please tell the members of the 3 commission what you think is the appropriate demeanor 4 for a judge? 5 A. The demeanor that I practice is I'm generally 6 calm in the courtroom, which you all have charged me 7 with running the courtroom. I have done that. I make 8 sure that people know that I'm in charge, and I 9 generally do not have a problem. I address everyone as 10 ma'am and sir. I'm polite. I have a pretty good 11 demeanor as far as things happen funny in the courtroom 12 sometimes, and I think the judge should be able to 13 laugh at things that are going on. But I think as long 14 as the parties know that I'm in charge and that I'm 15 going to be fair, I generally have not had a problem 16 with how people act so, therefore, I do not have to 17 raise my voice. I do not have to get on somebody or 18 anything like that. That's generally my demeanor. 19 Again, the feedback I've gotten has been that 20 I'm good to the lawyers. They're in there trying to 21 make a living, but they also have their litigants who 22 need to have their cases heard. 23 Q. What suggestions would you have and offer for 24 improving the backlog of cases on the docket in Circuit 25 Court for general sessions and/or common pleas? 0240 1 A. Well, I'm glad that we still live in a 2 society where it is more important to be just than just 3 be fast and getting the cases taken care of. There's a 4 number of reasons for backlogs. In the criminal 5 docket, there's just a lot of people committing more 6 crimes. I was a victim of a burglary three weeks ago 7 where my house was burglarized and now there's four new 8 people on the Sumter County docket facing charges. 9 That was just one 15-minute incident. But again, it's 10 better that we may have some backlog, but it's better 11 that we emphasis justice rather than efficiency. 12 The Circuit Court bench, I think there's a 13 differential -- they've been trying a differential case 14 management system that will allow for cases that are 15 not as severe to be heard more quickly and on a quicker 16 time frame. Of course there are ones -- the death 17 penalty cases or felony ones are going to take longer 18 than some of the other ones. You can get those out 19 quickly. 20 As far as the civil side, I certainly think 21 that lawyers and litigants like to settle their cases 22 outside the courtroom if possible. Currently, we have 23 a pilot program for mediation. I think that should go 24 statewide as quickly as possible because that gets 25 people together and under one roof where they can then 0241 1 actually do the negotiation that needs to be done to 2 get the cases settled. 3 Right now -- and again, all these are 4 assuming that we're trying to save money rather than to 5 spend more money because, of course, if we're going to 6 spend more money, we could use more judges. 7 Circuit Court judges and family court judges 8 currently have about nine in-chambers weeks. If we 9 were to each take one of those weeks or two of those 10 weeks, that would add an immediate 46 to 92 terms of 11 court per year. That's with no additional expense to 12 the state. 13 On the Circuit Court, I think a lot of times 14 we have said that a lot of cases don't get settled 15 because the parties don't get together. But a case 16 management system that has an early docket -- not a 17 docket but a status conference with a scheduling order 18 could greatly help the parties know so that they're 19 ready for trial. 20 A lot of times cases will break down and 21 there's nothing behind it. There needs to be something 22 behind that. And a lot of family court cases, we've 23 had one case set behind it so when one breaks down or 24 settles, which is a good thing, there's one right there 25 ready so there's not any downtime in court. 0242 1 So again, there's no way that everything is 2 always going to work, but I intend to do on the circuit 3 court just like I've done in the family court. I work 4 long and hard, and I'm willing to try new things that 5 may help the system -- not just help the system but 6 help the litigants and the lawyers. Because one thing 7 we've got to remember with all the cases, cases aren't 8 cases. Cases are people's lives and human beings' 9 situation at stake. 10 Thank you. 11 Q. If you were elected to this position, what 12 would you like your legacy to be as a circuit court 13 judge? 14 A. That I was efficient and fair and that I knew 15 the law and that I applied the law of this state as you 16 all, the legislature, have written. 17 Q. Thank you, Judge. 18 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 19 legislator prior to this date? 20 A. I have not. 21 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 22 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 23 the outcome of your screening? 24 A. I have not. 25 Q. Have you asked any third party to contact 0243 1 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 2 A. I have not. 3 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 4 commission? 5 A. I have not. 6 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 7 from seeking a pledge or a commitment until 48 hours 8 after the formal release of the commission's report? 9 A. I do. 10 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 11 on pledging? 12 A. I have. 13 Q. As a follow up, are you aware of the 14 penalties for violating the rule? 15 A. I am. 16 MR. GENTRY: I would note that the Pee Dee 17 Citizens Committee found Judge Young to be a 18 well-regarded candidate who would ably serve on the 19 Circuit Court bench. 20 I would note for the record that any concerns 21 raised today during the investigation regarding the 22 candidate were incorporated into the questioning of the 23 candidate today. 24 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Senator Ford. 0244 1 BY SEN. FORD: 2 Q. Judge Young, how long have you been a family 3 court judge? 4 A. Four and a half years. 5 Q. And you got two more -- two more years? 6 A. I just got reelected two years ago. 7 Q. When did you leave the House? 8 A. I left the House after the 2002 session. 9 That's when the federal court, myself and 10 Representative Merrill Smith in the same district, and 11 then he stayed in the House. And I went back into 12 private practice and then ran the next year. 13 Q. You won? 14 A. I did. 15 SEN. FORD: How many -- that's all right. 16 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Anybody else got any 17 questions? 18 Senator Knotts. 19 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 20 Q. Jeff, I know the answer to this question 21 already, and I appreciate your indulgence. But your 22 work ethic on the bench, when do you go to work? 23 A. Jake, I go to work about 8:30 in the morning 24 after I drop my kids off at school and go visit my 25 mother who is a widow, who is 89 years old. I'm always 0245 1 early to court, and I'm always one of the last ones to 2 leave. I do not -- I have nothing under advisement. I 3 do not take long on cases. I take the time that's 4 necessary to decide the cases. I don't let things 5 linger. I work the afternoons. I work at night. I 6 take things home with me. I have never missed a day of 7 court except for my father's funeral and when my wife 8 had surgery. 9 SEN. KNOTTS: Thank you. 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any further questions? 11 Thank you, Judge Young. We appreciate you 12 being here, and I know that you know about the 48-hour 13 rule. And you know when the 48-hour period expires. 14 We can recall someone before us for further public 15 hearings. That usually only occurs in very limited 16 cases and usually cases where people have perhaps 17 appeared to have violated the election laws. 18 JUDGE YOUNG: Okay. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Okay. I tell you that, 20 and I wish you well and hope you have a safe trip back 21 to Sumter. 22 JUDGE YOUNG: Thank you. Have a nice 23 evening. You're going to be here a long time. 24 (Judge Young exits the room.) 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We can vote on this race. 0246 1 SEN. FORD: Please do. 2 SEN. KNOTTS: Move to go into executive 3 session. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Yeah, can I hear a motion 5 to go into executive session? 6 REP. CLEMMONS: Second it. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor, aye. 8 (Members respond.) 9 (The members went into executive session.) 10 (The hearing was continued under a separate 11 restricted record.) 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 0251 1 * * * * * 2 REP. DELLENEY: The veil is lifted. 3 So now we proceed to vote for the candidates, 4 remembering we the only vote for three. 5 Everybody that votes in favor of finding all 6 candidates qualified, raise your hand. 7 That's unanimous. 8 MS. SHULER: Counting the proxy. 9 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Counting the proxy. All 10 right. 11 All in favor of David Craig Brown being 12 qualified and nominated, raise your hand. 13 MS. SHULER: One, two, three, four, five, 14 six. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 16 Allen O. Fretwell qualified and nominated, raise your 17 hand. 18 MS. SHULER: One, two, three, four. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 20 Lisa C. Glover qualified and nominated, raise your 21 hand. 22 MS. SHULER: Zero. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 24 William B. von Herrmann qualified and nominated, raise 25 your hand. 0252 1 MS. SHULER: One, two, three. 2 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 3 Andrew Michael Hodges qualified and nominated, raise 4 your hand. 5 MS. SHULER: One, two, three, four, five, 6 six, seven, eight. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All in favor of finding 8 Honorable William Jeffrey Young qualified and 9 nominated, raise your hand. 10 SEN. FORD: How many times can you vote? 11 MS. SHULER: Three. 12 PROF. FREEMAN: Three. 13 SEN. FORD: Are you sure some of these people 14 hadn't voted four times? That's a lot of votes. 15 MS. SHULER: Nine. 16 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Check your sheet and make 17 sure you haven't voted four times. 18 MS. SHULER: I have an even number of 30 19 votes, unless somebody voted four times. Six for David 20 Craig Brown. Four for Allen Fretwell. Zero for Lisa 21 Glover. Three for William von Herrmann. Eight for 22 Andrew Hodges. And Honorable William Jeffrey Young, 23 nine. So that leaves Young, Hodges and Brown. 24 If you would, pass your ballots over. 25 (Off the record.) 0253 1 MR. HARRELL: This is at-large seat six. 2 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It is. 3 MR. HARRELL: I just want to let everybody 4 know I'm going to recuse myself from the vote, and I 5 won't be asking any questions in this because one of 6 the candidates used to work in my law firm. Does not 7 anymore. 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: That's not an 9 endorsement? 10 MR. HARRELL: No. As a matter of fact, it is 11 absolutely the opposite of an endorsement, yes. 12 (Mr. Blanchard enters the room.) 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us this 14 evening Mr. Daniel Francis Blanchard, III, who seeks a 15 position on the Circuit Court seat at-large number 6. 16 If you would, please, raise your right hand 17 to be sworn. 18 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 19 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 20 MR. BLANCHARD: I do. 21 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit 22 Selection Committee commission has thoroughly 23 investigated your qualifications for service on the 24 bench. Our inquiry has focused on nine evaluative 25 criteria that has included, number one, a survey of the 0254 1 bench and bar, a thorough study of your application 2 materials, verification of your compliance with state 3 ethics laws, a search of newspaper articles in which 4 your name may appear, a study of any previous 5 screenings and a check of economic conflicts of 6 interest. 7 We have no affidavits filed in opposition to 8 your election, and there are no witnesses here to 9 testify. 10 Do you have a brief opening statement you 11 would like to make at this time? 12 MR. BLANCHARD: No, sir. Given the lateness 13 of the hour, I will waive that. 14 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 15 Please answer any questions our counsel may 16 have for you. 17 MS. SHULER: Mr. Blanchard, you have two 18 documents before you. First is your personal data 19 questionnaire and also in front of you is an amendment 20 that you are proposing to your personal data 21 questionnaire. 22 MR. BLANCHARD: That is correct. 23 MS. SHULER: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 24 would like to ask that Mr. Blanchard's personal data 25 questionnaire and his amendment be entered as an 0255 1 exhibit into the hearing record. 2 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done at this 3 point in the transcript, without objection. 4 (EXHIBIT 27, Personal Data Questionnaire of 5 Daniel Francis Blanchard, III, admitted.) 6 MS. SHULER: Mr. Blanchard has also provided 7 a sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 8 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 9 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 10 That statement was provided to all commission members 11 earlier and is included in your notebooks. 12 I have no concerns with the statement and 13 with the commission's approval, I'll ask those 14 questions be waived at the hearing today. 15 Mr. Blanchard, you have before you your 16 statement. Do you have any amendments you would like 17 to make to your sworn statement? 18 MR. BLANCHARD: Ms. Shuler, actually I do. 19 After speaking with you earlier, I realized that 20 question number 31, it asks, "Have you contacted any 21 members of the commission?" And I realized that in the 22 middle of November, I did write letters of introduction 23 to all members of the General Assembly, and at that 24 time I sent letters to Representative Mack and 25 Representative Clemmons. At the time I did not know 0256 1 they were on the commission. About two weeks later, I 2 received an e-mail from your office advising us that 3 they had been appointed or were now on the commission. 4 I just wanted to point that out. 5 The letters of introduction basically just 6 announce my candidacy and then also included a resume. 7 That's the only contact I've had. 8 MS. SHULER: That was in November? They were 9 only recently appointed. 10 Mr. Chairman, at this time I would ask that 11 Mr. Blanchard's sworn statement and you have as well as 12 his oral amendment, as stated on the record, be entered 13 as an exhibit into the record. 14 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Mr. Blanchard's sworn 15 statement is entered and made a part of the record at 16 this point in the transcript without objection. 17 (EXHIBIT 28, Sworn Statement of Daniel 18 Francis Blanchard, III, admitted.) 19 SEN. FORD: Mr. Chairman, as you can see, the 20 gentleman lives in my district. 21 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I understand. 22 SEN. FORD: You have seen those scores, 23 right? 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: He takes after you. 25 MS. SHULER: One final procedural matter. I 0257 1 note for the record that based on the testimony 2 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been 3 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 4 Daniel F. Blanchard, III, meets the statutory 5 requirements for this position regarding age, residence 6 and years of practice. 7 BY MS. SHULER: 8 Q. Mr. Blanchard, you have spent your legal 9 career as a litigator at the firm of Rosen, Rosen & 10 Hagood. You have represented a variety of plaintiffs 11 and defendants and have appellate as well as trial 12 experience. You are also an equity shareholder in your 13 firm. Why now do you want to serve as a Circuit Court 14 judge? 15 A. I have a deep desire to serve my state. I 16 have waited until I felt like I was -- have the 17 necessary years of experience and the qualifications to 18 apply for a judgeship. And I feel I'm at that point in 19 my career and that's why I felt the time was 20 appropriate. 21 Q. Mr. Blanchard, you indicated that you have 22 not handled criminal matters in the last five years and 23 that you have been lead or co-counsel 30 percent of the 24 time and associate counsel 70 percent of your time. 25 Please describe how your legal and professional 0258 1 experience will help you be an effective Circuit Court 2 judge. 3 A. I think primarily given the diversity and the 4 wide range of cases that I've handled or worked on in 5 the past 16 years, I do have to admit that they are 6 primarily in the civil field. And I have very limited 7 experience handling criminal cases, but given the 8 background I have in the civil field, I think that's 9 certainly a strength. 10 Secondly, I feel like I've worked for some of 11 the most talented lawyers in the state. I've certainly 12 learned a lot from them, worked on numerous trials and 13 been involved with numerous hearings, pretty much what 14 we do every day. So I feel like my background in that 15 area is also a strength. 16 Q. Mr. Blanchard, would you describe to the 17 commission what you believe to be the appropriate 18 demeanor of a circuit court judge? 19 A. Certainly very courteous, patient, I think 20 respectful of litigants. Also demanding the same 21 behavior and conduct from others in the courtroom. I 22 think that applies not only while you're on the bench 23 or serving in a judicial capacity but also when you're 24 just being an average citizen. Those would be the 25 primary things. 0259 1 Q. Thank you. 2 What suggestions would you offer for 3 improving the backlog of cases on the docket in Circuit 4 Court, that is, for common pleas and/or general 5 sessions court? 6 A. My experience is in the civil field. I think 7 I would be a proponent of mandatory scheduling orders 8 in all cases, unless all the parties agreed that their 9 case be ready for trial within nine months of filing. 10 I'm also a big proponent of mediation. In 11 Charleston, it's been mandatory for a while. In most 12 cases and other counties, I think it would be the 13 prerogative of the judge to order the parties to 14 mediate a case. Especially in situations where the 15 parties have requested a date certain trial, in cases 16 that are long or complex. I think as a condition to 17 having a date certain trial, you have to be required to 18 mediate the case. 19 From a personal standpoint, certainly I feel 20 like judges should work the number of hours. It's not 21 simply an 8:30 to 5:00 job. I certainly work long 22 hours each day and work on weekends, and I feel like as 23 a judge I would do the same thing. So certainly I 24 would do my personal part to move cases along and make 25 sure the docket is clear. 0260 1 Q. Thank you. 2 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 3 legislator prior to this date? 4 A. No, ma'am. 5 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered 6 conditional pledge of support from any legislator 7 pending the outcome of your screening? 8 A. No. 9 Q. Have you asked any third party to contact 10 members of the General Assembly? 11 A. No. 12 Q. And I understand that you answered that you 13 have sent letters of introduction inadvertently to two 14 members who have now joined the commission. But 15 besides that answer, have you contacted any members of 16 the commission? 17 A. No. 18 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 19 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 20 after the formal release of the commission's report? 21 A. Yes, ma'am. 22 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 23 on pledging? 24 A. I have. 25 Q. Are you aware of the penalties for violating 0261 1 the pledging rules, that is, it's a misdemeanor and 2 that if convicted, fined not more than a $1,000 and 3 imprisoned not more than 90 days? 4 A. I am. 5 MS. SHULER: I would note that the Lowcountry 6 Citizens Committee reported the following regarding 7 Mr. Blanchard. 8 Constitutional qualifications. Mr. Blanchard 9 meets the constitutional qualifications for the 10 judicial position he seeks. 11 Ethical fitness. Persons interviewed by the 12 committee indicated that Mr. Blanchard is considered 13 ethical. 14 Professional and academic ability. The 15 committee gave Mr. Blanchard an exceptional rating in 16 this area. 17 Character. The committee reported that 18 Mr. Blanchard's character is unquestionable. 19 Reputation. Mr. Blanchard enjoys a good 20 reputation in the community and among his peers. 21 Physical and mental health. There is 22 evidence that Mr. Blanchard is physically and mentally 23 capable of performing the duties required for the judge 24 of Circuit Court. 25 Experience. The committee recognized 0262 1 Mr. Blanchard's good legal experience in the civil 2 arena. 3 Judicial temperament. The committee gave 4 Mr. Blanchard a good rating in this category. 5 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions of 6 Mr. Blanchard. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any members of the 8 commission have any questions for Mr. Blanchard? 9 Senator Knotts. 10 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 11 Q. Yeah. What relationship do you have with the 12 Blanchards on Rivers Avenue in Charleston? 13 A. I do not think I have any. My family is from 14 Sullivan's Island, my father's family, and they were 15 contractors. 16 Q. Sullivan's Island? 17 A. Yes, sir. Claude Blanchard, I'm a distant 18 relative of him. My grandfather was Daniel F. 19 Blanchard, Sr. He was a contractor. 20 Q. How far away do you live from the governor? 21 A. I don't live on Sullivan's Island now. I 22 live on Rutledge Avenue. I'm not sure where his house 23 is on the island. 24 PROF. FREEMAN: Guilt by association. 25 SEN. KNOTTS: No further questions. 0263 1 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Are there any other 2 questions from the commission? 3 There being no other questions, 4 Mr. Blanchard, we appreciate you appearing before us 5 tonight, this evening. And I would remind you of the 6 48-hour rule. We issue a report. It's placed on the 7 desk of the senators and representatives. And 48 hours 8 after the draft report, when it was first placed there, 9 48 hours later it turns into the permanent report. 10 But before it becomes a permanent report, we 11 could reconvene a public hearing and bring you back to 12 testify. That's not very likely. It's not done very 13 often. But in most cases it has been done, it's 14 because of some perceived impropriety in the election 15 process. I would remind you of that and hope you have 16 a safe trip home. Thank you, sir. 17 MR. BLANCHARD: Thank you. 18 (Mr. Blanchard exits the room.) 19 (Mr. Frederigos enters the room.) 20 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Next we have Phillip 21 Frederigos. 22 Mr. Frederigos, we appreciate you coming up 23 here tonight. 24 We have before us Mr. Phillip Frederigos who 25 seeks a position with the Circuit Court at-large, seat 0264 1 number 6. And this is tab 24 in your books. 2 If you would, please, sir, raise your right 3 hand to be sworn. 4 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 5 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 6 MR. FREDERIGOS: I do. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit 8 Selection Commission has thoroughly investigated your 9 qualifications for service on the bench. Our inquiry 10 has focused on nine evaluative criteria that has 11 included a survey of the bench and bar, a thorough 12 study of your application materials, verification of 13 your compliance with state ethics laws, a search of 14 newspaper articles in which your name may appear, a 15 study of any previous screenings, a check for economic 16 conflicts of interest. 17 And we have no affidavits filed in opposition 18 to your election and no witnesses here to testify. 19 Do you have a brief opening statement you 20 would like to make? 21 MR. FREDERIGOS: Well, yes, thank you. I 22 would like to thank the commission for this 23 opportunity. I'm excited to be where I'm at today, and 24 I look forward to potentially being a member of the 25 judiciary if you choose me worthy. 0265 1 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 2 Answer any questions our counsel might have 3 for you. 4 MR. GENTRY: Mr. Chairman and members of the 5 commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 6 care of. 7 Mr. Frederigos, in front of you are two 8 documents. Is the first document before you the 9 personal data questionnaire you submitted as part of 10 your application? 11 MR. FREDERIGOS: Yes, it is. 12 MR. GENTRY: Is there any amendment you would 13 like to make at this time to your personal data 14 questionnaire? 15 MR. FREDERIGOS: Yes, I'd like to amended the 16 letter of recommendation to replace the federal 17 magistrate Judge Robert S. Carr with William Helms. 18 MR. GENTRY: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 19 would like to ask that Mr. Frederigos' personal data 20 questionnaire and amendment be entered as an exhibit 21 into the hearing. 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done at this 23 point in the transcript without objection. 24 (EXHIBIT 29, Personal Data Questionnaire of 25 Phillip Frederigos, admitted.) 0266 1 MR. GENTRY: Mr. Frederigos also provided a 2 sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 3 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 4 qualification, office administration and temperament. 5 That statement was provided to all commission members 6 earlier and is included in your notebooks. 7 I have no concerns with the statement and 8 with the commission's approval, I would ask those 9 questions be waived in this public hearing today. 10 Mr. Frederigos, is the second document before 11 you the sworn statement you submitted as your part of 12 your application? 13 MR. FREDERIGOS: Yes, it is. 14 MR. GENTRY: Is there any amendment you would 15 like to make at this time to the sworn statement? 16 MR. FREDERIGOS: No, there is not. 17 MR. GENTRY: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 18 would ask that Mr. Frederigos' sworn statement be 19 entered as an exhibit into the hearing record. 20 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done at this 21 point in the transcript without objection. 22 (EXHIBIT 30, Sworn Statement of Phillip 23 Frederigos, admitted.) 24 MR. GENTRY: One final procedural matter. I 25 note for the record that based on the testimony 0267 1 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been 2 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 3 Mr. Frederigos meets the statutory requirements for 4 this position regarding age, residence and years of 5 practice. 6 BY MR. GENTRY: 7 Q. Mr. Frederigos, why do you want to serve as a 8 circuit court judge? 9 A. I can't think of a more important calling 10 than protecting individual liberties and rights. And 11 in a nutshell, that's why I would like to be a member 12 of the judiciary. 13 Q. Can you explain to the commission how you 14 feel your legal and professional experience will help 15 you be an effective circuit court judge? 16 A. Sure. I have approximately ten years of 17 legal experience in the practice of law. I have been a 18 practicing attorney in the area of civil litigation, 19 but in addition to that, I have experience in the 20 business world outside of just the legal profession. 21 And I think those are my strong suits as far as what I 22 would bring to the judiciary. 23 Q. Are there any additional legal or procedural 24 areas that you feel you need to further prepare for, 25 and if so, how would go about that preparation? 0268 1 A. Sure, and thank you for that question. 2 Unfortunately, my experience is limited to the civil 3 arena. I have not had that much experience in the 4 criminal arena. However, I do have an affinity for 5 that area. When I was in law school, I did Am Jur 6 substantive criminal law as well as constitutional law 7 and tried really hard to Am Jur corporations, but I 8 wasn't able to, apparently. 9 But what I intend to do is to conduct as many 10 CLEs as I can from here on out dealing with the area of 11 criminal substantive and procedural law, as well as 12 read learned treatises and advance sheets. But most 13 importantly, I intend to become an expert of the area 14 of criminal substantive and procedural law, if I'm 15 chosen to be a member of the bench. 16 Q. Although you address this in your sworn 17 affidavit, would you please tell the members of the 18 commission what you think is the appropriate demeanor 19 for a judge? 20 A. Without question, I think the most 21 appropriate demeanor is a very fair and even-handed 22 judge that's open-minded, listens to both sides and 23 applies the law. 24 Q. What suggestions would you offer for 25 improving the backlog of cases on the docket in Circuit 0269 1 Court for common pleas and/or general sessions court? 2 A. A lot of hard work. I think that we can 3 expect no less than judges that are going to work very 4 hard and move the dockets along. I think a lot of 5 times in particular circuits where there is a backlog 6 of cases, the big problem is that motions are not 7 getting set, they're not getting heard, decisions are 8 not being made. And I think that it's incumbent on the 9 part of judges to move the docket along. And if 10 there's a backlog, then move those cases and help out 11 the lawyer as best you can in order to move those cases 12 along and get them ready for trial so that individuals 13 can have their day in court and not wait a very long 14 time to have that day. 15 Q. If you were elected to the bench, what would 16 you like for your legacy to be as a judge on the 17 Circuit Court? 18 A. A judge who is prepared, open-minded, fair 19 applied the law even-handed. 20 Q. Have you sought or received the pledge of any 21 legislator prior to this date? 22 A. No. 23 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 24 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 25 the outcome of your screening? 0270 1 A. No. 2 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 3 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 4 A. Not yet. 5 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 6 commission? 7 A. No. 8 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 9 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 10 after the formal release of the commission's report? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 13 on pledging? 14 A. Yes. 15 Q. As far as -- are you aware of the penalties 16 for violating the pledging rules? 17 A. Yes. 18 MR. GENTRY: I would note that the Lowcountry 19 Citizens Committee reported the following regarding 20 Mr. Frederigos' constitutional qualifications. Again, 21 he meets constitutional qualifications for the position 22 he seeks. 23 Ethical fitness. Persons interviewed by the 24 committee indicated the candidate's considered ethical, 25 professional and academic ability. The committee gave 0271 1 the candidate an exceptional rating in this area. 2 Character. The committee reported the 3 candidate's character is unquestionable. 4 Reputation. The candidate enjoys a good 5 reputation in the community and among his peers. 6 Physical and mental health. There's evidence 7 that the candidate is physically and mentally capable 8 of performing the duties required of a judge in the 9 circuit court. 10 Experience. The committee recognizes the 11 candidate's good legal experience in the civil arena. 12 Judicial temperament. The committee gave the 13 candidate a good rating in the category. 14 I would note for the record, any concerns 15 raised in the investigation regarding the candidate 16 were incorporated into the questioning of the candidate 17 today. 18 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Members of the commission 20 have any questions? 21 There being no questions, Mr. Frederigos, we 22 appreciate you appearing before us this evening. And 23 I'll just remind you of the 48-hour rule. We will 24 issue a draft report. It will be placed on the desk of 25 the senators and representatives when it becomes the 0272 1 final report of this commission. Prior to that time, 2 we can reconvene and conduct further inquiries at a 3 public hearing of the candidate. It's not done very 4 frequently but has been done. Usually it is done 5 because of some perceived impropriety in the election 6 process. 7 And we've reminded you of that, I will wish 8 you well and hope you have a safe trip home. 9 MR. FREDERIGOS: Thank you very much. 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you. 11 (Mr. Frederigos exits the room.) 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Next we have Leland 13 Greeley of York County, South Carolina. 14 SEN. MCCONNELL: Let me state, I'm going to 15 recuse myself on this one also for the reason that one 16 of the candidates contributed to me politically some 17 time back, but nevertheless, it's the same. 18 (Mr. Greeley enters the room.) 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us this 20 evening Leland Greeley from Rock Hill, South Carolina, 21 who seeks judicial circuit court at-large seat number 22 6. 23 Mr. Greeley, if you would raise your right 24 hand to be sworn. 25 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 0273 1 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 2 MR. GREELEY: I do. 3 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 4 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 5 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for the 6 bench. Our investigation has primarily concentrated on 7 nine evaluative criteria which have included a survey 8 of the bench and bar, a thorough study of your 9 application materials, verification of your compliance 10 with state ethics laws, a search of any newspaper 11 articles in which your name may have appeared, a study 12 of any previous screenings as well as a check for 13 economic conflicts of interest. 14 There are no affidavits filed in opposition 15 to your candidacy for election, and there no witnesses 16 to testify. 17 Do you have a brief opening statement you 18 would like to make? 19 MR. GREELEY: Yes, if I may. 20 Mr. Chairman and Mr. Vice Chairman, Members 21 of the Commission, I'm Leland Greeley from York County. 22 I have practiced law in the state and federal courts 23 for 22 years in the courtroom. I am currently 24 president of the South Carolina Association of Criminal 25 Defense Lawyers. I also serve on the sexually violent 0274 1 predators task force as appointed by the chief justice 2 this past year. 3 And I would like to have the opportunity to 4 serve this state in the capacity as a Circuit Court 5 judge and finish out my career in the law in that 6 capacity. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 8 If you would at this point answer any 9 questions our counsel may have for you. 10 MR. GREELEY: Okay. 11 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman and Members of the 12 commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 13 care of. 14 Mr. Greeley, you have given us a personal 15 data questionnaire that you submitted as part of your 16 application. Is there any amendment that you wish to 17 make to the personal data questionnaire at this time? 18 MR. GREELEY: No. 19 MS. BENSON: Thank you, Mr. Greeley. 20 Mr. Chairman, at this time I'd like to ask 21 that Mr. Greeley's personal data questionnaire be 22 entered as an exhibit into the hearing. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done without 24 objection at this point in the transcript. 25 (EXHIBIT 31, Personal Data Questionnaire of 0275 1 Leland Bland Greeley, admitted.) 2 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Greeley has 3 also provided a sworn statement with detailed answers 4 to over 30 questions regarding judicial conduct, 5 statutory qualifications, office administration and 6 temperament. That statement was provided to all the 7 commission members earlier and is included in your 8 notebooks. 9 I have no concerns with the statement and 10 with the commission's approval, I would ask that those 11 questions be waived in this public hearing today. 12 Also, Mr. Chairman, I would ask Mr. Greeley 13 is there any amendment to the sworn statement that you 14 submitted to us? 15 MR. GREELEY: There is not. 16 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman, at this time I 17 would like to ask that it be entered into the record as 18 an exhibit. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, it 20 will be entered into the record at this point in the 21 transcript. 22 (EXHIBIT 32, Sworn Statement of Leland Bland 23 Greeley, admitted.) 24 MS. BENSON: One final procedural matter. I 25 would note for the record that based on the testimony 0276 1 contained in the candidate's PDQ and his other 2 materials, that Leland Bland Greeley meets all the 3 statutory requirements for this position regarding age, 4 residence and years of practice. 5 BY MS. BENSON: 6 Q. Mr. Greeley, you served as an assistant 7 solicitor and also in private practice. You told us a 8 little bit about why you would like to be a circuit 9 judge, and you also indicated in your PDQ that you have 10 frequent appearances in the state court with 80 percent 11 trial matters going before a jury. 12 Please describe how your legal and 13 professional experience will help you be an effective 14 circuit judge and how you will try to learn about areas 15 you do not currently have experience in. 16 A. Well, as this commission knows, the trial 17 level, the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of 18 General Sessions, it is the trial judge level. I have 19 spent my entire career trying cases in South Carolina, 20 both in federal and state courts. I have extensive 21 experience in that area, both on the civil side and on 22 the criminal side. 23 I've handled cases on the civil side on both 24 plaintiff and defense. I have also handled cases both 25 as a solicitor in my early years and as a defense 0277 1 attorney in my later years. 2 I believe that that experience is going to 3 help me be in -- properly and competently in the role 4 of the judge. That's the role that I want to take on 5 now. I have been in the role as an advocate. And 6 that's what our system is made up of is different 7 roles, people doing different roles. And I believe 8 that I have the experience and knowledge to do a good 9 job for this state and for the people of this state. 10 Q. Thank you, Mr. Greeley. 11 You've indicated that you have had some tax 12 liens filed against you and that these have now been 13 satisfied. Could you please describe how that those 14 liens were imposed in the first place. 15 A. The latest ones, the last -- there were two 16 years to where the first year my wife changed jobs and 17 she had a roll -- not a rollover, she took a lump sum 18 from an account. There was money that was not withheld 19 by her employer for that. And I had a fairly good year 20 in the practice of law that year. Those two things 21 combined hit us with a nice tax liability. We were 22 able to pay some of it, but we weren't able to pay the 23 entire thing. 24 It was enough to where it rolled over into 25 the next year, which provided us with another tax 0278 1 liability. I think it was in the year 2007, I worked 2 very hard and I ended up -- and I sat down and I 3 figured this up. I ended up paying close to $90,000 4 that year in back taxes and in my withholdings for the 5 coming year. But there was still some that we had to 6 pay. We were able to get that resolved this past May. 7 And so we are currently -- my wife and I currently, 8 through 2007, are current on all our income taxes, both 9 federal and state. 10 Q. Mr. Greeley, you also indicated that an 11 inmate lawsuit had been filed against you and then 12 subsequently dismissed. Would you please describe the 13 situation to the commission. 14 A. I was sued by a gentleman who was serving 15 time who I had not actually represented. He had 16 consulted with me prior to him serving time and he 17 filed a lawsuit once he went to jail against just about 18 everybody in the procedure and in the proceedings. 19 I called my insurance company, told them of 20 it, asked them if they would allow me to represent 21 myself initially merely to make a motion to dismiss. 22 There was a hearing before the Master-in-Equity in York 23 County. The gentleman who filed the lawsuit was there 24 and that lawsuit was summarily dismissed. 25 Q. Mr. Greeley, you also indicated that you had 0279 1 received two letters of caution as a result of client 2 complaints. Could you please describe these matters 3 for the commission and explain how they were resolved. 4 A. Yes. They were my mistakes that I made. The 5 first was I had missed a motion hearing. I just missed 6 it. The judge called me, I was at my office. It did 7 not make the calendar. And we talked, and my client 8 subsequently ended up filing a complaint about me 9 missing the motion hearing. And that was my mistake. 10 And so that's what that first letter of 11 caution was, and it had to do with calendaring. 12 The second involved the turning over of a 13 client file, and the circumstances that were behind 14 that was that I had been appointed to represent a 15 gentleman who was charged with a number of charges. We 16 had a trial. It was an extensive file. He had family 17 in town but he himself -- I had been appointed, me and 18 another attorney in Rock Hill as an indigent. After he 19 was convicted, he wrote to me and he wanted a copy of 20 his file. Knowing that he had family, I told him I 21 would be glad to do that and would he have a family 22 member -- authorize a family member to come by and pick 23 it up. And we would charge a small copy fee because it 24 was -- I mean, it was sizable. He was charged with 21 25 counts of a lewd act and criminal sexual conduct on a 0280 1 minor. 2 Because I would not send him the file 3 directly, he filed a grievance. And so I asked the 4 grievance board. I said, "We also have an issue here." 5 Because there were photographs in evidence that were in 6 the file that were not photographs that needed to be in 7 the penitentiary in his cell, of boys." 8 And so I got -- they said, "We're not sure 9 what to do about that." 10 And so what we did was we resolved it. I 11 sent him his file, complete file. I took all the 12 photographs that were not appropriate to go to directly 13 to him in the penitentiary, and I sent those to the 14 warden -- I sent them to him in care of the warden to 15 be held by the warden and he could have access to them 16 for any legal needs that he needed. Because I had not 17 turned the file over, I did receive a letter of caution 18 as I should have. And so that's how that was resolved. 19 Q. Thank you, Mr. Greeley. 20 Mr. Greeley, in the August 15, 2005, edition 21 of the Rock Hill Herald, you were quoted as arguing 22 against mandatory minimum sentencing for juveniles 23 prosecuted as adults. And I wonder if you would mind, 24 if you would like to -- I think I can find the quote, 25 but I believe you and I have talked about this quote 0281 1 and if you would please explain. 2 A. Yeah, I would be glad to explain what that 3 was. 4 I'm a member of the South Carolina 5 Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and one of the 6 things that we do as a group is that we talk about 7 issues that are going on at the time. 8 Now, if you look at the date, what was going 9 on was the Pittman trial. And what had happened with 10 Mr. Pittman being sentenced to 30 years. What I was 11 speaking of there is -- doesn't have anything to do 12 with mandatory minimums for adults. That's -- the 13 legislature has that and that's fine with me. I think 14 that we do need to have mandatory minimums in certain 15 circumstances. 16 But we also have the law to where we have 17 juveniles who are -- come into the judicial system 18 treated as adults. And that can come about a couple of 19 ways. Either they can be transferred up from family 20 court upon motion of the solicitor, depending on the 21 crime, or they may be 15 or 16, which in certain 22 offenses they can be charged directly as an adult. 23 Okay. 24 And what that does is it puts them to where 25 they have these mandatory minimums once they're charged 0282 1 as an adult. The Pittman case is the perfect example 2 of how this can be difficult for the system as a whole. 3 The reason being is the Pittman case -- there is no way 4 in the world the Pittman case could have been handled 5 as a juvenile case. It was an awful case. It was 6 horrible. The child was 12 years old, but it was a 7 horrible case. 8 Because with the juvenile case, they're going 9 to walk out at 21, period. So that's not really an 10 option. The solicitor can't do that. So he has to 11 waive him up as an adult. Well, it's a murder case, so 12 that automatically puts a 12-year-old looking at 30 13 years to life. Now, you can't seek the death penalty 14 because he's under the age of 18 at the time of the 15 incident. You see, that recognizes his youthfulness. 16 We have the Youthful Offender Act, which recognizes 17 youthfulness. 18 So if there would be an amendment to the law 19 where mandatory minimums, if we have them, and that 20 would be okay, too, but to have some sort of a parole 21 provision possibility. 22 Q. In the case of juveniles? 23 A. In the case of juveniles. See, in this 24 particular case, the court sentenced Mr. Pittman to 30 25 years, however, his incarceration dates back to the age 0283 1 of 12. So absent him committing a crime that's going 2 to extend his sentence, Mr. Pittman is going to walk 3 out into society around the age of 39 or 40. 4 Had there been a provision to where maybe 5 with juveniles there could be parole provisions on 6 life, the court could have sat back and said, 7 "Mr. Pittman, I hereby sentence you as a juvenile to 8 life in prison." 9 But somewhere along the way, his case could 10 be reviewed. And he may be able to get out or if they 11 find that he doesn't need to be out, then he can stay 12 on for life. But it provides a workability there, 13 especially in regards to the state and defense 14 negotiating prior to. It gives them a few more 15 options. 16 Q. Mr. Greeley, since the time that you were 17 quoted, have you done any further work on this issue? 18 A. Well, at -- yes. During that period of time 19 and since, I have, myself, drafted up a proposed 20 amendment to the law that would -- but I haven't 21 presented it to anyone because it's the type of thing 22 that -- I mean, it's very delicate, and so it's not 23 something that you can just hand to somebody and say, 24 "I propose this." I mean, it would have to be a 25 coordinated venture between prosecution commission and 0284 1 the other entities to where something might be able to 2 be worked. But I think that's a possibility at some 3 point. 4 Q. Thank you, Mr. Greeley. 5 Mr. Greeley, although you've addressed this 6 in your sworn affidavit, could you please tell the 7 members of the commission what you think is the 8 appropriate demeanor for a judge? 9 A. Well, I think that a judge needs to be 10 respectful to everyone who is in attendance, that's 11 counsel, that's parties, witnesses. The judge needs to 12 be able to present the image that he is in control of 13 the courtroom because he is, and yet he doesn't have to 14 rule over the courtroom. The judge needs to be firm, 15 he needs to be stern at times and in no sense of -- at 16 no time should a judge ever be angry about anything. 17 Now, a judge, he should never show his anger, 18 let me amend that. He should never show his anger. 19 All judges are going to get angry. All people get 20 angry. It's an emotion that we can't avoid. But you 21 have to know not to act on it. And so -- but also be 22 respectful and polite to all those. 23 Q. Mr. Greeley, the commission has received one 24 negative bench and bar survey -- well, I shouldn't 25 really characterize it as negative because it had both 0285 1 negative and positive factors that is said about you. 2 It said, "He is exceedingly lazy. He sometimes fails 3 to act diligently." It also said, "Excellent intellect 4 and strong interest in the law." But it also said, "He 5 is not punctual with orders. He sometimes lets cases 6 die because he does not follow through." 7 Would you like to respond to these comments? 8 A. I'm sure that over the course of my career, I 9 have been tardy with orders. Usually that's in family 10 court, which I shouldn't have done. Okay. It was not 11 something that was common, but I'm not going to sit 12 here and say that that has never occurred. I don't 13 recall letting any case die on the vine. 14 As far as being lazy, I don't know that I 15 have been lazy. I've been pretty much a sole 16 practitioner and had my own office for 18 years. I 17 have also been active in professional organizations and 18 in civic work. I have spoken at CLEs. I have argued 19 before all the courts of appeals that I could except 20 for the United States Supreme Court. They denied cert 21 in one case that I sent, and that's always an order 22 that's about three words. 23 And I don't think I would have been able to 24 do what I have done if I was, by nature, lazy. 25 Q. Mr. Greeley, what suggestions do you offer 0286 1 for improving the backlog of cases on the docket of the 2 Circuit Court of common pleas or general sessions? 3 A. Well, for common pleas, as I have seen over 4 time, a lot of times the way you can move common pleas 5 cases is to call them to trial. More times than not, 6 in common pleas, cases settle when the parties are 7 having to sit there in court and know that their case 8 is going to be tried. And so I believe that that's one 9 of the most effective ways of doing it, once it reaches 10 the trial level. 11 We do not have up in York County arbitration, 12 mandatory arbitration at this time. I haven't 13 experienced that necessarily. But it -- I would have 14 to defer to others, but that's a possible way of doing 15 it as far as helping the backlog on the civil side. 16 On the criminal side, as far as helping the 17 backlog, the way that we have it now, one of the 18 problems that we have, and it's not so much -- it's a 19 problem that the court and the solicitors inherit. 20 Okay. 21 There are so many charges that are brought 22 against people and there are -- and nobody along the 23 way wants to make the hard call. They want to pass it 24 on over. And I believe that if you had reviewing 25 court, such as preliminary hearings, not necessarily 0287 1 that we have to have full-blown preliminaries. We 2 don't have time for that either. But if it could be 3 emphasized to the presiding judges that one of their 4 important things is to separate the wheat from the 5 chaff so that cases can go ahead and be disposed of 6 there rather than continuing to fill up the general 7 sessions docket until solicitors have to dismiss them, 8 you know, along those ways. Given the budget times, I 9 don't see a lot more court. I don't see a lot more 10 judicial positions, so I don't think that's a realistic 11 suggestion. 12 Q. There are a few housekeeping issues. 13 Mr. Greeley, have you sought or received the 14 pledge of any legislator prior to this date? 15 A. I have not. 16 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 17 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 18 the outcome of your screening? 19 A. I have not. 20 Q. Have you asked any third parities to contact 21 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 22 A. I have not. 23 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 24 commission? 25 A. I have not. 0288 1 Q. Do you understand you are prohibited from 2 seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours after the 3 formal release of the commission's report? 4 A. I do. 5 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 6 on pledging? 7 A. I have. 8 Q. As a follow up, are you aware of the 9 penalties for violating the pledging rules, that is, 10 that it's a misdemeanor and upon conviction, the 11 violator must be fined not more than $1,000 or 12 imprisoned not more than 90 days? 13 A. Yes, ma'am. 14 MS. BENSON: Mr. Chairman, I would note that 15 the Lowcountry Citizens Committee reported the 16 following regarding Mr. Greeley. 17 "Mr. Greeley appears to be in good health, 18 and the committee finds him to be very qualified for 19 the office he seeks." 20 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 21 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: That was the Piedmont. 22 MS. BENSON: I beg your pardon. I beg your 23 pardon. 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any questions of the 25 commission? 0289 1 Mr. Greeley, we appreciate you appearing 2 before us this evening and I would -- 3 SEN. KNOTTS: Let me ask him one question. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Yes, sir. 5 Senator Knotts. 6 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 7 Q. Since the thing was brought up about being 8 lazy and all, what do you think the hours of the judges 9 should be? 10 A. What do I think the hours of a judge should 11 be? 12 Q. The Circuit Court judge. 13 A. Okay. First of all, I believe that courtroom 14 hours that -- and I have thought about this. Okay. I 15 believe it's very reasonable to take the bench at 16 9:00 a.m. I believe that the judge can conduct 17 business from 8:00, 8:15 until 9:00. Takes the bench 18 at 9:00. Has a midmorning break at some point in time, 19 breaks for an hour and a half, depending on where you 20 are in the availability of lunch. You take a 21 midafternoon break. And unless you're going to have to 22 carry a trial forward, that you can go until 5:00. 23 And I may get in trouble for this, but I 24 don't understand -- I've never been able to see and 25 maybe there's another reason because I'm not a judge 0290 1 and I don't know what they do, but I think that they 2 can sometimes work on Friday afternoons, too, in court. 3 Q. Okay. You would work Friday afternoons, 4 right? 5 A. I do now, so, yeah, I would work on Friday 6 afternoons then, too. If, you know, I could pull that 7 off. But I'm a realist, too. There are a lot of 8 people in the system. You've got court reporters, 9 you've got clerks of court and a lot of it goes on 10 tradition, too. 11 It would be something that in York County, I 12 don't see a problem. If you've got a backlog, let's 13 work. But when you travel, I don't believe that I 14 would go into Abbeville and say to the people of 15 Abbeville, we're going to work Friday afternoon, okay. 16 I wouldn't do it that way. What is you all's practice 17 and how do you do it? And then I would see what it is 18 and then we would work on, if it was possible to change 19 it without having a train wreck. You know, depending 20 on the locality. 21 But as far as I'm concerned as a judge, I'm 22 willing to work on Friday afternoons. I do that now. 23 Q. So basically you're saying the judge should 24 be in charge of the courtroom but -- you're willing to 25 be in charge of the courtroom in friendly territory, 0291 1 but when you get in hostile territory, you're willing 2 to sit back and let them decide when court is going to 3 run? 4 A. No. No. I'm saying I'm not going to go in 5 and say, "We're going to work on Friday afternoon until 6 5:00." I'm going to go in and see how they do it and 7 then we'll work on changing it so that we could go in 8 at 5:00 eventually. But I'm not going to go in just 9 guns ablazing, and I don't think that that would work 10 in some of the communities here. Change could come, 11 but it's not going to come that drastic. 12 SEN. FORD: Can I ask a question? 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Yes, Senator. 14 BY SEN. FORD: 15 Q. You guys understand that if we don't clean up 16 this docket, you are going to have all these serious 17 crimes being committed by repeat offenders? You don't 18 have no feelings about that, you lawyers? 19 A. Well, I do. And, see, one of the things is 20 is that -- one of the realities is that the solicitor's 21 office, and I'm not trying to be disparaging to the 22 solicitor's office, the solicitor's office has complete 23 control of the dockets in general sessions court. And 24 they decide which cases they're going to try and they 25 decide which cases they're going to dismiss and they 0292 1 decide which cases they're going to try and work out a 2 plea. 3 Defense attorneys, nine times out of ten, 4 have to react to the state, to what they're going to be 5 doing. 6 Q. Can't you all get together and understand how 7 serious this stuff is in urban areas? How many of you 8 all playing old fashioned law games and people dying 9 every day? 10 A. I understand. 11 Q. And some more committing more serious crimes 12 every day. 13 A. I understand. 14 Q. It looks like nobody have feelings about this 15 stuff. 16 A. Well, I believe there are people -- in my 17 experiences, you have cases that need to be tried. 18 Solicitor is going to say, this is a bad case, we're 19 going to have to try this case. And you go and you try 20 it and you put the person away for 30 years. Okay. 21 And the court does that, too. Because there are people 22 who cannot live amongst us, and so the court puts them 23 there. But the people have to get before the court. 24 Q. Well, can't you lawyers decide that, listen, 25 let's change this thing and get these people before the 0293 1 court? That's why we, you know, involved with this 2 stuff. 3 A. Well, I agree. But the solicitor -- the 4 solicitor is the one who gets it before the court at 5 this point in time. They call the case. 6 Now, if I've got cases, and a lot of defense 7 attorneys do, once we reach a resolution, we're ready 8 to go in and we'll plea and we'll move the case. 9 SEN. FORD: I'm glad we got two House members 10 here, because we have those public hearings and it's 11 frustrating. We need your help to pass some of these 12 bills and straighten this mess out. You've been in the 13 House forever and, Mr. Speaker, we need you all to help 14 us. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We'll try to help you, 16 Senator Ford. 17 Any further questions? 18 Thank you, Mr. Greeley. We appreciate you 19 being here tonight. I will remind you of the 48-hour 20 rule. We issue a report and it's a draft report until 21 it's sat on the senators' and representatives' desk for 22 48 hours. At that point it becomes the final report of 23 the commission. And up until that time we could recall 24 you for another public hearing and ask you any 25 questions that we need to know. 0294 1 MR. GREELEY: Thank you very much. 2 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, and have a 3 safe trip back to Rock Hill. 4 MR. GREELEY: Thank you. 5 (Mr. Greeley exits the room.) 6 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Next we have Daniel 7 DeWitt Hall. 8 (Mr. Hall enters the room.) 9 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Good evening, Mr. Hall. 10 MR. HALL: Good evening. 11 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us today 12 Mr. Daniel Dewitt Hall from York County, 13 South Carolina. He seeks a position on the Circuit 14 Court at-large, seat number 6. 15 If you would, Mr. Hall, did you have anybody 16 with you? 17 THE WITNESS: This is my wife Kathy. 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We're glad to have you 19 here today. 20 If you would, raise your right hand to be 21 sworn. 22 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 23 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 24 MR. HALL: I do. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 0295 1 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 2 thoroughly evaluated your qualifications for service on 3 the bench. Our inquiry has focused on primarily nine 4 evaluative criteria which have included a survey of the 5 bench and bar, a thorough study of your application 6 materials, verification of your compliance to state 7 ethics laws, a search of newspaper articles in which 8 your name may appear, a study of any previous 9 screenings and a check for economic conflicts of 10 interest. 11 We have no affidavits filed in opposition to 12 your candidacy or election. There are no witnesses to 13 testify. 14 Do you have a brief opening statement you 15 would like to make? 16 MR. HALL: I'll waive. 17 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 18 If you would, answer any questions that our 19 able counsel may have for you. 20 MS. WELLS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 21 Mr. Hall, you have submitted a personal data 22 questionnaire as part of your application. Was there 23 any amendment you would like to make at this time to 24 that PDQ? 25 MR. HALL: No, ma'am. 0296 1 MS. WELLS: This at time, Mr. Chairman, I 2 would ask that Mr. Hall's personal data questionnaire 3 be entered as an exhibit into the hearing record. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, it 5 will be done at this point in the transcript. 6 (EXHIBIT 33, Personal Data Questionnaire of 7 Daniel Dewitt Hall, admitted.) 8 MS. WELLS: Mr. Hall also provided a sworn 9 statement with detailed answers to over 30 questions 10 regarding judicial conduct, statutory qualifications, 11 office administration and temperament. That statement 12 was provided to all commission members earlier and is 13 included in your notebooks. 14 I have no concerns with the statement and 15 with the commission's approval, I would ask those 16 questions be waived in the public hearing today. 17 Mr. Hall, you have in front of you a copy of 18 your sworn statement. Do you have any amendment you 19 would like to make at this time today? 20 MR. HALL: No, ma'am. 21 MS. WELLS: Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask 22 that Mr. Hall's statement be entered as an exhibit into 23 the hearing record. 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done at this 25 point in the transcript without objection. 0297 1 (EXHIBIT 34, Sworn Statement of Daniel Dewitt 2 Hall, admitted.) 3 MS. WELLS: One final procedural matter. I 4 note for the record that based on the testimony 5 contained in the candidate's PDQ, Mr. Hall meets the 6 statutory requirements of this position regarding age, 7 residence and years of practice. 8 BY MS. WELLS: 9 Q. Mr. Hall, after 20 years of being an attorney 10 primarily in the criminal field, would you explain to 11 the commission members why you want to now serve as a 12 circuit court judge. 13 A. I view it as an opportunity to be able to 14 extend my vision of public service and then an 15 opportunity to influence the legal community, not just 16 in my county but across the state for improvements and 17 an opportunity to continue to serve. I look at it as a 18 step up. 19 Q. Mr. Hall, your professional experience before 20 you became an attorney was widely varied and included 21 experience with animal farming and some other issues. 22 With that and your legal experience, how do you think 23 all of that will help you to be an effective Circuit 24 Court judge? 25 A. I think my experience, certainly before I 0298 1 went to law school, gives me a view of life that most 2 people who just -- who practice law all their lives 3 don't have. It's the ability to understand what 4 regular people deal with, issues that they may have as 5 far as family life, as far as dealing with the judicial 6 system. 7 I managed a small cattle operation in a place 8 called Turkey, North Carolina, for a couple of years 9 back in the mid '70s. I worked in the meat business 10 for about five years. Then I ran a small credit 11 reporting business, which is the hardest thing I've 12 ever done in my life. Tried to do some collections, 13 which I would never do again, for about a year and a 14 half while I was going through the law school process. 15 And then I took my wife and three children to 16 law school when I was 30. And it was actually one of 17 the highlights of our life. We enjoyed that time. It 18 was not what a lot of people had told us that it was 19 the most impossible thing to do. We look back -- my 20 wife cried all the way when I carried her to law school 21 but then she cried all the way back. 22 And I think all those things equip to me to 23 give me a real broad-based understanding of the people 24 we serve -- that judges serve. 25 Q. Are there any areas that you feel you would 0299 1 need to additionally prepare for to be an effective 2 Circuit Court judge and how would you go about doing 3 that additional preparation? 4 A. Well, the practice of law is just that. It's 5 the practice of law. I've been primarily involved in 6 the criminal field for 20 years, but I'm continuing to 7 learn stuff -- law every day. I don't have as much 8 experience in the civil field. I did a little bit of 9 civil practice when I had my own practice, but I would 10 deal with that just by studying the law, keeping 11 abreast of what the changes are in the law. And I 12 believe I'm a smart -- smart, quick learner. 13 Q. Mr. Hall, although you address this in your 14 sworn affidavit, would you please tell the members of 15 the commission what you think the appropriate demeanor 16 of a judge would be? 17 A. Patience and being patient and fair. No 18 place for anger in the courtroom. 19 Q. Thank you. 20 What suggestions would you offer for the 21 members of the commission for improving the backlog of 22 cases that exist today on the dockets of Circuit Court, 23 both in the common pleas and in general sessions. 24 A. As far as general sessions, I'm old enough 25 that when I first went to work for the solicitor's 0300 1 office in York in 1988, I've actually worked for four 2 different solicitors. I worked for Red Ferguson for 3 about six months. And then I worked for Larry Grant 4 for about two and a half years. Then I went into 5 private practice, and I came back for Tommy Pope. I 6 worked for Tommy until he retired. And now I work for 7 Kevin Brackett. 8 I was able -- I'm able to -- I know what the 9 old days were like in the Sixteenth Circuit. It was 10 horrible. In 1990, we had an extremely terrible 11 backlog. The way we did things was horrible. I think 12 primarily through the work of Tommy Pope and Harry 13 Dest, who is our chief public defender, in the early 14 '90s we implemented a case management system that in 15 essence brought -- the bigger thing case management 16 system brought was it brought the parties together to 17 work together on solving the backlog problem. And it 18 was the relationship that being able to communicate 19 between our chief public defender and our solicitor, I 20 think, that actually brought us out of the dark ages. 21 Now, as far as looking forward, I believe a 22 judge's role, a judge is in a position where he is the 23 one -- he's like -- as Judge Hayes says, he's like the 24 wagonmaster. But I think a judge needs to be actively 25 involved in seeking to bring the parties together. In 0301 1 general sessions court, I know we've discussed and 2 talked about our judges beginning to attempt to have 3 status conferences on cases, which you have opposing 4 views on cases where a judge is in a position where he 5 can be the facilitator and work -- and work cases for 6 us. 7 I think part of two ways of dealing with the 8 backlog in general sessions is you've got to have 9 cooperation between everybody involved. I think the 10 judge is the one common denominator that can help bring 11 that into place. And common pleas is the same thing. 12 Judges having the fortitude to being able to patiently 13 hold lawyers to deadlines and through status 14 conferences, through scheduling orders is a way to deal 15 with the backlog. 16 Q. Thank you, Mr. Hall. I just have a few 17 housekeeping issues. 18 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 19 legislator prior to this date? 20 A. No. 21 Q. Have you sought or have you been offered a 22 conditional pledge of support of any legislator pending 23 the outcome of your screening? 24 A. No, ma'am. 25 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 0302 1 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 2 A. No, ma'am. 3 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 4 commission? 5 A. No, ma'am. 6 Q. Do you understand that you're prohibited from 7 seeking a pledge of commitment until 48 hours after the 8 formal release of the commission's report? 9 A. I do. 10 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 11 on pledging? 12 A. I have. 13 Q. Are you aware of the penalties for violating 14 the pledging rules, that is, it is a misdemeanor and 15 upon conviction, the violator must be fined not more 16 than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 90 days? 17 A. Yes, ma'am. 18 MS. WELLS: I would note for the record that 19 the Piedmont Citizens Committee reported that Mr. Hall 20 appears to be in good health. The majority of the 21 committee finds Mr. Hall to be very qualified for the 22 office he is seeking, however, one member expressed 23 reservations about his lack of civil law experience and 24 gave him a qualified rating. 25 I would also note for the record that any 0303 1 concerns raised during the investigation regarding the 2 candidate were incorporated in the questioning of the 3 candidate today. 4 I have no further questions. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any members of the 6 commission have any? Senator Knotts. 7 BY SEN. KNOTTS: 8 Q. Yes, sir. As assistant solicitor, you've 9 been around the courthouse and courtrooms for quite 10 some time? 11 A. Yes, sir. In fact, I had a case scheduled 12 for trial in the morning, which my officer is 13 unavailable so I was very happy I'm not going to try a 14 case tomorrow. 15 Q. You will be able to make it. 16 A. That's right. 17 Q. How do you feel the judge's work ethic should 18 be on the bench during a week of trial? 19 A. Our judges, Judge Alford and Judge Hayes, are 20 always available. They're always there. They are 21 there when we start court on Monday mornings, and they 22 work through the day on Friday. And I would expect 23 that that's the work ethic that I would -- that every 24 judge ought to adapt. 25 Q. How about traveling judges that come to your 0304 1 circuit, have you seen a difference in their work 2 ethics? 3 A. We try to have our docket prepared where we 4 have plenty of it for them to do, and they have -- we 5 do everything we can to start them on Monday morning, 6 and we try to have work for them till Friday. And they 7 have all been available to do that. 8 Q. Till Friday morning or Friday afternoon? 9 A. Sometimes we -- most of the time it ends 10 around 1:00 on Friday. A lot of that, sometimes 11 probation has -- particularly if we're doing a lot of 12 pleas and the court personnel need time to get their 13 work caught up before the end of the day. 14 We had Judge Mike Nettles there three weeks 15 ago, and we kept him till 4:00 on Friday afternoon. He 16 had to get in the car and drive three hours back to 17 Florence. 18 SEN. KNOTTS: That's it. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any further questions? 20 There being no other questions, Mr. Hall, we 21 appreciate you and your wife patiently waiting on your 22 screening today. We appreciate you participating in 23 the process. 24 I will remind you about the 48-hour rule. We 25 issue a report, it's a draft report, until and after 0305 1 it's on the senators' and legislators' desk for 48 2 hours when it becomes a final report of the commission. 3 Up to that time, we can reconvene a public hearing and 4 bring anyone back to testify for whatever reason we 5 might see fit. 6 I hope you have a safe trip back home. 7 MR. HALL: Thank you all. 8 (Mr. Hall exits the room.) 9 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Next we have -- 10 PROF. FREEMAN: Mr. Chairman, these next 11 people that we're taking up principally because of 12 perceived deficiencies or complaints. 13 MS. SHULER: Complaints. 14 PROF. FREEMAN: I'm sorry, yeah. Let me just 15 ask since I started -- when we take these three up, can 16 we focus mainly on those issues as opposed to why they 17 want to be a judge or any of that? 18 MS. SHULER: They're sitting judges. We're 19 just going to ask about the complaint. 20 PROF. FREEMAN: Okay. Good. Great. 21 (Judge Henderson enters the room.) 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us 23 Honorable Roger E. Henderson who is a family court 24 judge who seeks a position on the Circuit Court 25 at-large, seat number 6. 0306 1 If you would, Judge Henderson, if you would 2 raise your right hand, please, sir, to be sworn. 3 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 4 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 5 JUDGE HENDERSON: I do. 6 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: The Judicial Merit 7 Selection Commission has thoroughly investigated your 8 qualifications for service on the bench. And our 9 inquiry has focused primarily on nine evaluative 10 criteria which have included a survey of the bench and 11 bar, a thorough study of your application materials, a 12 verification of your compliance with state ethics laws, 13 a search of newspaper articles in which your name might 14 have appeared, a study of any previous screenings and a 15 check for economic conflicts of interest. 16 There have been no affidavits filed in 17 opposition to your election or candidacy. No witnesses 18 present to testify. 19 Do you have a brief opening statement you 20 would like to make? 21 JUDGE HENDERSON: At this late hour, 22 gentlemen, I know that you all are tired, and, ladies, 23 that you're all tired. The only thing I would like to 24 say is that I appreciate the opportunity that the 25 General Assembly has given me for the last 13 and a 0307 1 half years to serve the state of South Carolina as a 2 family court judge. And I look forward to public 3 service on behalf of the state. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 5 Answer any questions that our counsel might 6 have for you. 7 MR. GENTRY: Mr. Chairman and Members of the 8 Commission, I have a few procedural matters to take 9 care of. 10 Judge Henderson, in front of you are two 11 documents. Is the first document before you is the 12 personal data questionnaire you submitted as part of 13 your application? 14 JUDGE HENDERSON: Yes, sir. 15 MR. GENTRY: Is there any amendment you would 16 like to make at this time to your personal data 17 questionnaire? 18 JUDGE HENDERSON: I would. I would like to 19 amend the answers to question 17A so that it would 20 reflect the percentage of my practice in civil matters 21 was 40 percent. And question 18A, I would like it to 22 reflect that the percentage of my practice in trial 23 court involving matters that went to a jury was 24 25 percent. It was improperly calculated in my 25 original application. 0308 1 MR. GENTRY: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I 2 would ask that Judge Henderson's personal data 3 questionnaire and amendment be entered as an exhibit in 4 the hearing record. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done without 6 objection at this point in the transcript. 7 (EXHIBIT 35, Personal Data Questionnaire of 8 Roger E. Henderson, admitted.) 9 MR. GENTRY: Judge Henderson also provided a 10 sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30 11 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory 12 qualifications, office administration and temperament. 13 That statement was provided to all commission members 14 earlier and is included in your notebooks. 15 I have no concerns with the statement and 16 with the commission's approval, I would ask those 17 questions be waived in the public hearing today. 18 Judge Henderson, is the second document 19 before you the sworn statement you submitted as part of 20 your application? 21 JUDGE HENDERSON: It is. 22 MR. GENTRY: Is there any amendment you would 23 like to make at this time to your sworn statement? 24 JUDGE HENDERSON: No, sir. 25 MR. GENTRY: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I'd 0309 1 ask that Judge Henderson's sworn statement be entered 2 as an exhibit into the record. 3 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Without objection, it 4 will be done at this point in the transcript. 5 (EXHIBIT 36, Sworn Statement of Roger E. 6 Henderson, admitted.) 7 MR. GENTRY: One final procedural matter. I 8 note for the record that based on the testimony 9 contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been 10 included in the record with the candidate's consent, 11 Judge Henderson meets the statutory requirements for 12 this position regarding age, residence, and years of 13 practice. 14 BY MR. GENTRY: 15 Q. Judge Henderson, why do you want to serve as 16 Circuit Court judge? 17 A. I have given this a lot of consideration and 18 had decided I would like to broaden my realm of public 19 service to include work on the Circuit Court. I was in 20 the general practice of law for 17 years before I went 21 on the family court bench. I was a trial lawyer. And 22 I think that I could take my experience as a trial 23 lawyer and my experience as a judge on the family court 24 and utilize that and serve on the Circuit Court. 25 Q. Can you explain to the commission how you 0310 1 feel your legal and professional experience would help 2 you be an effective Circuit Court judge? 3 A. Well, I've had, as I said, 13 and a half 4 years on the family court bench. During my course on 5 that bench, I have learned how to console the courtroom 6 and handle the litigants involved in matters before the 7 court. I have -- as a trial lawyer, as I said, I have 8 extensive trial work in both civil matters and criminal 9 matters. I feel like those would serve me well on the 10 circuit court bench. 11 Q. Are there any additional legal or procedural 12 areas that you feel like you would need to prepare for, 13 and if so, how would you go about that preparation? 14 A. I would continue to study legal materials or 15 go to CLEs, things of that nature, in order to keep 16 abreast of everything, new matters that come before the 17 court. 18 Q. Although you address this in your sworn 19 affidavit, could you please tell the members of the 20 commission what you think is the appropriate demeanor 21 for a judge? 22 A. I think a judge has to be courteous to all 23 the litigants who appear before him as well as the 24 attorneys. He has to show respect to everyone who 25 appears before him. The judge has to be firm in 0311 1 controlling his courtroom, but you can do that without 2 being angry or, you know, letting anger step in and 3 enter the situation. Just treat people like you would 4 like to be treated. That's been my philosophy for the 5 last 13 years, and I think it's served me well. 6 Q. What suggestions would you offer for 7 improving the backlog of cases on the docket in Circuit 8 Court for common pleas and/or general sessions court? 9 A. First, let me refer to some notes that I made 10 since I knew this question was coming and I won't take 11 a long time. But I thought of a few things, several 12 different things. Mediation is not mandatory in every 13 county in this state. I think it's something that 14 should be made mandatory statewide. I know even from 15 the family court standpoint, even though it's in pilot 16 counties, it has really moved cases along. And it's 17 helped tremendously in the family court. I know it's 18 helped in the Circuit Court as well. But I think to 19 make it mandatory everywhere, more people would be 20 forced in using mediation as a way of disposing of 21 cases. 22 And if it's not made mandatory, I think as a 23 judge, a judge should suggest mediation in a lot of 24 situations or even order it in situations. That's one 25 way. Another way is I think the masters and special 0312 1 referees could be utilized more in nonjury matters. I 2 know in the larger circuits they have a full load. But 3 coming from a small circuit, I know that they really 4 aren't utilized like they could be. You know, 5 referrals are made to them during nonjury terms, but if 6 they could actually take over some of the nonjury 7 terms, handle those and handle some of the motions that 8 the circuit judge has to deal with during the nonjury 9 term, that would free a circuit judge up to try cases. 10 Another thing would be that judges utilize 11 chambers weeks in a couple of ways. One way, I feel 12 like, if the judges were willing to -- and some of my 13 colleagues might not like me saying this but it's 14 something that could be done. If they were willing to 15 give up two weeks of their chambers a year, that would 16 result in 92 extra weeks of court a year. The second 17 thing is if judges were willing to give up one day of 18 chambers at other times during the year, that would 19 free up another 46 days or another nine weeks of court. 20 You've got a hundred weeks of court that you could gain 21 by doing that. 22 And I know as a family court judge, I give up 23 my chambers time all the time to hear matters that 24 aren't concluded during the course of a regular term of 25 court. I don't think it would be that great a burden 0313 1 on the bench. 2 Also, when common pleas breaks down, and I 3 see this happen a lot out in the rural circuit, common 4 pleas breaks down, rather than going home, I think that 5 the judges ought to have the solicitors ready on 6 standby to come in and dispose of guilty pleas, having 7 probation people ready to handle probation violations, 8 things of that nature and not just go home on Wednesday 9 afternoon, which I've seen happen on occasion. 10 All judges need to put in a full day of work. 11 Work from 9:00 to 5:00 at least every day. Five days a 12 week. The family court, our matters are scheduled five 13 days a week. We put in a full five-day week every 14 week. And I don't know why the Circuit Court couldn't 15 do that as well. There's some suggestions I would 16 have. 17 Q. If you were elected to the bench, what would 18 you like for your legacy to be as a judge for the 19 circuit court? 20 A. That I was a fair judge, that I was patient, 21 that I gave people their day in court. And that when 22 litigants left the court, they were satisfied that they 23 had had their day in court. I would like to be known 24 as a lawyer judge, so to speak, someone who hadn't 25 forgotten what it was like to practice law once you 0314 1 send me to the bench. And to be a fair and just man. 2 Q. Thank you, Judge. 3 Have you sought or received the pledge of any 4 legislator prior to this day? 5 A. I have not. 6 Q. Have you sought or been offered a conditional 7 pledge of support of any legislator pending the outcome 8 of this screening? 9 A. I have not. 10 Q. Have you asked any third parties to contact 11 members of the General Assembly on your behalf? 12 A. No. 13 Q. Have you contacted any members of the 14 commission? 15 A. I sent out -- earlier in the summer, I sent 16 out a bio sheet to all members of the General Assembly, 17 so some may have received that but that was all that I 18 did. There's been no other contact since then. 19 Q. Do you understand that you are prohibited 20 from seeking a pledge or commitment until 48 hours 21 after the formal release of the commission's report? 22 A. I'm familiar with that. 23 Q. Have you reviewed the commission's guidelines 24 on pledging? 25 A. Yes. 0315 1 Q. As a follow up, are you aware of the 2 penalties for violating the pledging rules? 3 A. Be disqualified. 4 MR. GENTRY: I would note that the Pee Dee 5 Citizens Committee found Judge Henderson to be an 6 outstanding candidate who would ably serve on the 7 Circuit Court bench. I would note for the record that 8 any concerns raised during the investigation regarding 9 the candidate were incorporated into the questioning of 10 the candidate today. 11 Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any of the commission 13 have any questions for Judge Henderson? 14 BY REP. CLEMMONS: 15 Q. Thank you for being here so late. 16 A. Thank you. 17 Q. I just have a question for clarification. On 18 your PDQ, you stated that you were chairman of the 19 Chesterfield Election Commission from 1984 to 1997. 20 That would have been two years after you started 21 serving on the family court bench. 22 A. Where is that? That would certainly be an 23 error. 24 Q. Number 25. 25 A. 25? 0316 1 Q. No, 24. The end of 24. 2 A. That would be impossible. You're right. 3 Q. Would be a dual office holder is why I ask. 4 A. No, I did not. That would have been from 5 1977 to 1984. That's not right either because I didn't 6 do it -- I didn't finish law school until December of 7 '77. 8 PROF. FREEMAN: Can we just ask that it be 9 looked up and he can file an amendment? 10 JUDGE HENDERSON: I'll do that. I apologize. 11 I did not realize that was there. I did complete my 12 service in '84. I think it would be October 29, 1978, 13 was the first year I was in Chesterfield practicing 14 law. 15 REP. CLEMMONS: You didn't overlap your -- 16 JUDGE HENDERSON: No, no, no. 17 REP. CLEMMONS: -- service on the bench with 18 serving that position? 19 JUDGE HENDERSON: No. 20 REP. CLEMMONS: Thank you very much. 21 JUDGE HENDERSON: I'll make an amendment. 22 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Senator Ford. 23 BY SEN. FORD: 24 Q. Judge, do your colleagues, I'm talking about 25 the family court, all the appellate court, circuit, do 0317 1 you all ever get together and discuss what's going on 2 in these communities? 3 A. We do. Of course, we have a family court 4 judges' conference every spring. We get together and 5 discuss these matters. We also discuss matters in the 6 fall of the year in August when we have the judicial 7 conference with the entire judiciary. We discuss 8 problems and ways to try to improve the judiciary, yes, 9 sir. 10 Q. But you and several other candidates have 11 been kind of cautious about saying that Circuit Court 12 judges are extremely lazy. 13 A. I didn't say that. 14 Q. No, no, no, cautious. You was indicating 15 that some of them -- well, some of them are lazy and 16 they go home on Wednesday at 4:00. You know, do you 17 all understand how much impact you have in these 18 communities if the system don't work right? 19 A. Well, I do. That's why I work five days a 20 week and work until 5:00 and 6:00 on Friday afternoon, 21 myself. 22 Q. I mean, you all live among us. You all are 23 part of the community. I ain't talking about you now 24 because you're family court. But Circuit Court judges, 25 they live among us in our communities, they see what's 0318 1 going on. And then have you asked them, they don't 2 have any feelings about that? You see, they can solve 3 that. They can solve all of those problems if they 4 stop being lazy, go to court, get rid of some of those 5 dockets. I mean, if you cut it in half, you see how 6 much progress you can make? I don't understand this. 7 I just don't understand it. 8 Now maybe if we elect judge by popular vote, 9 they'll change. I'm serious because I'm sick of this, 10 man. Every day in Charleston somebody get killed and 11 every time I call the police department, they say he 12 was a repeat offender. I mean, I can't stand for that 13 no more. And these judges around here don't want to do 14 their job. That don't make sense. If they're lazy, we 15 need to get rid of them. Somebody got to be talking to 16 them. Jean Toal don't talk to you all? 17 A. At the judicial conference, yes, sir. 18 SEN. FORD: All right. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any further questions? 20 There being none, Judge Henderson, I thank 21 you for being here with us tonight and would remind you 22 of the 48-hour rule. Have a safe trip back to the 23 Pee Dee. 24 JUDGE HENDERSON: Thank you, sir. 25 (Judge Henderson exits the room.) 0319 1 (Off the record.) 2 (A recess transpired.) 3 (Judge Barber enters the room.) 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us tonight 5 the Honorable James R. Barber, III. Circuit Court 6 at-large, seat number 10. 7 If you would, Judge Barber, raise your right 8 hand to be sworn. 9 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 10 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 11 JUDGE BARBER: I do. 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 13 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 14 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for 15 continued service on the bench. Our inquiry has 16 primarily focused on our nine evaluative criteria which 17 have included a survey of the bench and bar, a thorough 18 study of your application materials, verification of 19 your compliance to state ethics law, search of 20 newspaper articles in which your might appear, a study 21 of any previous screenings, a check for any economic 22 conflicts of interest. 23 We have received one affidavit in opposition 24 to your reelection, and there are presently two 25 witnesses to testify. 0320 1 Do you have a brief opening statement you 2 would like to make? 3 JUDGE BARBER: No, sir. It's my 4 understanding -- first, I appreciate your patience in 5 dealing with all of this in this matter and taking the 6 opportunity to be here. I really don't have anything 7 to add. I submitted a letter, I think, to Ms. Shuler 8 at some point in time in the past. 9 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Yes, sir, we have that. 10 MS. SHULER: Tab 29. 11 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: If you would, please 12 answer any questions our counsel might have for you. 13 MR. DENNIS: Judge Barber, very quickly, you 14 have two documents that have been placed in front of 15 you. One is a PDQ and the other is a sworn statement 16 containing the 30 questions involving your 17 qualifications, office administration, temperament and 18 other issues. Do you have any amendments you would 19 like to make to either of those documents? 20 JUDGE BARBER: No, sir. 21 MR. DENNIS: At this time, Mr. Chairman, I'd 22 like to ask that both those documents be made a part of 23 the record. 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It will be done at this 25 point in the transcript without objection. 0321 1 (EXHIBIT 37, Personal Data Questionnaire of 2 James R. Barber, III, admitted.) 3 (EXHIBIT 38, Sworn Statement of James R. 4 Barber, III, admitted.) 5 MR. DENNIS: I would note for the record that 6 Judge Barber is a serving judge who meets the statutory 7 requirements for this position regarding age, residence 8 and years of practice. 9 And Judge Barber, as you are here for the 10 purpose of answering the complaint that has been filed 11 against you, I'm going to dispense with the standard 12 questioning and proceed immediately to the complaint. 13 And Mr. Chairman, if it suits you, I'll ask 14 Mr. Adrian Hammond to come forward. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: If you would, 16 Judge Barber, move over there to that chair and we'll 17 have Mr. Adrian Hammond come forward. 18 If you would, would you recite -- summarize 19 the affidavit. 20 MR. DENNIS: Yes, sir. 21 Mr. Chairman and members of the commission, 22 before you is Mr. Adrian Hammond. And by way of 23 background of his complaint, a few pertinent facts. In 24 1994 Mr. Hammond was accused of a crime and at the time 25 he was a minor. Subsequently, all those charges 0322 1 against Mr. Hammond, in connection with the underlying 2 event, were dropped. 3 In January of 1997, Mr. Hammond, with 4 counsel, filed a civil lawsuit against The State 5 newspaper's parent company, at the time Knight Ridder, 6 and several individuals employed there concerning 7 publication of Mr. Hammond's name and photo in 8 violation of then code section 20-7-780, which has 9 since been repealed, which prohibited a publication of 10 a minor's photo and or name in connection with a 11 criminal charge. 12 In October of 1997, Judge Barber heard the 13 matter on a 12(b)(6) motion for dismissal. And in 14 December of 1997 issued an order in favor of the 15 newspaper on that motion. 16 In May of 2006, Mr. Hammon refiled what is 17 essentially the same set of claims, this time pro se. 18 Again, 12(b)(6) motion was filed on behalf of The State 19 newspaper. Twice the motion was scheduled before 20 Alison Lee in Richland County, twice counsel for the 21 state was either unable or did not appear for the 22 scheduled hearing. The second time, Judge Lee 23 dismissed the motion without prejudice. Mr. Bender, 24 The State newspaper, refiled the motion. In January of 25 2007, the matter once again found itself in front of 0323 1 Judge Barber who again dismissed the action for failure 2 to state a claim. 3 Mr. Hammond alleges that a letter dated 4 November 17th, 2006, constituted an inappropriate 5 ex parte communication between Mr. Bender and 6 Judge Barber. And that Judge Barber was prejudiced 7 against Mr. Hammond's position prior to hearing the 8 case the second time in 2007. 9 Mr. Hammond, have I pretty much correctly 10 summed up the facts in your affidavit? 11 MR. HAMMOND: You did a good job, sir, very 12 good job. 13 MR. DENNIS: Do you have anything you would 14 like to add for the commission's purposes? 15 MR. HAMMOND: Oh, yes, sir. Yes, sir. Well, 16 I would first like to thank the commission for hearing 17 me today. I feel like it's truly an honor to have this 18 moment right here, to face a man that I feel that 19 altered my rights, I would say. But also I feel that I 20 can prove those alterations were against the law today. 21 First of all, if I could direct you guys' 22 attention to the '97 case. What's so significant about 23 the case is that -- where I thought I was -- I was in 24 the paper for a crime I did not commit. I was put on 25 the front page of The State newspaper here in Columbia 0324 1 numerous times. I mean, when I say the front page, the 2 main story. And at the time Clinton was in, so it 3 would be his story. 4 I was put in the paper. We filed the 5 lawsuit. Well, actually, I'd like to give you a little 6 timeline. Actually, what happened to me happened to me 7 in '94 as far as the injuries to me about the 8 newspaper. 9 In '97, we filed suit. And the reason why we 10 waited so long because we were still waiting for a 11 result. Well, results from the actual criminal case 12 since we felt very confident at the time we would 13 overcome the situation, that we decided that we will 14 wait at the time to move. Get the cases dropped, then 15 file a lawsuit. The cases never came up for trial, so 16 we ended up filling the lawsuit in 1997, which was the 17 last day of the statute of limitations. 18 Filed a lawsuit. Mr. Bender, who is here 19 present today, filed a motion for his client, The State 20 newspaper, for motion -- he filed a motion in '97 to 21 dismiss pursuant to rule 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), like 22 Mr. Dennis had said. 12(b)(1) stands for basically 23 suing the wrong company, in short term. 12(b)(6) 24 basically telling you you've got a moot situation that 25 you're trying to bring to the court that has no factual 0325 1 support, so 12(b)(6) basically tells you that -- I 2 guess that's the law code for me saying that I guess. 3 I'm not an actual lawyer. 4 But those two motions were filed. It was 5 granted where the actual 12(b)(6) was supported by the 6 fact that 20-7-780, which protect the juveniles, was 7 repealed. Okay. They repealed the case in '96. The 8 case -- the injuries occurred in '94. We filed in '97. 9 '94, '96, '97. Appealed right here in this 10 building in '96. When we filed the suit in '97, they 11 tried to say because the lawsuit -- because the 12 compliant was filed after the repeal, that it no longer 13 exists. The definition of repealed basically tells you 14 that. It blocks out every proceeding under it. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Mr. Hammond, we're aware 16 of all that. We can't go back and retry anything. 17 MR. HAMMOND: I'm not trying to retry the 18 case. But what we're here today is -- 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I need you to tell this 20 commission what the judge did wrong. 21 MR. HAMMOND: Okay. What did he do wrong? 22 In the '97 case, what he did wrong was he dismissed the 23 case for factual reasons without evidentiary support. 24 And the reason why I say that because when the case was 25 repealed in '97, it didn't stop the law from happening. 0326 1 That's like if you repealed the law in '96, the way 2 Judge Barber and Mr. Bender portrayed it like juveniles 3 could be publicized in the media for crimes, and that 4 just wasn't the case. That's key. 5 When the appeal happened in '96, when I 6 actually started back the investigation -- I started 7 back investigating this actual case in '04 or '05 -- 8 '03-'04. When I found out through Mr. Lenski, I have 9 testimony from him acknowledging the fact that I 10 contacted him up here about giving some information 11 about repealing laws. And basically why would a 12 statute that protect juvenile people from being 13 exploited in the media, why would that be repealed? 14 And Mr. Lenski, again, he heard my concerns. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: That has nothing to do 16 with Judge Barber. We need to know what Judge Barber 17 did wrong. 18 MR. HAMMOND: What he did wrong -- see, what 19 Mr. Lenski was able to do, sir, is he was able to help 20 me understand that -- that that statute wasn't 21 repealed. Well, it was repealed, but the reason why 22 they had to repeal it was because when the legislature 23 add so much language to the statute, they have to 24 repeal it to recode it. And when you go to -- 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: That has nothing to do 0327 1 with Judge Barber's conduct in your case. I want you 2 to tell us about his conduct in your case. 3 MR. HAMMOND: By him dismissing the '97 case, 4 sir, when you dismiss a case for nonfactual -- I have 5 it right here -- first of all, when -- "The courts must 6 assume that legislators have chosen with care the words 7 that are used when they enacted the relevant statute. 8 And the court is bound by those words as it interprets 9 the statute. The manifestation and intention of the 10 statute clearly disclosed by the language must be 11 applied." 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: So wait a minute, wait. 13 So what you're saying is the judge did not follow the 14 law, is that your grievance against the judge? 15 MR. HAMMOND: He abused the discretion by 16 dismissing the case because of the law being repealed. 17 Like I said, it wasn't repealed. Well, it was 18 repealed, but it was repealed by act number 383. 19 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We're not concerned with 20 that. We're concerned with the judge's conduct. So 21 you said that the judge did not follow the law in that 22 particular instance, that's your complaint? 23 MR. HAMMOND: Yes, sir. 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: What other complaints do 25 you have? 0328 1 MR. HAMMOND: Well, like I said, that 2 happened in '97. He dismissed it in '97 for those 3 reasons. 4 '05 comes and it gets back on the docket, I 5 have reason to bring it back on the docket. We were 6 supposed to go before Judge Lee after I filed the 7 second complaint. Same facts but different instances. 8 Like I said, a motion came up, hear the 9 motion for dismiss. Judge Lee had -- when we were 10 supposed to go before Judge Lee at one particular 11 point, like he said, he had a trial. What's so 12 significant is when we got a second court date issued 13 to us, it was supposed to be Judge Lee again. We 14 received that particular court date on October 31st, 15 which was set for November 17th of '06. No, no, the 16 court date was actually set to go before Judge Lee 17 November 27th. 18 November 17th is when the ex parte letter was 19 discovered. Well, I didn't discover it until later but 20 I discovered an ex parte letter that was written to 21 Mr. Judge Barber from Mr. Bender on the 17th, ten days 22 prior to us going before Judge Lee. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: And that letter is part 24 of your record, correct? 25 MR. HAMMOND: Yes, sir. 0329 1 Judge Barber received ex parte 2 communications. I never received a copy of this 3 letter. And if you read the language in it, it 4 basically tell you, that he tell you, hey, man, this 5 case is back on the docket. You remember this from 6 '97? We need something done with this. 7 Not only did Judge Barber accept this 8 ex parte basis violating the canon, but he acted in 9 harmony with such language to basically continue what 10 was going on since '97. 11 And like I said, again, this case was never 12 supposed to have been dismissed simply because of the 13 fact that 20-7-780 wasn't repealed to stop it. It was 14 just repealed to rehold it and the same provision that 15 protected juveniles was carried over in '96, after '96 16 and beyond. 17 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I understand, but we 18 can't litigate that. 19 MR. HAMMOND: But also, in the '07 case 20 also -- 21 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Wait a minute. You have 22 two complaints. One is the judge did not follow the 23 law. 24 MR. HAMMOND: Yes, sir. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Okay. And the second is 0330 1 the ex parte communication for which we have copies of. 2 MR. HAMMOND: Yes. Ex parte communications, 3 I can understand it happening sometimes, but based on 4 the language that it contained and based on how the way 5 things fell, as a matter of fact, it reminds me, the 6 November 27th hearing before Judge Lee, Mr. Bender 7 missed the court date. He just missed this second one. 8 He just missed this one for some reason we don't know. 9 Like I say we later sought -- 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: That's this letter? 11 MR. HAMMOND: Well, this letter was given -- 12 was sent to Judge Barber ten days prior to going before 13 Judge Lee's second hearing. Mr. Bender was a no-show. 14 Ms. Lee dismissed the motion. Mr. Bender refiled the 15 same motion and got granted Judge Barber a third -- 16 well, he got granted a third court date in front of 17 Judge Barber. 18 Also, what's very significant about this, at 19 the time the ex parte communication was going on for 20 this potential scheduling, Judge Barber happened to be 21 the chief administrative judge at the time. That must 22 also be noted also. And the chief administrative judge 23 obligation, as the chief administrative judge, one of 24 those obligations is making sure you disburse the court 25 document, the court notes amongst everybody, you know, 0331 1 keep the courts flowing right. 2 But like I said, at the time of the 3 incident -- in other words, what I'm trying to say is 4 Judge Barber put hisself in the case, to hear the case. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: So that's your third 6 problem? 7 MR. HAMMOND: Yes, sir. 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: That's what we're looking 9 for, conduct. 10 MR. HAMMOND: The reason why I get into the 11 law thing because basically this case should have never 12 been thrown out according to the law. 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I understand that's 14 because he didn't apply to law. I understand that. We 15 can look into that. 16 Do you have any other complaints about his 17 conduct other than those three, not following the law, 18 ex parte communications and getting involved in this 19 case when your judgment should not have. 20 MR. HAMMOND: Well, there might be one other. 21 At the time of the hearing that we did hear in front of 22 Mr. Barber, and I must note that I'm not -- I'm not 23 trying to go in front of somebody. The only reason -- 24 we did raise questions when we seen Barber back on the 25 docket to hear this case again. We thought it weird 0332 1 for him being on the case in '97. And, you know, 2 we're -- actually we're going to be talking the '97 3 case actually went our way. But according to the law, 4 as we understood it, it was repealed so we had to 5 swallow that repeal. 6 But like I said, in the case, in the actual 7 hearing that we heard in front of Judge Barber, it was 8 a particular situation where I had made a -- I would 9 call a power point. I wanted to take the documents -- 10 he let me approach the bench. I handed him the 11 information, went back to my desk, you know, during the 12 proceeding. And he made the comment -- he looked at 13 the documents. This is his exact reaction. He looked 14 at the documents. Well, he looked at it and he sat it 15 down on his desk and he asked Mr. Bender, "You read 16 this?" 17 Mr. Bender gave some reaction. And then he 18 would like, "Why didn't you just file for the statute 19 of limitation?" 20 And I looked at my mom. I was like is that 21 legal advice? Maybe it's better for you all to judge 22 that, I don't know. But I thought it was. He asked 23 Mr. Bender, "Why didn't you just file for statute of 24 limitations?" Because it seemed like by him making 25 that comment, it seemed like the point that I did make 0333 1 was a power point. And to prove what I'm saying, I did 2 not have time enough to -- I ordered transcripts but I 3 -- it takes a little time for the court reporter to get 4 the transcripts to you. But check the transcripts for 5 that particular hearing yourself, and you will find 6 those. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: So that's your fourth 8 problem with him, was that he was giving legal advice 9 to the other side? 10 MR. HAMMOND: Over the bench, yes, sir. 11 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: It was in open court on 12 the transcript on record? 13 MR. HAMMOND: On record. 14 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We understand that's four 15 instances of bad conduct in your judgment. We 16 understand that. Okay. 17 Anything else as far as the judge's conduct, 18 not interpretations of the law, just the judge's 19 conduct toward you? 20 MR. HAMMOND: Well, I would like to say in 21 order for a person to be declared qualified to be a 22 judge, he or she must be willing to uphold the language 23 contained in the canons by complying with the law in 24 this case with respect to protecting the rights of 25 minors. This is a serious case. I'm a product of why 0334 1 they implemented this law that protect juveniles. 2 Well, especially I would guess when you're innocent of 3 the crime that they allege that you committed, I just 4 find this to be a devastating situation, sir. 5 It's unfortunate Mr. Barber was -- actually, 6 this is unfortunate that these complaints got dismissed 7 the way they did with the understanding why, but I must 8 say, also, that in all proceedings still stemming over 9 because I filed a motion pursuant to the -- I forgot 10 what rule that was, but to get relief from the order of 11 dismissal pursuant to fraud. I actually title it as 12 fraudulent misinterpretation of the law. 13 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Well, we've got five 14 incidences of bad conduct on the part of the judge in 15 your view. But the way he didn't follow the law in 16 number two was ex parte communications. Number three, 17 he manipulated the system where he got involved in your 18 case when he shouldn't have. Number four, he gave 19 legal advice to the other side. And number five, he 20 didn't protect your constitutional rights as a minor. 21 MR. HAMMOND: That's right. And that's as 22 far as equal protection under the law. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Does that pretty much sum 24 up your grievances against him? 25 MR. HAMMOND: Yes, sir. All I ask for is 0335 1 equal protection under the law. I mean, like I said, 2 it's unfortunate. Actually Mr. Barber, for the record, 3 I have been walking around Columbia, South Carolina, 4 feeling like less than a citizen because I didn't feel 5 like, you know -- well, actually I didn't feel like a 6 human being because if someone -- if you could be out 7 in the public domain for a situation, blatantly 8 breaking the law, you can look at the documents, it's 9 newspaper archives all through the Internet and in the 10 public library. 11 Mr. Barber, you did some damage. I must tell 12 you. This family back here, we swallowed that one and 13 we did it in respect to the law, but didn't see the law 14 the same but we saw people who interpret the law 15 misleading. 16 Mr. Barber, God bless you. And I'm glad to 17 meet you right now because the reason I say meet you 18 because I wouldn't know you if I seen you in the street 19 yesterday. I wouldn't have known you. I respect you 20 and you made me a better man. You did that, and I 21 appreciate that, sir. Also you, too, Mr. Bender. 22 Thank you. Thank you, Commission. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, Mr. Hammond. 24 If you would now, sit right back there or 25 over here and let Mr. Bender take the witness stand. 0336 1 (Mr. Bender takes the stand.) 2 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: If you would, Mr. Bender, 3 would you raise your right hand to be sworn. 4 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 5 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 6 MR. BENDER: I do. 7 MR. DENNIS: Members of the Commission, 8 Mr. Bender is here pursuant to a subpoena issued by 9 this commission and is prepared to offer his 10 recollection of the events surrounding this particular 11 case. 12 And, Mr. Bender, rather than lead you with 13 questions, I just ask you, please, give us a narrative 14 how you recall these events. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: If you would stick to the 16 specific instances, please. 17 MR. BENDER: I will. 18 There was, in fact, a lawsuit filed in 1997 19 claiming damages from the publication of Mr. Hammond's 20 name in connection with his arrest in connection with 21 the murder at Eau Claire High School. The statute that 22 prohibits the publication of the name of juveniles was 23 declared unconstitutional in 1974. The suit that was 24 filed was dismissed pursuant to a motion to dismiss. I 25 did not argue the motion. One of the associates in my 0337 1 law firm argued the motion. 2 Ten years later a second lawsuit on the same 3 grounds was filed by Mr. Hammond pro se. It came up 4 for hearing while I was in the middle of a trial. We 5 advised Mr. Hammond by letter that I would not be able 6 to attend a nonjury motion hearing because I was in the 7 trial of a jury case. 8 The case came up again for a hearing before 9 Judge Lee. It was sometime after I had gone to the 10 university full-time. I had not worked out the 11 appropriate procedure to get the notification of when I 12 was on the roster. I have since solved that problem, 13 but I missed the hearing. 14 When I found out that I had missed the 15 hearing, I went down and apologized in open court to 16 Judge Lee. And I sent a letter to Mr. Hammond 17 apologizing for any inconvenience I might have caused 18 him for my missing the hearing. 19 Judge Lee explained that the motion had been 20 dismissed without prejudice. Sometime in that period 21 near the second hearing, the one I had missed before 22 Judge Lee, the clerk of court over Judge Barber's name 23 sent out a letter to everybody who had a case pending 24 on the Richland County jury roster where the case had 25 been pending for six months saying, "This case will be 0338 1 put on the trial roster. Do you have any motions 2 pending?" 3 And I recited in my reply to Judge Barber, 4 and it's the one you have in the record, what the 5 record was in this case. And I neglected, for whatever 6 reason, I have no explanation for it, to send 7 Mr. Hammond a copy. It has been my practice since I've 8 been admitted to practice in 1975 to copy all parties 9 on all communications with the court. 10 What I recited in that letter was the state 11 of the public record. I recited that the case had been 12 dismissed in 1997. It had been brought again on the 13 same grounds, not only against the newspaper defendants 14 but against Mr. Hammond's then lawyers. And I pointed 15 out that Mr. Hammond's then lawyers had moved for 16 summary judgment on their behalf and it had been 17 granted. I thought it was appropriate that this motion 18 get scheduled. 19 I had no interest in who heard the motion. I 20 thought any judge who would have heard the motion would 21 have granted the motion to dismiss dealing with the 22 facts of this case. 23 Judge Barber did, in fact, ask me why I had 24 not raised the statute of limitations. I said because 25 I was moving to dismiss this on the complaint. Statute 0339 1 of limitations is an affirmative defense. It would 2 have required the filing of an answer and then raising 3 of that defense. I thought it was more efficient to 4 get it dismissed on the facts of the complaint, which 5 recited the 1997 case. I thought there was no case in 6 1997. I thought there was no case ten years later. 7 And I don't believe that my letter to Judge Barber 8 influenced him in any way. I didn't know who was going 9 to hear the motion. I would have shown up to argue 10 before anybody who was wearing a black robe. 11 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: All right. Yes, sir. 12 SEN. FORD: I need some clarification. 13 According to this young man, he was arrested 14 in '94? 15 MR. BENDER: That's correct. 16 SEN. FORD: He was proven innocent? 17 MR. BENDER: I don't know the disposition. I 18 don't think he was convicted. I'm not sure he was 19 found not guilty. I think there some sort of 20 arrangement made, but I don't think he was convicted. 21 SEN. FORD: But in The State newspaper ran -- 22 MR. BENDER: In '94 ran a story about his 23 arrest. 24 SEN. FORD: Did they retract that after he -- 25 There was no retraction required because what was 0340 1 published -- what was published was that he was 2 arrested. 3 SEN. FORD: How old was he? 4 MR. BENDER: I don't have any idea. 5 AUDIENCE MEMBER: It was a front-page 6 picture. 7 MR. BENDER: I don't think that makes any 8 difference. 9 SEN. FORD: It does make a difference if he's 10 innocent. 11 MR. BENDER: No, it makes no difference. 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We can only have 13 questions by the members of the commission to the 14 witnesses. 15 SEN. FORD: Well, let me ask you another 16 question. If that was your son at 16, how would you 17 feel? 18 MR. BENDER: I would be disappointed as hell 19 if my son were arrested in connection with a murder at 20 a high school. 21 SEN. FORD: Okay. But if he's innocent. 22 MR. BENDER: It doesn't make any difference. 23 He wasn't reported as being guilty, he was reported as 24 being arrested. And that was true at the time it 25 happened. 0341 1 SEN. FORD: Did you bring the story in? 2 MR. BENDER: No. 3 SEN. FORD: But you can understand how he 4 felt. I mean, you got him on the front page. He's 5 innocent of a crime. 6 MR. BENDER: Wait a minute. It's not 7 reporting guilt or innocence; it's reporting an arrest. 8 That happens all the time. 9 SEN. FORD: For a minor? 10 MR. BENDER: Sure. A minor in connection 11 with a heinous crime -- in fact, the General Assembly 12 has changed the law to make it quite clear that there's 13 no impediment to reporting -- 14 SEN. FORD: This is '94, though. 15 MR. BENDER: The law that prohibited the 16 publication of the name of juveniles had been declared 17 unconstitutional by the South Carolina Supreme Court 18 years before that. 19 SEN. FORD: What year? 20 MR. BENDER: I think it was 1974. The case 21 was The State ex rel. Times and Democrat. So there was 22 no -- there's no impediment to publishing truthful 23 information lawfully obtained about a matter of public 24 interest. And the commission of a violent in South 25 Carolina is by law a matter of public interest. 0342 1 SEN. FORD: All right. I understand that. 2 That's the law. What about a moral responsibility to 3 the young man? You all couldn't meet -- 4 MR. BENDER: What's the moral responsibility 5 to the community to report crimes that are occurring -- 6 SEN. FORD: Yeah, but he was innocent. You 7 can't make the man guilty. 8 MR. BENDER: Nobody knew he was innocent at 9 that time. 10 SEN. FORD: But once you reported it and you 11 all felt any obligation to him to work with him? 12 MR. BENDER: What obligation is there? The 13 report was that he was arrested. That was a true 14 statement of fact. 15 SEN. FORD: You're right. You're right. But 16 you didn't feel no obligation at all? Since he's 17 innocent, you flash him on the front page, you didn't 18 feel no obligation at all to work with him? Let's work 19 with this young man, let's call him in. Let's make him 20 a part of something. Let's give him a job or 21 something. 22 MR. BENDER: Oh, no. That's absurd. 23 SEN. FORD: Well, how is that absurd? 24 MR. BENDER: In 1994, how did anybody know he 25 was guilty or innocent? He had only been arrested. He 0343 1 hadn't been tried. 2 SEN. FORD: I'm talking about later when you 3 found he was innocent, why didn't you feel some 4 obligation to him? We wouldn't be here tonight with 5 this. 6 MR. BENDER: Well, I'm not sure about that. 7 But there was no obligation on anyone's part to report 8 anything other than the truth in 1994 and that's what 9 happened. 10 SEN. FORD: No, wait a minute now. If you 11 report him guilty in '94 and then later was found 12 innocent, that's not -- 13 MR. BENDER: You're not listening to me, 14 Senator. I said they reported he was arrested and that 15 was true. 16 SEN. FORD: You mean the whole story was 17 about this young man was arrested? 18 MR. BENDER: And the other man who was 19 arrested with him. So the story had nothing to do with 20 guilt or innocence, it had to do with an arrest. And 21 the lawsuit was filed over that story in 1997. That 22 lawsuit was dismissed, no appeal was filed. Ten years 23 later, a second lawsuit on the second facts gets filed, 24 pro se. And it gets dismissed because it should have 25 been dismissed. 0344 1 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any other questions of 2 this witness? 3 No further questions. If you could, sit over 4 here. 5 MR. BENDER: Thank you. 6 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Judge Barber. May I 7 remind you you remain under oath. 8 JUDGE BARBER: Yes, sir. 9 MR. DENNIS: At this point, Mr. Chairman, I 10 would just ask Judge Barber if he has any further 11 response to these allegations or anything you would 12 like to add to the commission's information? 13 JUDGE BARBER: Well, I think that my letter 14 is self-explanatory. 15 Mr. Bender is correct. I was the 16 administrative judge for the year 1996, I think. And 17 under the procedures in Richland County, when a case 18 has been on the roster six months, a notice goes out to 19 all lawyers and parties that this case is six months 20 old, and six months it will be on the roster. If 21 there's any -- if you need motions heard, if you need 22 status conference, anything you might need, or if you 23 have a problem with dates, let us know because it's 24 going on the roster. 25 Unbeknownst to me, I don't send it out. It's 0345 1 sent out by the clerk under my name as administrative 2 judge. Mr. Bender wrote a letter to me as 3 administrative judge, which is standard procedure, 4 saying a motion needs to be heard. I took the letter 5 to the clerk's office and said, "Schedule this for a 6 motion." 7 I was advised -- I think it's written on the 8 letter that it had already been scheduled for a motion 9 for Judge Lee. 10 When the matter was not heard by Judge Lee 11 because of Mr. Bender's not making an appearance, 12 Mr. Bender filed, to my understanding, filed another 13 motion. I then was no longer the chief administrative 14 judge. Judge Lee put it in front of me in the course 15 of regularly scheduled nonjury matters. I was holding 16 a week of nonjury matters. It comes up before me. I 17 knew nothing about this case until it appears on my 18 roster the day that I hear the motion. I had no 19 recollection of having heard anything ten years before 20 because he wasn't pro se. There were lawyers involved. 21 But if the fact that I heard something ten 22 years before would not have precluded me from hearing 23 this again. Just recently there was a case of which I 24 heard petitioned by the Supreme Court saying the fact 25 that you've heard a case and ruled against the party is 0346 1 no reason that you're required to recuse. I don't know 2 if anybody ever asked me to recuse. I remember so 3 little about this case. 4 But I heard the motion. I then granted the 5 motion. Apparently, Mr. Hammond then started 6 communicating with Judge Lee on a motion to reconsider. 7 And five months after I ruled, Judge Lee brings me the 8 motion to reconsider and says, "I've written this guy 9 and said he needs to bring it up before you." 10 He's not done that. He continues to 11 correspond with me. Here's the motion. I looked at 12 it. I denied it on the merits because I thought my 13 ruling was correct the first time. I also denied it 14 because he's obligated to serve me within ten days of 15 filing the motion, which he failed to do, five months 16 later. So I had to deny it. 17 I had no contact with Mr. Bender whatsoever 18 other than the letter that he wrote which was done in 19 the normal course of -- other than in open court. I 20 don't believe I did anything inappropriate. I'm sorry 21 if he's upset about the rulings. I think my rulings 22 were correct. They were never appealed. I don't know 23 what else to tell you. 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Any member of the 25 commission have any questions for Judge Barber? 0347 1 There being no further questions, okay, we'll 2 take this letter. 3 MR. HAMMOND: Can I make some quick response 4 to what they just said? There was some bending of the 5 truth just now. 6 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Well, the only thing 7 we're here to look at, we've got the transcripts and 8 all that kind of stuff. The only thing we're here to 9 do is to determine whether or not he followed the law, 10 whether or not there were ex parte communications, 11 whether or not he got involved in this matter when he 12 shouldn't have, or whether or not he gave legal advice 13 to the other side and whether or not your 14 constitutional rights were not protected. 15 MR. HAMMOND: That's correct. 16 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We're going to look into 17 all that. 18 MR. HAMMOND: But for the record, for 19 Mr. Ford right here, because he drilled Mr. Bender 20 because he kept saying about reporting the news. It's 21 in the statute where the media has the right to report 22 what happened. But the question, Mr. Bender, is 23 putting the name and the juvenile behind that story. 24 That's where the statute protects the juvenile. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Mr. Bender's conduct is 0348 1 not the subject. It's only the judge's conduct. 2 MR. HAMMOND: But his testimony is influenced 3 to this situation. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We're not up here 5 sitting, you know -- 6 MR. HAMMOND: But he had misconstrued the 7 way -- 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I understand you disagree 9 with that and -- 10 MR. HAMMOND: No, the statute disagrees with 11 that. 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I understand that. But 13 the only thing we're here about is to deal with his 14 conduct. 15 MR. HAMMOND: Yes, sir. 16 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: And his conduct don't 17 matter to us. 18 MR. HAMMOND: But if he's bending the 19 statute -- 20 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I understand. Okay. All 21 right. 22 Any further questions of Judge Barber? 23 MR. HAMMOND: One more thing. As far as him 24 setting himself for the case, if you pay attention to 25 the actual notice of the letter, of the time and date, 0349 1 tender himself to the court, chief administrative 2 judge, Judge Barber is at the bottom of that sheet as 3 chief administrative judge. 4 JUDGE BARBER: The first time this case was 5 scheduled for November 27th, I signed the notice 6 because I was administrative judge. When it was 7 scheduled in front of me, the notice that went to him 8 and you'll see it in his package was a notice from 9 Judge Lee. 10 MR. HAMMOND: No, it was not. I got the 11 notice right here. 12 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We'll look at the record. 13 We've got all that -- staff has got that under control. 14 We'll check into all that. 15 Okay. Any other questions? 16 JUDGE BARBER: December 14th letter going to 17 him setting it for January 2nd when appeared in front 18 of me is signed by Judge Lee. 19 Now, he filed a complaint against Judge Lee, 20 last year when she ran, on this same matter. 21 MR. HAMMOND: For not reporting your 22 wrongdoing. 23 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We're not worried 24 about -- 25 JUDGE BARBER: I didn't schedule it. 0350 1 MR. HAMMOND: Also, sir, to his response, to 2 his dismissing my reconsideration -- to him dismissing 3 my reconsideration, I did file it within time of the 4 time limits for the refile. And I did file it with 5 Ms. Lee as the chief administrative judge. And the 6 reason for that was because of the wrongdoing. I tried 7 to explain to her what Mr. Bender, Mr. Barber had going 8 on. She referred me back to Mr. Barber, like he said, 9 and he later dismissed it. 10 But like I said, the reason -- it was timely 11 filed but with the wrong judge but because of what was 12 going on. And I did explain it, and it is in the 13 letter. I sent the letter with the reconsideration 14 when I filed it. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: And we've got all that 16 here. 17 MR. HAMMOND: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We'll check all that out. 19 Staff knows what to do. 20 Well, with that, Judge Barber, we appreciate 21 you being here today. And you know about the 48-hour 22 rule. I don't need to tell you about that. 23 Mr. Bender, we appreciate you coming here. 24 And, Mr. Hammond, we appreciate you coming in 25 here and telling us, which I know it took a lot of 0351 1 courage for you to do that. 2 MR. HAMMOND: It's hard. It's rough. 3 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We appreciate you waiting 4 as long as you have been waiting. We're so far behind. 5 MR. HAMMOND: Anything for justice, sir. 6 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you and your family 7 for being here, you all being here to support him. And 8 with that, we'll conclude this part of the public 9 hearing. And if upon examination of all this, we'll 10 render a decision. We could reconvene another public 11 hearing, but we'll take care of this matter. 12 Thank you very much. Thank all of you for 13 being here. 14 MR. HAMMOND: Thank you. Thank you. 15 (Judge Barber exits the room.) 16 (Off the record.) 17 (Judge Strickland enters the room.) 18 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: We have before us the 19 Honorable Joseph Monroe Strickland, who serves as a 20 Master-in-Equity for Richland County. 21 Good evening, Judge Strickland. We're glad 22 to have you back before us again. 23 JUDGE STRICKLAND: Thank you, sir. 24 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: If you would, raise your 25 right hand to be sworn. 0352 1 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 2 whole truth or nothing but the truth, so help you God? 3 JUDGE STRICKLAND: I do. 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 5 The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has 6 thoroughly investigated your qualifications for 7 continued service on the bench. Our inquiry has 8 focused primarily on our nine evaluative criteria which 9 has included a survey of the bench and bar, a thorough 10 study of your application materials, verification of 11 your compliance with the state ethics laws, a search of 12 newspaper articles in which your name may have 13 appeared, a study of any previous screenings and a 14 check for economic conflicts of interest. 15 We have one affidavit filed in opposition to 16 your reelection. And we have one witness who will 17 testify to that. 18 If you would at this time, please answer any 19 questions our counsel might have for you. 20 SEN. FORD: Is that on here? 21 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: What's that? 22 SEN. FORD: This gentleman. 23 MR. GENTRY: Tab 30. Mr. Chairman, members 24 of the Commission, I have a few procedural matters to 25 take care of. 0353 1 Judge Strickland, in front of you are two 2 documents. Do you recognize the first document before 3 you as your personal data questionnaire and also the 4 second document as your sworn statement? 5 JUDGE STRICKLAND: Yes, sir. 6 MR. GENTRY: Do you have any amendments you 7 would like to make to either of these documents? 8 JUDGE STRICKLAND: No, sir. 9 MR. GENTRY: Mr. Chairman, I would like to 10 ask that Judge Strickland's PDQ and also his sworn 11 statement be entered into the hearing record. 12 THE WITNESS: Without objection, it will be 13 done at this point in the transcript. 14 (EXHIBIT 39, Personal Data Questionnaire of 15 Joseph Monroe Strickland, admitted.) 16 (EXHIBIT 40, Sworn Statement of Joseph Monroe 17 Strickland, admitted.) 18 MR. GENTRY: One final procedural matter. I 19 note for the record that based on testimony contained 20 in the candidate's PDQ, which has been included in the 21 record with the candidate's consent, Judge Strickland 22 meets the statutory requirements for this position 23 regarding age, residence and years of practice. 24 I note that the Pee Dee Citizens Committee 25 found Judge Strickland to be a very highly qualified 0354 1 and a very highly regarded candidate who would ably 2 serve as a Master-in-Equity for Richland County. 3 Mr. Chairman, at this time, I have no 4 questions for Judge Strickland. 5 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Judge Strickland, if you 6 would, have a seat back there or over here. 7 Mr. LaConey, would you come and have a seat 8 in the witness chair for us, please, sir. 9 MR. LACONEY: Yes, sir. 10 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: If you would, raise your 11 right hand to be sworn. 12 Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the 13 whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 14 MR. LACONEY: I do. 15 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: If you would recite the 16 summary of Mr. LaConey's affidavit. We'll go ahead and 17 do it. 18 BY MR. GENTRY: 19 Q. Mr. LaConey, you're aware that the purpose of 20 today's hearing is to determine if Judge Strickland is 21 qualified to continue to serve as Master-in-Equity of 22 Richland County? 23 A. I do. 24 Q. Again, you understand the commission is not a 25 commission on judicial conduct? 0355 1 A. I understand. 2 Q. And you are also aware that the testimony 3 today has to be specifically related to personal 4 knowledge as to Judge Strickland's qualifications? 5 A. I do. 6 Q. Your complaint against Judge Strickland is 7 related to two judgments assigned to you. 8 Did you pay to have these judgments assigned 9 to you? 10 A. I decline to answer that question at this 11 time. 12 SEN. FORD: What? 13 BY MR. GENTRY: 14 Q. Who assigned the judgments to you? 15 A. On one judgment in the matter of Glenn K. 16 LaConey versus Home Assist Real Estate, LLC, that 17 judgment was assigned to me by a Lynn Yacubian. 18 Q. And the other matter? 19 A. And the other judgment in the matter of Glenn 20 K. LaConey versus Lori Pelzer, that judgment was 21 assigned to me by Robert K. Freeland. 22 Q. On February 13th, 2006, Judge Strickland held 23 a hearing on a rule to show cause to discover the 24 assets of Lori Pelzer and Home Assist Real Estate; is 25 that correct? 0356 1 A. That's correct. 2 Q. Your complaint as to the February 13th 3 hearing is that Judge Strickland refused to compel 4 Ms. Pelzer and Home Assist Real Estate to produce 5 documents? 6 A. That's correct. 7 Q. Had Ms. Pelzer and/or Home Assist Real Estate 8 previously produced documents? 9 A. No, they had not. 10 Q. On February 14th, 2006, Judge Strickland 11 issued an order to dismiss supplemental proceedings 12 without prejudice with regard to the Yacubian judgment. 13 Judge Strickland found that upon examination of the 14 respondents, there were not sufficient assets available 15 to apply towards the satisfaction of the judgment. 16 A. That's correct. 17 Q. Your complaint as to this order is that 18 Judge Strickland dismissed the proceeding? 19 A. That's correct. 20 Q. Judge Strickland held a hearing on July 16th, 21 2007, for a rule to show cause to discover the assets 22 of Lori Pelzer; is that correct? 23 A. That's correct. 24 Q. At the hearing did Judge Strickland offer to 25 step aside and let another judge preside over this 0357 1 matter? 2 A. He did. 3 Q. What was your response? 4 A. I waived at that time. I waived his recusal. 5 Q. Your complaint as to the July 16th hearing is 6 that Judge Strickland denied you an opportunity to 7 examine Ms. Pelzer and refused to issue an order 8 against Ms. Pelzer? 9 A. That's correct. 10 Q. Had you previously examined Ms. Pelzer? 11 A. No, I had not. 12 Q. Okay. Had you previously examined Ms. Pelzer 13 in the other matter? 14 A. Oral examination only. 15 Q. By oral investigation? 16 A. Yeah. 17 Q. That was in court? 18 A. That was in open court. 19 Q. Was that in front of Judge Strickland? 20 A. It was. 21 Q. On January 7, 2008, Judge Strickland issued 22 an order of dismissal of supplemental proceeding with 23 prejudice that pertains to the Yacubian judgment. 24 Judge Strickland found that upon examination 25 of the respondents, there were not sufficient assets 0358 1 available to apply towards the satisfaction of the 2 judgment. Further he noted that South Carolina's 3 Supreme Court had determined that you were engaged in 4 the unauthorized practice of law; is that correct? 5 A. That's correct. 6 Q. Your complaint as to this order that 7 Judge Strickland dismissed your supplemental proceeding 8 without notice, without a hearing or without an 9 opportunity for you to respond? 10 A. That's correct. 11 Q. On September 4th, 2007, the South Carolina 12 Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of Eddie 13 Roberts versus Glenn LaConey, that you were engaged in 14 the unauthorized practice of law. Are you familiar 15 with this opinion? 16 A. I am. I'm familiar with it. 17 Q. Was this opinion issued in a case in which 18 you were also assigned a judgment? 19 A. It was. 20 Q. Have you appealed any of Judge Strickland's 21 decisions? 22 A. I have not. 23 Q. Have you filed a complaint against 24 Judge Strickland with the Commission on Judicial 25 Conduct? 0359 1 A. Yes, I had. 2 Q. What was the outcome of that? 3 A. That matter was dismissed. 4 Q. Are there any other comments you would like 5 to make related to Judge Strickland's qualifications to 6 continue to serve as Master-in-Equity in Richland 7 County? 8 A. Yes. I attached to my complaint 9 miscellaneous advertising materials showing that Lori 10 Pelzer is actively engaged in the real estate business 11 and also hosts wealth real estate -- wealth seminars 12 for a fee. I would argue -- I would argue that 13 Judge Strickland's bias toward Lori Pelzer and 14 prejudice against me, enabled Lori Pelzer to prosper in 15 her business affairs to my detriment, enabled Lori 16 Pelzer to thwart discovery in aid of my judgment. And 17 also aided and abetted Lori Pelzer in frustrating and 18 impeding execution of my judgment. 19 I would further argue that Judge Strickland's 20 prejudicial conduct presents an appearance of 21 impropriety, undermines the integrity of the judiciary 22 and had the potential to cause irreparable injury for 23 the public interest. 24 Thank you. 25 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you. 0360 1 Any questions of Mr. LaConey by the 2 commission? 3 Senator Knotts. 4 SEN. KNOTTS: Mr. Chairman, I would like for 5 staff to go back and ask him the question that I didn't 6 catch that he refused to answer. 7 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: I would like to know what 8 that question was. 9 SEN. KNOTTS: I'd like to know what that 10 question was. 11 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: What was the question? 12 MR. GENTRY: I had asked Mr. LaConey in 13 obtaining the assignments of the judgments, did he pay 14 for these judgments or how they were assigned to him? 15 MR. LACONEY: And I believe I declined to 16 answer that question. And also I would like to add 17 that I believe that any interested party having 18 knowledge of unauthorized practice of law is invited to 19 refer the matter to the state Supreme Court or 20 appropriate authorities. 21 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Thank you, sir. 22 Any other questions of Mr. LaConey? 23 No further questions. 24 Okay. Mr. LaConey, if you could sit back 25 over there. 0361 1 Judge Strickland, if you would like to 2 briefly respond to -- you're still under oath. 3 JUDGE STRICKLAND: Mr. LaConey -- 4 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Do you have anything 5 to -- any further response other than what you've 6 already submitted to the commission? 7 JUDGE STRICKLAND: No, sir. 8 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: Does any member of the 9 commission have any further questions of 10 Judge Strickland? 11 All right. 12 MR. GENTRY: Mr. Chairman, I have no further 13 questions. I have no further questions. 14 CHAIRMAN DELLENEY: No further questions. 15 Any further questions by the commission? 16 There being none, we'll take this matter 17 under advisement, Mr. LaConey. 18 And Judge Strickland, I also remind you, 19 though things are a little different for you, but I 20 remind you about the 48-hour rule. And at any point in 21 time if we wish to call you back for another public 22 hearing, we can do so and ask you more questions up 23 until the time the report is issued. And thank you, 24 sir. 25 JUDGE STRICKLAND: Thank you very much. 0469 1 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER 2 I, Sheri L. Byers, Registered Professional Reporter and Notary Public for the 3 State of South Carolina at Large, do hereby certify: 4 That the foregoing proceedings was taken before me on the date and at the time 5 mentioned on page 1 and the proceedings were recorded stenographically by me and were thereafter 6 transcribed under my direction; that the foregoing transcript as typed is a true, accurate and 7 complete record of the proceedings to the best of my ability. 8 I further certify that I am neither related to nor counsel for any party to the cause 9 pending or interested in the events thereof. Witness my hand, I have hereunto 10 affixed my official seal this 16th day of December, 2008, at Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina. 11 12 ______________________________ 13 Sheri L. Byers, Registered Professional Reporter, 14 Notary Public State of South Carolina at Large 15 My Commission expires: January 5, 2014 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 0474 1 * * * * * 2 (The hearing adjourned at 1:56 a.m.) 3 4 0475 1 I N D E X 2 CANDIDATE Page 3 JAMES E. CHELLIS 3 4 BRYAN C. ABLE 23 5 FRANK R. ADDY, JR. 46 6 EUGENE C. GRIFFITH, JR. 70 7 DONALD BRUCE HOCKER 84 8 HONORABLE WALKER RUTLEDGE MARTIN 94 9 JOSEPH C. SMITHDEAL 111 10 DAVID CRAIG BROWN 148 11 ALLEN O. FRETWELL 166 12 LISA C. GLOVER 186 13 WILLIAM B. VON HERRMANN 205 14 ANDREW MICHAEL HODGES 219 15 WILLIAM JEFFREY YOUNG 233 16 DANIEL FRANCIS BLANCHARD, III 253 17 PHILLIP FREDERIGOS 263 18 LELAND BLAND GREELEY 272 19 DANIEL DEWITT HALL 294 20 ROGER E. HENDERSON 305 21 JAMES R. BARBER, III 319 22 JOSEPH MONROE STRICKLAND 351