0001
 1   
 2   
      JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMITTEE
 3   
 4   
           EVALUATION OF CANDIDATES
 5   
             BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
 6   
 7   
     PUBLIC HEARINGS ON JUDICIAL QUALIFICATIONS
 8   
 9              PUBLIC SESSION
10                VOLUME IV
          WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008
11   
           BLATT BUILDING, ROOM 504
12   
           COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
13   
14          COMMENCING AT 3:50 P.M.
15   
16   
     REPORTED BY:     YVONNE R. BOHANNON
17             Registered Merit Reporter,
               Certified Realtime Reporter
18   
19   
              COMPUSCRIPTS, INC.
20   A Full-Service Court Reporting Agency
             Post Office Box 7172
21      Columbia, South Carolina  29202
                1-803-988-0086
22              1-888-988-0086
           www.compuscriptsinc.com
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24   
25   
0002
 1   MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:
 2          REPRESENTATIVE ALAN D. CLEMMONS
 3          REPRESENTATIVE F.G. DELLENEY, JR., CHAIRMAN
 4          SENATOR ROBERT FORD
 5          PROFESSOR JOHN P. FREEMAN
 6          JOHN DAVIS HARRELL, ESQUIRE
 7          REPRESENTATIVE DAVID J. MACK, III
 8          SENATOR GLENN F. McCONNELL
 9          MS. AMY JOHNSON McLESTER
10          SENATOR JOHN M. "JAKE" KNOTTS, JR.
11          JANE O. SHULER, CHIEF COUNSEL
12   
13   COUNSEL PRESENT:
14          PAULA BENSON
15          ANDREW FIFFICK, IV
16          J. J. GENTRY
17          KATHERINE WELLS
18          BRADLEY S. WRIGHT
19   	
20   
21          (INDEX AT REAR OF TRANSCRIPT)
22   
23   
24   
25   
0003
 1               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Okay.  We have
 2   Ms. Catherine Fairey here with us this afternoon.
 3   She seeks judicial family court for the 13th
 4   Judicial Circuit, seat number six.
 5               If you would, please raise your right
 6   hand to be sworn.
 7               (Candidate sworn.)
 8               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, ma'am.
 9   The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has
10   thoroughly investigated your qualifications for the
11   bench.  Our inquiry has focussed on nine evaluative
12   criteria which have included a survey of the bench
13   and bar; a thorough study of your application
14   materials; clarification of your compliance of
15   state ethics laws; a search of newspaper articles
16   in which your name appears and a study of any
17   previous screenings; as well as a check for
18   economic conflicts of interest.
19               We have received no affidavits in
20   opposition to your election candidacy.  There are
21   no witnesses here to testify.
22               Do you have a brief opening statement
23   you would like to make?
24               MS. FAIREY:  No, sir.  I would
25   respectfully waive the opportunity to do that.
0004
 1               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, ma'am.
 2   If you would, answer any questions from counsel at
 3   this point.
 4               MR. WRIGHT:  Good afternoon,
 5   Ms. Fairey.
 6               MS. FAIREY:  Good afternoon.
 7               MR. WRIGHT:  Mr. Chairman and members
 8   of the Commission, I have a few procedural matters
 9   I need to take care of.
10               Ms. Fairey, before you enter your PDQ
11   in the record, do you have any amendments to that?
12               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, I do.
13               MR. WRIGHT:  At this time,
14   Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask that Ms. Fairey's
15   Personal Data Questionnaire and amendments be
16   entered as an exhibit to the hearing record.
17               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  It will be done so
18   at this point in the transcript.
19               (EXH. 1, Personal Data Questionnaire of
20   Catherine E. Fairey, admitted.)
21               MR. WRIGHT:  Ms. Fairey also provided a
22   sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30
23   questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory
24   qualifications, office administration, and
25   temperament.  That statement was provided to all
0005
 1   Commission members earlier and is included in your
 2   notebooks.
 3               I have no concerns with the statement,
 4   and with the Commission's approval, I would ask
 5   those questions be waived in this public hearing
 6   today.
 7               At this time, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to
 8   ask that Ms. Fairey's sworn statement be entered as
 9   a record in the hearing record.
10               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Without objection,
11   it will be done at this point in the transcript.
12               (EXH. 2, Sworn Statement of Catherine
13   E. Fairey, admitted.)
14               MR. WRIGHT:  One final procedural
15   matter.  I note for the record that based on the
16   testimony contained in the candidate's PDQ, which
17   has been included in the record with the
18   candidate's consent, Ms. Fairey meets the statutory
19   requirements for this position regarding age,
20   residence and years of practice.
21               Ms. Fairey, please state for the record
22   the city and circuit in which you reside.
23               MS. FAIREY:  Greenville County, 13th
24   Circuit.
25               MR. WRIGHT:  Ms. Fairey, why do you now
0006
 1   want to serve as a family court judge?
 2               MS. FAIREY:  Well, professionally, I
 3   have committed my life to family law.  From the
 4   very beginning of my practice, I knew innately that
 5   this was my calling.  Primarily because of my
 6   interest in and curiosity about people and family
 7   life -- I come from a very large family -- I wanted
 8   to learn more about myself and others so that
 9   hopefully in some small way I might positively
10   affect or change some lives.  And that may sound
11   idealistic or naive because we are all complicated
12   emotional beings, but I do believe that being aware
13   of human behavior can play a very vital role in
14   finding solutions in family and marital conflicts.
15               Because of that, at the beginning of my
16   career early on, I sought out and obtained a family
17   law position with legal aid in the upstate.  I then
18   worked for a few years with a law firm that
19   practiced exclusively in family law, and I have
20   been a solo practitioner for 13 years, all the
21   while practicing primarily -- not primarily,
22   exclusively, in all aspects of family law.
23               Having dealt with people from all walks
24   of life, most of them in crisis, I understand that
25   all the decision -- each and every decision that's
0007
 1   made from the family court bench strikes at the
 2   very core of that individual person's life.  I
 3   respect that and I honor that, and I believe that
 4   coming to the bench with that would do the --
 5   justice to the position.
 6               MR. WRIGHT:  Ms. Fairey, although you
 7   addressed this in your sworn affidavit, could you
 8   please tell the members of the Commission what you
 9   think is the appropriate demeanor for a judge.
10               MS. FAIREY:  To show respect to
11   litigants and attorneys, and to be impartial,
12   compassionate, to be a good listener, to be prompt,
13   courteous.
14               MR. WRIGHT:  When you leave the bench,
15   what would you like your legacy to be as a judge in
16   family court?
17               MS. FAIREY:  That I first met the
18   criteria I just named, and also that I would have
19   been a part of implementing things that helped with
20   the back load that we all suffer with family court,
21   and that I served that position with dignity and --
22   and served everyone in our community.
23               MR. WRIGHT:  What suggestions would you
24   offer for improving the backlog of cases on the
25   docket in family court?
0008
 1               MS. FAIREY:  Well, first of all, I'm a
 2   firm believer in pretrial conferences.  Although
 3   they take time, it's been my experience that --
 4   over the past 18 years that they are a very strong
 5   stimulus to settlement, so I would encourage more
 6   pretrials.  We do not have those mandated in
 7   Greenville County.
 8               In addition, we are -- currently have a
 9   trial DSS mediation program for which I do
10   volunteer work which has been, I believe, very
11   successful in Horry County, and I would work to --
12   to continue to implement that program and to
13   actually enlarge on that, because the DSS cases
14   certainly contribute greatly to the backlog.
15               MR. WRIGHT:  Thank you, Ms. Fairey.  I
16   have a few housekeeping issues.
17               Have you sought or received the pledge
18   of any legislator prior to this date?
19               MS. FAIREY:  I have not.
20               MR. WRIGHT:  Have you sought or have
21   you been offered a conditional pledge to support
22   any legislator pending the outcome of your
23   screening?
24               MS. FAIREY:  I have not.
25               MR. WRIGHT:  Have you asked any third
0009
 1   parties to contact members of the General Assembly
 2   on your behalf?
 3               MS. FAIREY:  I have not.
 4               MR. WRIGHT:  Have you contacted any
 5   members of the Commission?
 6               MS. FAIREY:  I have not.
 7               MR. WRIGHT:  Do you understand that you
 8   are prohibited from seeking a pledge or commitment
 9   until 48 hours after the formal release of the
10   Commission's report?
11               MS. FAIREY:  I understand that.
12               MR. WRIGHT:  Have you reviewed the
13   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
14               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, I have.
15               MR. WRIGHT:  As a follow-up, are you
16   aware of the penalties for violating the pledging
17   rules, that it's a misdemeanor, and upon
18   conviction, the violator not -- be fined not more
19   than $1,000 or imprisonment, not more than 90 days?
20               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, I understand that.
21               MR. WRIGHT:  I would note that the
22   Upstate Citizens Committee reported in the spring
23   of 2008.  The committee found Ms. Fairey to be very
24   qualified for the office she is seeking.
25               I would just note for the record that
0010
 1   any concerns raised during the investigation
 2   regarding the candidate were incorporated in the
 3   questioning of the candidate today.
 4               Mr. Chairman, I have no further
 5   questions.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you.  Does
 7   any member of the Commission have a question at
 8   this time?
 9               The senator from Charleston, Senator
10   Ford.
11               SENATOR FORD:  Yes, sir.  Have you sat
12   as a guardian in Greenville County?
13               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir, I have.
14               SENATOR FORD:  Are you on the list?
15               MS. FAIREY:  I am.
16               SENATOR FORD:  Do you know how many
17   guardians are in Greenville County?
18               MS. FAIREY:  Actually I do not.
19               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  Do y'all have a
20   rotation list or what?
21               MS. FAIREY:  We do.
22               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  So what kind of
23   relationship do you think a guardian should have to
24   be a family court judge?
25               MS. FAIREY:  Well, I think that
0011
 1   relationship would be based upon the -- the
 2   guardian's work and quality of work that they do in
 3   every individual case, and that seems to be the
 4   case in Greenville County.  There are a number of
 5   them who are highly respected and are often
 6   appointed by judges in private cases.
 7               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  Now, when you say
 8   often appointed, you're talking about the same
 9   guardian, but you use a rotation system, right?
10               MS. FAIREY:  Well, I -- I believe at
11   least the individual judges handle it differently.
12   There is some rotation that some judges in the past
13   have appointed on a repeated basis particular
14   guardians, guardians who have proven to do good
15   jobs in the past.
16               SENATOR FORD:  Well, but you see,
17   that's where the problems come in because I get a
18   lot of complaints on that, and particularly in your
19   county.  And I'm not picking on you but -- but, you
20   know, I tell them, "I live in Charleston.  You need
21   to call somebody else," but they always calling me.
22               Now, here is the problem.  If these
23   judges get to be close to these guardians, then
24   that's a major problem because the families are
25   saying that the guardians don't come and visit,
0012
 1   don't do anything, and they can report to the judge
 2   there's no information.
 3               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir, and I -- I'm
 4   aware of that problem.  I have served on the Family
 5   Law Council for about -- since 1998 off and on, and
 6   we have dealt with that problem consistently and
 7   tried to find creative relief for that.
 8               Unfortunately as a practicing attorney,
 9   I did not have the authority to make changes with
10   the family court judges.  That's -- so it would not
11   be my -- that would not be my -- the way I would do
12   it.
13               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  If -- if
14   successful, how would you do it?
15               MS. FAIREY:  I would use the -- a
16   rotating basis of good because I -- of good
17   guardians because I believe there are plenty of
18   attorneys who have served as guardians and lay
19   people who have served as guardians so that there
20   is not a repeated appointment by one particular
21   judge.
22               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  Now -- I better
23   not ask you that.  That's it.
24               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Senator Knotts.
25               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Do they work on Friday
0013
 1   afternoon in Greenville County?
 2               MS. FAIREY:  My understanding is that
 3   we have a judge on duty on Friday afternoons.
 4               SENATOR KNOTTS:  How many judges you
 5   got?
 6               MS. FAIREY:  We have five judges --
 7   well, we had five -- we -- we have five judges.
 8               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Who is the family
 9   judge?
10               MS. FAIREY:  Black.  We had five.  We
11   have four currently after -- after Judge Brown's
12   retirement.
13               SENATOR KNOTTS:  So you normally have
14   five, so with this election you'll have full --
15               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir, that's correct.
16               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And one's on call on
17   Friday afternoons?
18               MS. FAIREY:  That's my understanding.
19               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Okay.  Do you know
20   why?
21               MS. FAIREY:  No, sir, I do not.
22               SENATOR KNOTTS:  It's been that long --
23   that way for a long time?
24               MS. FAIREY:  Quite frankly, I'm not
25   sure.  I've -- I've not been very real -- very
0014
 1   involved in the court administration aspect of
 2   family law practice, so I'm -- I'm not aware of how
 3   that's --
 4               SENATOR KNOTTS:  But you do practice
 5   family law, right?
 6               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, I do.
 7               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And occasionally you
 8   need a judge on Friday afternoon?
 9               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir, I do.
10               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Do you know how long
11   that you can recall that that's been the practice
12   since you've been practicing?
13               MS. FAIREY:  Well, I would -- if I had
14   to guess, I would say that there has only been a
15   handful of times that I have had emergency
16   situations that come up on a Friday afternoon, and
17   in those cases I was able to contact and be heard
18   by a family court judge.
19               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Okay.  All right.  Do
20   you think the backlog could be handled if the
21   judges worked on Friday afternoon?
22               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir, I do.
23               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Could be handled
24   better?
25               MS. FAIREY:  I -- I believe it could
0015
 1   be.
 2               SENATOR KNOTTS:  What would be your
 3   work ethic?
 4               MS. FAIREY:  My work ethic would be
 5   pretty much what it is now.  I am a solo
 6   practitioner.  I -- I wear a lot of hats.  I do a
 7   lot of multi-tasking.  I would be at the office
 8   between 8:00 and 8:30, and I would be there until
 9   the completion of -- of my docket at the end of the
10   day.
11               SENATOR KNOTTS:  What you going to say
12   to -- to -- to the administrative family court
13   judges whenever you go ahead and tell them, "Look,
14   I'm not going to be on call.  I'm going to be
15   working"?  How you going to handle that?
16               MS. FAIREY:  Excuse me, I don't
17   understand your question.
18               SENATOR KNOTTS:  If you -- if you got
19   an on-call system on Friday afternoon and you're
20   going to be bringing change and working on Friday
21   afternoon, how -- how are you going to be received?
22   How are you going to handle that?  How are you
23   going to break that -- that bad news to them that
24   you -- they actually going to have a judge working
25   on Friday afternoon?
0016
 1               MS. FAIREY:  Well, quite frankly, I
 2   have not -- I really haven't considered that.  I'll
 3   have to think about that.
 4               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Oh, so you don't know
 5   whether you are going to work on Friday afternoon
 6   or not?  You may be on call, too?
 7               MS. FAIREY:  Well, certainly if I'm on
 8   call, I will be working.  My -- my plan would be to
 9   work -- if I have work to do, that I would be on
10   premises and available for --
11               SENATOR KNOTTS:  But that's only once
12   every five weeks.
13               MS. FAIREY:  Pardon me, sir?
14               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Being on call is once
15   every five weeks, right?
16               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir.
17               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And that's okay?
18               MS. FAIREY:  I suppose that's how it's
19   done.  Again, I have not been a part of the
20   administrative process.  I would assume if there
21   are five judges that they alternate, but I am
22   not -- I am not sure that that's how it's done.
23               SENATOR KNOTTS:  But you would be
24   willing to work on Fridays -- every Friday?
25               MS. FAIREY:  Well, I'm not committing
0017
 1   to work on every Friday, but I would be available
 2   on Friday afternoon.
 3               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Oh, okay.  Thank you.
 4   Thank you.
 5               SENATOR FORD:  Mr. Chairman.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Senator Ford.
 7               SENATOR FORD:  Do you have a major
 8   backlog in Greenville County in family court cases?
 9               MS. FAIREY:  Probably not as major as
10   in other parts of the state because we have five --
11   or have had five judges, but --
12               SENATOR FORD:  Do you know what the
13   backlog is in Charleston -- in Greenville County,
14   family court cases?  How many cases?
15               MS. FAIREY:  No, I do not.  I know that
16   I just scheduled a final hearing for February for a
17   full day.
18               SENATOR FORD:  But --
19               MS. FAIREY:  But that's not a statistic
20   that I'm -- that I'm -- I am not aware of the
21   numbers.  I am aware that in most counties, most
22   districts -- in circuits in the state, family court
23   is backlogged.
24               SENATOR FORD:  But you're not sure
25   about Greenville County?
0018
 1               MS. FAIREY:  I'm not sure about
 2   statistically how -- how -- how many -- how long
 3   the backlog is.
 4               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  I think you
 5   was -- you was a wonderful candidate the last time,
 6   and I think you're a wonderful candidate now, but I
 7   think you might have to deal with that question
 8   that the Senator asked you a little better than
 9   that.  You know, what he's trying to say is that,
10   okay, you know it's a major backlog, right --
11               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir.
12               SENATOR FORD:  -- but you're not sure
13   what the backlog is in Greenville County?
14               Okay.  Let me ask -- ask you another
15   question.  If you find out that there is a major
16   backlog in the Greenville County family court
17   system, would you and also would you encourage your
18   colleagues to work on Friday a full day?
19               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, I would.
20               SENATOR FORD:  Well, I think you
21   better -- you better --
22               MS. FAIREY:  Well, let me clarify then
23   that for -- for Senator --
24               SENATOR FORD:  Please do.
25               MS. FAIREY:  I am willing to work as
0019
 1   hard and as diligently as I can to improve the
 2   backlog and lessen the backlog in the Greenville
 3   County family court system.  I would encourage and
 4   I would be available to work on Friday afternoons.
 5   I would encourage the other judges to work on
 6   Friday afternoon.  However, I cannot commit to that
 7   happening because I don't have that authority, and
 8   I can only speak for myself.
 9               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  But you're
10   saying -- well, you would have that authority if
11   you become a family court judge.
12               MS. FAIREY:  I would have the authority
13   to choose for myself to be and make -- and make it
14   known that I'm available every Friday afternoon.  I
15   don't have the authority to enforce -- make others
16   do that.
17               SENATOR FORD:  No, no.  Let me tell you
18   why you would because now you're part of the
19   system.  You would be another family court judge in
20   Greenville County, number five, right?
21               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir.
22               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  Now, the tax
23   payers of Greenville County in the state of South
24   Carolina, we're -- they're demanding -- well, I
25   don't know whether it's 40 hours a week, but
0020
 1   they're demanding that -- decent what?  Decent pay?
 2               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir.
 3               SENATOR FORD:  I mean, decent work
 4   decent pay?  We're not getting -- we're not getting
 5   a full day out of these judges.  It's almost like a
 6   club -- a little glee club.  You know, they come
 7   when they get ready.  They leave when they get
 8   ready.  Don't worry about the backlog or nothing
 9   else.
10               MS. FAIREY:  Well, again, Senator, I --
11   you know, if I were elected, I'm going to be a
12   freshman judge on a bench of lawyers -- I mean, a
13   bench of judges.  I would encourage and -- and I
14   would -- that work be done on Friday afternoon.
15   But standing here before you today, I can only
16   commit to what I can do.  I will -- I can commit to
17   attempting to have the other judges work every
18   Friday afternoon, but I can't commit to
19   accomplishing that.  I can only commit to trying
20   that.
21               SENATOR FORD:  Well, let me tell you
22   why.  If you commit to doing that and the word get
23   out that you trying to get the judges in the
24   Greenville County family court system to do a full
25   day's work five days a week, they're going to have
0021
 1   to start doing it, because number one, they going
 2   to be written up in the newspaper, television going
 3   to be doing stories about it because we're not
 4   going to -- we're not going to sit back and let
 5   y'all -- let these dockets stay like they are.
 6   We're actually going to work on Fridays a full day.
 7               MS. FAIREY:  Well, Senator, if that
 8   happens -- if the newspaper and the community puts
 9   pressure on the other judges as a result of my
10   stepping forward to work on Friday afternoons, then
11   I will feel that I've done a good job in
12   accomplishing what I set out to do.
13               SENATOR FORD:  And I got a lot of good
14   reports from you -- about you in Greenville County
15   because the -- it was because, you know, they
16   always mention certain people, and I'm not -- I'm
17   not here trying to endorse you or nothing, but I'm
18   telling you, you got -- you got a good -- you got
19   some good support in Greenville based on what you
20   do in the community and what you do as a family
21   court lawyer.  But you got to convince -- convince
22   my friend over there that you going to work on
23   Friday.  You're going to do everything you can to
24   get other judges in the family court system to do
25   the same.
0022
 1               MS. FAIREY:  Well --
 2               SENATOR FORD:  Senator Knotts, can you
 3   ask some more questions?  I don't want you to make
 4   up your mind in a negative way because she's a
 5   good -- she's going to be a good candidate -- a
 6   good judge.
 7               MS. FAIREY:  Senator Knotts, again,
 8   I -- I will stand here and commit to all of you
 9   that one of the biggest problems as a -- as a
10   practitioner in Greenville County is the backlog.
11   We are the ones who have to explain on a daily
12   basis to clients who are in crises and who want
13   things to be resolved and done and over with why it
14   takes so long to get into court.  I've been doing
15   that for 18 years.
16               The -- any attempts that I can make and
17   any commitments I can make to improving that
18   backlog, including my working on Friday afternoons
19   and including encouraging others to do so, is a
20   commitment that I'm standing before you making
21   today.
22               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Senator Knotts.
23               SENATOR KNOTTS:  I appreciate you
24   trying to explain that, but I believe I heard you
25   say distinctly a while ago that -- that you
0023
 1   wouldn't commit to working every Friday.  That was
 2   the exact --
 3               MS. FAIREY:  Well, Senator, I --
 4               SENATOR KNOTTS:  -- statement that you
 5   said, and, you know, the judges work -- we'll elect
 6   a judge to work Monday through Friday, and we're
 7   finding throughout this state, not just Greenville
 8   County, but in a lot of counties, probably most of
 9   the counties, that on Friday afternoons the
10   courthouses is ghost city and -- and -- and finding
11   judges on Friday afternoon is pretty hard.
12               MS. FAIREY:  Well, Senator, I can be
13   found in my office on Friday afternoons, and I will
14   be found at the courthouse on Friday afternoon.
15               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And everybody is
16   telling us that they need -- we need to hire more
17   judges.  We need to put more money into more
18   judges, and we're faced with budget crises up here,
19   and we've got to get as big a bang for our buck as
20   we can get, especially in the judicial system.
21               Everybody admits there's a backlog.
22   Everybody admits -- you've said it -- how long you
23   been practicing?  You said you've always faced the
24   backlog, and it's hard to get cases for your
25   clients, but yet you want to come up here to be a
0024
 1   judge, and when asked a question about your work
 2   ethic and the fact that it's been the procedure
 3   years -- for years, that the judges are on call on
 4   Friday afternoon -- you're not the first person
 5   who's stood at that podium today and told us that
 6   that was the procedure in Greenville County.
 7               MS. FAIREY:  Well, Senator --
 8               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And that's the reason
 9   I asked you.  So, therefore, you say, "Well, I
10   mean, you know, it's a -- they're on rotation,
11   and -- and I asked you how -- how you would handle
12   it, and you said, "Well, I would try to get them to
13   do it, but --" I said, "Well, what about you
14   working on Friday?"
15               "Well, I'd be on rotation."  And then
16   you said -- I said, "Well, you know, how about you
17   working?"
18               "Well, I won't -- not every Friday,"
19   you know --
20               MS. FAIREY:  Senator, I'm -- excuse me.
21   When I say not --
22               SENATOR KNOTTS:  You might have messed
23   up and -- and said it off the cuff, but -- and
24   maybe not meant it, but I took it for what you
25   said.
0025
 1               MS. FAIREY:  Well, Senator, I -- I
 2   would be -- I would be putting myself in a -- in a
 3   terrible situation to stand here under oath and
 4   tell you that I would work every Friday afternoon.
 5   I have -- I have stated -- and if I did not state
 6   it clearly, I would like to restate it -- that I am
 7   willing to work on Friday afternoons.  I am willing
 8   to encourage others -- other judges to work on
 9   Friday afternoons, and but for some important --
10   either illness or death or some reason that
11   required that I be out of the office, then I'm
12   happy to be at the courthouse on Friday afternoons.
13               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And we understand
14   that.  Sickness, illness, whatever.  We come up
15   here, and if it's sickness or illness, that's
16   excusable.  But the workweek for a judge is Monday
17   through Friday.
18               MS. FAIREY:  I understand that.
19               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And it's all day
20   Friday.
21               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir.
22               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And I just want to
23   ensure that -- that you understood that and that
24   you would be willing to work Monday through Friday
25   all day, regardless whether the other judges up
0026
 1   there do it or not.
 2               MS. FAIREY:  And that is what I'm
 3   committing to.
 4               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Are there any more
 5   questions?
 6               There being no more questions,
 7   Ms. Fairey, we'd like to thank you for -- for being
 8   with us this afternoon.
 9               MS. FAIREY:  Thank you, gentlemen.
10               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  And I -- I would
11   remind you about the 48 hour rule.  We issue a
12   report.  It's a draft report until after it's on
13   the desk of the General Assembly for 48 hours.  At
14   that point it turns into the final report.  And
15   before that, we can -- we can re-call anyone to a
16   public hearing and bring them back to testify.  We
17   don't do that very often, but we have done it, and
18   most of the time it's been because of some
19   perceived impropriety in the election process.
20               MS. FAIREY:  Yes, sir.
21               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  And I just remind
22   you of that, and thank you for being here with us
23   this afternoon.
24               MS. FAIREY:  Thank you very much.
25               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Yes, ma'am.
0027
 1               (Candidate excused.)
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Okay.  Next we have
 3   Alex Kinlaw, Jr.
 4               Good afternoon, Mr. Kinlaw.
 5               MR. KINLAW:  Good afternoon.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We have before us
 7   today Mr. Alex Kinlaw, Jr., who seeks judicial in
 8   family court of the 13th Judicial Circuit, seat
 9   number six.
10               If you would, Mr. Kinlaw, please raise
11   your right hand to be sworn.
12               (Candidate sworn.)
13               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
14   The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has
15   thoroughly investigated your qualifications for the
16   bench.  Our inquiry has focused primarily on nine
17   evaluative criteria which would included a survey
18   of the bench and bar; a study of your application
19   materials; verification of your compliance with
20   state ethics laws; search of any newspaper articles
21   in which your name may have appeared; and the study
22   of previous screenings, as well as a check for
23   economic conflicts of interest.
24               There are no affidavits filed in
25   opposition to your election, and no witnesses are
0028
 1   here present to testify.
 2               Do you have a brief opening statement
 3   you'd like to make?
 4               MR. KINLAW:  Well, first of all, I'd
 5   like to thank the Commission for the work that you
 6   do and continue to do, but in the interest of time,
 7   I'm going to waive opening and let the Commission
 8   go directly into subsequent questioning.
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.  If
10   you would, answer any questions our counsel might
11   have.
12               MR. FIFFICK:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
13   Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission, I have
14   some procedural matters to take care of.
15               Mr. Kinlaw, do you have a copy of your
16   Personal Data Questionnaire in front of you?
17               MR. KINLAW:  I do.
18               MR. FIFFICK:  And do you have any
19   amendments you would like to make to that Personal
20   Data Questionnaire?
21               MR. KINLAW:  I do.  I have an amendment
22   to question 26 of the Personal Data Questionnaire,
23   and I have a copy of it to submit.  And it
24   essentially says that I was qualified and nominated
25   as the candidate for family court seat three
0029
 1   during -- in May, but I withdrew from that
 2   election.
 3               MR. FIFFICK:  You can just give it to
 4   her.
 5               At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would
 6   like to ask that Alex Kinlaw's Personal Data
 7   Questionnaire and the amendment be entered into the
 8   hearing record.
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Without objection,
10   it will be done at this point in the transcript of
11   the record.
12               (EXH. 3, Personal Data Questionnaire of
13   Mr. Alex Kinlaw, Jr., admitted.)
14               MR. FIFFICK:  Mr. Kinlaw also provided
15   a sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30
16   questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory
17   qualifications, office administration and
18   temperament.  That statement was provided to all
19   Commission members earlier and is included in your
20   notebooks.
21               I have no concerns with the statement,
22   and with the Commission's approval, I would ask
23   that those questions be waived in this public
24   hearing today.
25               Is that document before you the sworn
0030
 1   statement that you submitted as part of your
 2   application?
 3               MR. KINLAW:  It is.  Correct.
 4               MR. FIFFICK:  Is there any amendments
 5   that you'd like to make at this time to your sworn
 6   statements?
 7               MR. KINLAW:  There is none.
 8               MR. FIFFICK:  At this time,
 9   Mr. Chairman, I would ask that Mr. Kinlaw's sworn
10   statement be entered as an exhibit to the hearing
11   record.
12               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Mr. Kinlaw's sworn
13   statement will be entered as part of the record at
14   this point in the transcript without objection.
15               (EXH. 4, Sworn Statement of Alex
16   Kinlaw, Jr., admitted.)
17               MR. FIFFICK:  One final procedural
18   matter.  I note for the record that based on the
19   testimony contained in the candidate's PDQ, which
20   has been included in the record with the
21   candidate's consent, Mr. Kinlaw meets the statutory
22   requirements for this position regarding age,
23   residence, and years of practice.
24               Mr. Kinlaw, would you please declare
25   your place of residence for the record.
0031
 1               MR. KINLAW:  I live at 7 Churchill
 2   Downs in Greenville, South Carolina.
 3               MR. FIFFICK:  Thank you.
 4               Mr. Kinlaw, why do you now want to
 5   serve as a family court judge?
 6               MR. KINLAW:  Well, I'll tell you this,
 7   and -- and I'll be quite candid.  Very seldom do
 8   you get to do something in life that you enjoy, and
 9   I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the years in the
10   law -- in the law practice.  I thoroughly enjoy
11   what I do.  And I have been fortunate enough to
12   have been full circle -- and let me just tell you
13   why I say that.
14               When I first came out of law school,
15   the very first job that I had was at the Legal
16   Services Agency in Greenville, South Carolina.  I
17   had the opportunity at that time to work with a
18   number of people -- a number of people that have
19   helped me along the way, a number of attorneys and
20   a number of people who were already in the judicial
21   profession.
22               But while at Legal Services, I handled
23   a number of family court cases ranging from child
24   abuse cases, divorce cases, and even cases that
25   involve the Department of Social Services.  And I
0032
 1   tell you, without a doubt, those were enjoyable
 2   times, and I felt like I -- I gained something from
 3   that experience.
 4               And then after that, I think around
 5   1981 or '82, I had the other privilege -- and I
 6   think it's a privilege to practice law.  It's not a
 7   right.  It's a privilege.  And I had the
 8   opportunity to work at the Public Defender's Office
 9   in Greenville County where I at that time handled
10   all of the defense work regarding juveniles that
11   came through the family court.  I benefitted a lot
12   from that experience.  And I can tell you this.
13               From 1981 to 2008 the juvenile docket
14   in this state has -- has increased dramatically.
15   And I'll talk a little bit about that later if you
16   ask me the question.  And then I went on to private
17   practice I guess around 1983 and was in private
18   practice since that time.  I've had the opportunity
19   to handle over 10,000 family court cases, and when
20   I say 10,000 cases, they range from equitable
21   apportionment cases -- you're talking about divorce
22   cases, custody cases, DSS related matters,
23   adoption, both interstate and international
24   adoptions.  I've done them all.
25               And I pride myself on the fact that
0033
 1   I've also had the opportunity to appear before at
 2   least 46 of the 54 judges -- family court judges
 3   you have in this state.  And I'll say without a
 4   doubt, we have some of the best family court judges
 5   around.  And I've benefitted from that and I've
 6   learned a lot from that.
 7               And that's -- and I think that if you
 8   look at the whole gamut, from my work at Legal
 9   Services to private practice, I think it's
10   crucially important that the judge who is chosen
11   for this position -- to have the privilege of
12   serving as family court judge -- be consistent in
13   temperament, not only in temperament, but also in
14   being fair and also being knowledgeable.  And
15   that's why I -- I think that -- I know without a
16   doubt I'm qualified for the position and hope I
17   have the privilege, because it's not a right.  It's
18   a privilege to serve as family court judge for this
19   state.
20               MR. FIFFICK:  When you leave the bench,
21   what would you want your -- your legacy to be as a
22   judge on a family court?
23               MR. KINLAW:  Well, I tell you what.
24   You know -- and that's -- that's an interesting
25   thing.  My son who is Alex, III, asked me that
0034
 1   question the other day, and he -- we -- we talked
 2   about when I left the law profession what would I
 3   want people to think of what I did, and it's sort
 4   of the same answer.  Let me just tell you why --
 5   what -- what I mean.
 6               I want to be remembered as being fair,
 7   being impartial and working hard.  And when I say
 8   work hard, I'm talking about extremely hard, making
 9   sure that all the people in South Carolina,
10   regardless of who they are, whether they're on the
11   bottom of the economic scale, or on top of the
12   economic scale, that everybody is treated fairly
13   and impartially.
14               And I think if -- if someone says that
15   about you, if they say, "Well, I remembered Alex,
16   and I always remembered him to be fair.  I always
17   remembered him to be a nice guy.  I always
18   remembered him to be -- he treated other people
19   fairly and treated other people nice," I think
20   that's -- that's what I want to be remembered as.
21               MR. FIFFICK:  Regarding your experience
22   as it relates to your candidacy today, can you
23   explain to the Commission how you feel your legal
24   and professional experience thus far would help you
25   be an effective family court judge.
0035
 1               MR. KINLAW:  Well, first of all, it's
 2   just a number of cases that I've handled over the
 3   years during my tenure at Legal Services and then
 4   later on at the Public Defender's Office and also
 5   in private practice.
 6               Now, one of the things that I pride
 7   myself on as I have ventured out here was I always
 8   paid close attention to other judges I've been
 9   before to make sure I could pick up something that
10   I could -- that I could use if I -- if I had the
11   privilege to serve as a family court judge.  So I
12   picked up a lot of things.  And -- and I picked up
13   a number of things from attorneys on the other side
14   of cases that I've handled.
15               So I've done that for a number of
16   years.  So combined with my experience at Legal
17   Services, my experience with the Public Defender's
18   Office in the 23 or four years that I've done
19   private practice, that -- that is what I -- what I
20   build my practice on and build my experience on.
21               MR. FIFFICK:  Based on that legal
22   experience, is there anything that you would think
23   you would need to additionally prepare for and how
24   would you get that additional preparation?
25               MR. KINLAW:  Well, I think one of the
0036
 1   things about -- about a judge, whether it's on this
 2   level or some circuit level or federal level, you
 3   always are learning.  You always are -- are
 4   engaging, and -- and I think that I'm -- I'm always
 5   one to -- to -- to be open to suggestions from
 6   attorneys on the other side of the cases.  Even the
 7   attorneys on the other side of the cases where
 8   we're in an adversary role, I'm always open to
 9   suggestions and always open to learning.
10               One of the -- the basic learning tools
11   that I've developed over the years, I've learned a
12   lot from other attorneys I've had cases on the
13   other side, because I can take what they've --
14   what -- what they've put forth and I can apply it
15   to what I have, and I think that's very, very
16   important.
17               MR. FIFFICK:  Thank you, sir.  And what
18   have you done -- or what would you propose to be
19   done to reduce the backlog in the family court
20   docket in Greenville?
21               MR. KINLAW:  Well, I'll tell you
22   something, and I'm going to -- first of all, in
23   Greenville County -- and we probably have more
24   domestic filings than any county in this state.  We
25   have four and sometimes five family court judges
0037
 1   working full time.  And I -- I think the last time
 2   I came before this body I -- I talked about one
 3   mechanism to reduce the docket time that's allotted
 4   to cases, and I'll talk about that, but I also want
 5   to elaborate on that a little bit.
 6               Number one is I think maybe about six,
 7   seven, eight years ago, or somewhere in that range,
 8   I suggested to the administrative judge of the
 9   family court at that time in Greenville that I
10   thought we could move cases that were set for 15
11   minutes to five minutes.  These are your typical
12   default cases where the only issue involved is
13   setting child support or visitation and there were
14   no other issues involved, and if there was a simple
15   divorce case, I thought we could do those cases in
16   five minutes.
17               Well, I advocated that, and at some
18   point in that process the administrative judge gave
19   us the opportunity to do that, and I was the test
20   person that did that.  We did ten cases in five
21   minutes, which if you do the math, that's 50
22   minutes.  Now, if you schedule those cases for 15
23   minutes apiece -- and, you know, lawyers love to
24   talk, so if you give a lawyer 15 minutes, he's
25   going to talk 20 minutes.  But if you give a lawyer
0038
 1   five minutes and you streamline it, then -- and you
 2   run a regimented court docket, you can get that
 3   done.  So if you look at the math, you're saving
 4   two hours of docket time doing it the way I
 5   suggested it.
 6               Well, I'm here to say today that that
 7   system is implemented in Greenville County.  It's
 8   implemented in Pickens County.  It's implemented in
 9   Anderson County, and it all came from the
10   suggestion that I made during a liaison meeting.
11               The other thing that I want to point
12   out is this.  20 percent -- if you look at -- if
13   you look at family court cases, 20 percent of those
14   cases involve the implementation of child support
15   and visitation.  My experience in working with my
16   colleagues is that by the time we get to court
17   we've resolved child support issues and we've
18   resolved visitation issues.  You know why?  Because
19   number one, the Department of Social Services has a
20   child support guideline, and that's going to be
21   pretty much what the family court judge does when
22   you go into court.
23               And two of the judges in the upstate,
24   Judge Alvin Johnson and Judge Timothy Brown who
25   previously had the seat that I'm seeking, he came
0039
 1   up with a visitation schedule that pretty much all
 2   of the judges in the upstate and even beyond the
 3   upstate uses.
 4               So the point I'm getting is, we need to
 5   come up with a system of consent orders that
 6   involve just those two issues, because I see time
 7   and time again where we've got cases set on the
 8   docket and once we get to court and the only issue
 9   is setting child support and visitation, well,
10   we're wasting the judge's time because all judges
11   have laptops.  We've got the judge up there
12   computing what the child support should be, and
13   then we've got the litigants going back and forth
14   trying to figure out the visitation, and believe it
15   or not, that takes sometimes 30, 40 minutes to do
16   that.
17               So if you allow the attorneys to submit
18   consent orders on issues that the attorneys can
19   resolve between the litigants and send those
20   consent orders to the judge and let the judge sign
21   off on them, I think that would be beneficial.
22   Now, what you don't want to do is you don't want to
23   deprive litigants access to court.
24               So what I propose -- and -- and I've
25   suggested this on many occasions -- is that the
0040
 1   administrative judge for the family court circuit
 2   have a consent order docket which means that you
 3   come to court and you have all the consent orders
 4   that the judge signs, and if there's a problem with
 5   any of them, then at that time you bring that up.
 6   But you do that and you just go down the list.
 7               You'd be surprised how many cases you
 8   would remove from the docket if you allowed
 9   attorneys to submit consent orders on when those
10   were the only issues.
11               Last but not least, even though all of
12   the circuits got -- have mediation right now -- and
13   I think it's a wonderful thing -- well, I take that
14   back.  Most of the circuits have mediation.  I
15   don't think Spartanburg has mediation, but I know
16   that it's voluntary.  But Greenville has mandatory
17   mediation and Pickens County and what have you.
18               When you have got a judge that's has a
19   contested case, one of the things that's going to
20   be real helpful to that judge is -- you've got to
21   go back to what's required sometimes in circuit
22   court.  If the -- if the attorneys are required --
23   I'm not talking about a pre-trial brief.  If the
24   attorneys are required to submit a memorandum of
25   law with -- with the issues that they intend to
0041
 1   raise at that particular hearing and also what they
 2   intend to prove and that document is submitted to
 3   that -- that sitting judge at least ten to 20 days
 4   before the case is heard, well, he get -- when he
 5   gets that -- gets that memorandum, then he can
 6   streamline what -- what the case is about and --
 7   and just kind of keep it going on the right track.
 8               But when you -- when you don't do that,
 9   then the judge, he's relying solely on what's in
10   the court's file, and a lot times, if you're
11   talking about exhibits or anything of that nature
12   where you can get pre-marked, you can kind of move
13   cases along.  So I think -- I think those things
14   would move the docket along.
15               And the last thing I want to say is
16   this.  I don't have any problem whatsoever --
17   and -- and any person that's practiced law as long
18   as I have, they would probably agree with me -- a
19   lawyer's schedule is not 8:30 to 5:00.  Very few
20   lawyers walk out of the office at five o'clock.
21   And I think as a family court judge, I wouldn't
22   have a problem extending my work hours to six
23   o'clock or 7:00 or whatever.
24               And I will tell you this.  A lot of the
25   judges in this state do that.  They work after 5:00
0042
 1   or after 6:00 just to make sure they try to finish
 2   cases that started.  So if you can get a system
 3   where you've got a judge assigned to handling cases
 4   that are put on -- on a consent order docket, then
 5   I think that's going to help tremendously along
 6   with the other suggestions that I made.
 7               And, lastly, I've been doing this for
 8   30 years, and there's -- there's not a family court
 9   case of any magnitude that I haven't seen.
10               MR. FIFFICK:  Thank you, Mr. Kinlaw.
11   We've got some housekeeping issues and then we'll
12   open it up for questions from the panel.
13               Have you sought or received a pledge of
14   any legislator prior to this date?
15               MR. KINLAW:  No, sir.
16               MR. FIFFICK:  Have you sought or have
17   you been offered a conditional pledge of support
18   from any legislator pending the outcome of your
19   screening?
20               MR. KINLAW:  No, sir.
21               MR. FIFFICK:  Have you asked any third
22   party to contact members of the General Assembly on
23   your behalf?
24               MR. KINLAW:  No, sir.
25               MR. FIFFICK:  Have you contacted any
0043
 1   members of the Commission?
 2               MR. KINLAW:  No, sir.
 3               MR. FIFFICK:  Do you understand that
 4   you're prohibited from seeking a pledge or
 5   commitment until 48 hours after the formal release
 6   of the Commission's report?
 7               MR. KINLAW:  Yes, sir.
 8               MR. FIFFICK:  Have you reviewed the
 9   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
10               MR. KINLAW:  I have.
11               MR. FIFFICK:  That's all -- are you
12   aware of the penalties for violating the pledging
13   rules?
14               MR. KINLAW:  I am.
15               MR. FIFFICK:  And that it is a
16   misdemeanor and upon conviction the violator must
17   be fined no more than $1,000 or imprisonment no
18   more than 90 days?
19               MR. KINLAW:  Yes, sir.
20               MR. FIFFICK:  Thank you.  I would note
21   the Upstate Citizens Committee reported the
22   following regarding Mr. Kinlaw.
23               As to Constitutional qualifications,
24   based on the Personal Data Questionnaire, this
25   candidate appears to have all of the necessary
0044
 1   qualifications.
 2               As to ethical fitness, the Committee
 3   has not discovered any information that would lead
 4   us to question the ethical fitness of this
 5   candidate.
 6               As to professional and academic
 7   ability, the candidate appears to have all the
 8   necessary professional and academic ability.
 9               As to character, the Committee has no
10   reason to believe that the candidate has any
11   negative character traits.
12               As to reputation, the candidate enjoys
13   a favorable reputation in the community and in and
14   amongst his legal peers.
15               As to physical health and mental
16   stability, the candidate -- the candidate appears
17   to be in good physical and mental health.
18               As to experience, this candidate has
19   been practicing for 30 years.  He has vast
20   experience in every area that is within the family
21   court jurisdiction.
22               As to judicial temperament, the
23   Committee believes that this candidate would have
24   an excellent judicial temperament.
25               I would just note for the record that
0045
 1   any concerns raised during the investigation
 2   regarding the candidate were incorporated into the
 3   questioning of the candidate today.
 4               Mr. Chairman, I have no further
 5   questions.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Senator Ford.
 7               SENATOR FORD:  Yeah, Mr. Kinlaw,
 8   welcome back.
 9               MR. KINLAW:  Thank you.
10               SENATOR FORD:  The last time you seen
11   Ted Bush a lot.  That was great.
12               I'm going to present something to you.
13   I want you to comment on it.
14               MR. KINLAW:  Yes, sir.
15               SENATOR FORD:  Judges in Greenville
16   County -- family court judges in Greenville County
17   work on Friday by rotation.
18               MR. KINLAW:  Okay.
19               SENATOR FORD:  You got one working and
20   four off.  I hope you say the right thing.
21               You got major backlog in Greenville
22   County.  If elected -- if elected as the family
23   court judge with your vast experience, would you
24   encourage your colleagues that "We have to work
25   Friday, like we work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and
0046
 1   Thursday, all day, until we clean up their dockets
 2   in Greenville County"?
 3               MR. KINLAW:  Well, Senator, I think
 4   that's a good question, and certainly I -- I would
 5   suggest that certainly if I was elected, but I
 6   would implement that if I became the administrative
 7   judge for that circuit and --
 8               SENATOR FORD:  If?  If?  Did you say
 9   if?
10               MR. KINLAW:  Well, I think they rotate
11   whoever becomes the administrative judge, and I
12   don't know how that process works, but --
13               SENATOR FORD:  Yeah, but these are your
14   colleagues.  You still could convince them.
15               MR. KINLAW:  Oh, yeah.  I don't think I
16   would have any problems.  As a matter of fact, I
17   can tell you this; that the current judges that
18   serve in Greenville County, I wouldn't have any
19   problems whatsoever getting them to buy into that
20   argument.
21               The judges there have a good
22   relationship with the Bar and a good relationship
23   with each other.  And I think it's real important
24   that judges have a good relationship with each
25   other, particularly when they're in the same
0047
 1   circuit, so -- and I -- and I -- and I've been
 2   knowing all of them for a very, very long time.  So
 3   I don't think I would have any problems doing that
 4   at all.
 5               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.  One more
 6   question -- a more serious question.  Senator
 7   Anderson always have me in Greenville to make, you
 8   know, workshops and seminars, and so the people in
 9   Greenville County think I'm their senator, which
10   I'm not.  And when they call, you know, I try to
11   tell them, "Now, wait a minute.  Now, I cannot do
12   all this stuff.  You got to call somebody else."
13               The biggest problem is guardians and
14   the relationship that family court judges in
15   Greenville County have with certain guardians, and
16   some of these guardians are rude.  I mean, they
17   just -- just trample over the public in cases.  And
18   how would you -- how would you -- and -- and I
19   heard you have a rotation system on guardians, but
20   yet some judges still reach out and grab certain
21   guardians over certain cases, and these people are
22   mis -- are mistreated by these guardians and
23   judges.  The family court judges don't care.  Not
24   all of them, but at least three or four of them.
25               MR. KINLAW:  Well, you know -- and I'll
0048
 1   comment on that.  I think one of the things that I
 2   harken back to -- back in 1980 -- it might have
 3   been '81, '82.  I think I was handling a case in
 4   Pickens County at the time, and I think Judge Boyd
 5   was the family court judge at that time.  But he
 6   had a very volatile situation that he needed a
 7   guardian, and he -- he -- the guardians that were
 8   available, he didn't feel comfortable with those
 9   guardians because he didn't feel like they would
10   be -- the issues that were involved were too
11   sensitive.  So he called me and asked me who would
12   I suggest serve as guardian, and -- and I suggested
13   some people.  Now -- that I thought would be
14   sensitive.
15               And I use the word sensitive in this
16   sense.  Whenever I'm involved in a case and there's
17   opposing counsel and we need a guardian -- I don't
18   know how other lawyers do it, but we don't just
19   pick somebody just because this particular guardian
20   may be cheap or may not charge a lot of money or --
21   or this person may be available.  Some cases
22   warrant a lay guardian.  If you've got a very
23   sensitive issue, you need a lay guardian.  Some
24   cases dictate that.  But you've got to wheel and
25   deal on a case-by-case basis.
0049
 1               Now -- and I'll tell you what, I -- I
 2   have no problems filing a motion if -- and I've
 3   done this.  If -- if you've got a family court
 4   judge and he appoints a guardian and I don't think
 5   that that guardian is appropriate for the set of
 6   circumstances that are presented to the Court, then
 7   I think it's incumbent upon the lawyers, if they're
 8   going to represent their clients zealously as we're
 9   told to do -- well, I'll file motions with the
10   Court asking for the judge to review this selection
11   of this particular guardian because -- and then
12   I'll cite the reasons that I -- I think this
13   guardian would not be appropriate.
14               So I think that judges are getting
15   better at that, and let me tell you why.  It's
16   because when you get a guardian that's -- that's
17   inappropriate, the guardian brings nothing to the
18   Court.  The guardian -- well, particularly if -- if
19   I get a report from a guardian and all the meetings
20   with the client has taken place in the guardian's
21   habitat -- when I say habitat, in his office or
22   wherever he's at.
23               I get -- I've got problems with that,
24   Senator, because my thing is in order to be an
25   effective guardian, you've got to go to the ditch.
0050
 1   And when I say go to the ditch, you've got to go to
 2   the client's house.  You've got to go to the
 3   school.  You've got to go to the -- to the -- to
 4   the neighbor's house.  You've got to go to the guy
 5   at the corner store, and you've got to ask --
 6   you -- when a guardian brings me a report and he
 7   has six or seven people that he's talked to and all
 8   these people go very -- stay different places,
 9   well, then, I'm impressed.
10               So that -- that -- that sort of
11   depends.  I don't know if I've answered your
12   question.
13               SENATOR FORD:  No, you answered my
14   question, and -- and I'm sure that I understood you
15   and Senator Knotts probably understood you and I
16   know Representative Mack understood you, but you
17   see, you're dealing with an intellectual educator
18   over there.  You have to break that ghetto stuff
19   down and --
20               SENATOR KNOTTS:  I understood.
21               SENATOR FORD:  No more questions,
22   Mr. Chairman.  Senator McConnell understands that.
23               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Thank you,
24   Mr. Chairman.
25               Mr. Kinlaw, welcome back, and I'm -- I
0051
 1   am glad -- as I told you last year, I wished you
 2   hadn't have dropped out last year because I believe
 3   we could have had us a good family -- a good judge.
 4   But I'm -- I'm glad you -- you've come back, and I
 5   think you have a future for the vision of family
 6   court.  I know you got a good work ethic, and I
 7   know that -- that -- I hope you just don't get cold
 8   feet this time and go for the -- go for the gusto.
 9               MR. KINLAW:  My feet are extremely
10   warm, Senator.
11               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Remember what I told
12   you.
13               SENATOR FORD:  You're not going to ask
14   any trick questions?
15               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Are there any
16   further questions?
17               SENATOR KNOTTS:  For the benefit of the
18   citizens -- the senator from Charleston, Mr. Kinlaw
19   answered it the right way.
20               SENATOR FORD:  Okay.
21               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  There being no
22   further questions, Mr. Kinlaw, you are very
23   familiar with the process, and thank you for being
24   here with us.  And I remind you about the 48 hour
25   rule, and with that, I hope you have a safe trip
0052
 1   back to Greenville.
 2               MR. KINLAW:  And I hope all you guys
 3   have a merry Christmas.
 4               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you.
 5               (Candidate excused.)
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Okay.  We're ready.
 7   We have before us today Mr. W. Marsh Robertson who
 8   seeks a position on the family court for the 13th
 9   Judicial Circuit, seat number six.
10               And have you brought anyone with you
11   today?
12               MR. ROBERTSON:  Excuse me?
13               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Have you brought
14   anyone with you?
15               MR. ROBERTSON:  My wife Barbara has
16   accompanied me today for support.
17               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We're glad to have
18   you, Ms. Robertson.
19               If you would, Mr. Robertson, raise your
20   right hand to be sworn.
21               (Candidate sworn.)
22               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
23   The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has
24   thoroughly investigated your qualification for
25   service on the bench.  Our inquiry has primarily
0053
 1   focused on our nine evaluative criteria which
 2   include a survey of the bench and bar; a thorough
 3   study of your application materials; verification
 4   of your compliance with state ethics laws; search
 5   of newspaper articles in which your name may have
 6   appeared; a study of any previous screenings; and a
 7   check for economic conflicts of interest.
 8               There are no affidavits filed in
 9   opposition to your election, nor are there any
10   witnesses present to testify.
11               Do you have a brief opening statement
12   you'd like to make?
13               MR. ROBERTSON:  No, sir.  Just like to
14   thank the members of the Commission for their time
15   and effort and the staff as well for the same.
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.  If
17   you would, answer any questions counsel might have
18   for you.
19               MR. ROBERTSON:  Yes, sir.
20               MS. SHULER:  Good afternoon,
21   Mr. Robertson.
22               MR. ROBERTSON:  Good afternoon,
23   Ms. Shuler.
24               MS. SHULER:  You have before you your
25   Personal Data Questionnaire.  At this time do you
0054
 1   have any amendments that you would like to make to
 2   your PDQ?
 3               MR. ROBERTSON:  No, I do not.
 4               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman, I would like
 5   to ask that Mr. Robertson's PDQ be entered into the
 6   record at this time as an exhibit.
 7               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Without objection,
 8   it will be made part of the transcript -- or be
 9   part of the record at this point in the transcript.
10               (EXH. 5, Personal Data Questionnaire of
11   Mr. William Marsh Robertson, admitted.)
12               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  Mr. Robertson
13   also provided a sworn statement with detailed
14   answers to over 30 questions regarding judicial
15   conduct, statutory qualifications, office
16   administration, and temperament.  That statement
17   was provided to all Commission members earlier and
18   is included in your notebook.  I have no concerns
19   with this statement.  With the Commission's
20   approval, I would ask that those questions be
21   waived at the public hearing today.
22               Mr. Robertson, you have before you your
23   sworn statement.  Do you have any amendments you
24   would like to make to your sworn statement today?
25               MR. ROBERTSON:  I do not.
0055
 1               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman, I would ask
 2   that Mr. Robertson's sworn statement be entered as
 3   an exhibit into the record at this time.
 4               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Mr. Robertson's
 5   sworn statement will be made a part of the record
 6   at this point in the transcript without objection.
 7               (EXH. 6, Sworn Statement of William
 8   Marsh Robertson, admitted.)
 9               MS. SHULER:  One final procedural
10   matter.  I note for the record that based on the
11   testimony contained in the candidate's PDQ which
12   has been included in the record, Mr. Robertson
13   meets the statutory requirements for this position
14   regarding age, residence, and years of practice.
15               Mr. Robertson, would you please declare
16   your residency on the record for this specific
17   family court seat.
18               MR. ROBERTSON:  I'm a resident of
19   Greenville, South Carolina.
20               MS. SHULER:  And what judicial circuit?
21               MR. ROBERTSON:  13th Judicial Circuit.
22               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  Mr. Robertson,
23   you've been practicing law since 1988.  Why do you
24   now want to serve as a family court judge?
25               MR. ROBERTSON:  Well, I've said many
0056
 1   times that I'm seeking my dream job.  I am
 2   passionate about the institution of family.  I am
 3   passionate about my family, my wife and our
 4   wonderful three children, and I'm passionate about
 5   family law.  And I have devoted almost my entire
 6   working career to the practice of family law.  I'm
 7   quite proud of the accomplishments that I've been
 8   able to achieve during that time, and I've achieved
 9   a great deal of satisfaction advising and
10   counseling my clients and advocating their causes
11   as an attorney, but I have always felt in my heart
12   that my call and the best use of my skill set would
13   be to serve as a family court judge.
14               And I'd say also that some of the
15   judges I admire the most are judges that have
16   started with the family court and moved on to
17   circuit court and the Court of Appeals and other
18   places.  And I do admire that, but that's not me.
19   I -- I want nothing more than to be a family court
20   judge.  I've made a career of that.  I want to keep
21   my career focused in the family court and I would
22   like nothing more than to end my legal career
23   serving the families of South Carolina from the
24   bench.
25               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Mr. Robertson.
0057
 1   You are a member of the American Academy of
 2   Matrimonial Attorneys.  Would you explain to the
 3   Commission what that entails and how long you've
 4   been a member of that academy.
 5               MR. ROBERTSON:  I will.  The American
 6   Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers is a national
 7   organization consisting of approximately 1,600
 8   preeminent family court practitioners around the
 9   United States.  The purpose is the -- the
10   commitment is to improve the practice of family law
11   and the administration of justice in family courts.
12               And I -- in South Carolina our chapter
13   consists of 25 members, and I am quite honored to
14   be one of those 25.  It's not an easy
15   accomplishment to become a fellow in our chapter.
16   It involves screening at the local level, very
17   intensive screening at the local and national
18   level, including a requirement for recommendations
19   by several family court judges, several family
20   court lawyers.  And you have to take and pass
21   national written tests and a state oral test.  And
22   the national written test is on topics and areas of
23   family law that most family court lawyers like to
24   shy away from, areas like bankruptcy and federal
25   taxation and pension valuation and uniform acts.
0058
 1               So one of my proudest moments of my
 2   legal career was in 1999 when I was inducted as a
 3   fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial
 4   Lawyers.
 5               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Mr. Robertson.
 6   Could you explain to the Commission what you
 7   believe to be the appropriate demeanor of a judge.
 8               MR. ROBERTSON:  I'd be glad to.  I
 9   believe that the appropriate demeanor involves a
10   combination of patience and compassion and
11   open-mindedness, but decisiveness and the ability
12   to be firm when necessary.  It involves courtesy to
13   everyone in the courtroom, including litigants,
14   attorneys and the court reporter, the deputy,
15   everybody in there, but the goal being to make
16   everyone in the courtroom as comfortable as
17   possible given the uncomfortable circumstances that
18   brought them there.
19               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  When you leave
20   the bench, what would you like your legacy to be as
21   a judge on the family court bench?
22               MR. ROBERTSON:  Well, that's a good
23   question, and I would like to be remembered much as
24   I remember some of the best family court judges
25   that I've had the pleasure of practicing before,
0059
 1   judges like John Kittredge, Kinard Johnson in
 2   Greenville County, and that is, that I meet the
 3   criteria that I just outlined for demeanor, that I
 4   was fair, that I was knowledgeable, and presented
 5   intelligence and equity from the bench.
 6               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  What
 7   suggestion would you offer for improving the
 8   backlog of cases in the docket in family court?
 9               MR. ROBERTSON:  Well, perhaps in
10   Greenville County -- I am quite familiar with the
11   crowded docket.  I understand that Greenville
12   County has more cases filed in family court each
13   year than any other county in the state, and we
14   have been battling that fact and that circumstance
15   for many, many years.  And we have come up with
16   some very creative and innovative ideas that I
17   would like to see taken statewide.
18               First and foremost, I'm a big proponent
19   of alternative dispute resolution.  I have acted as
20   a mediator in cases for a number of years.  It's
21   been quite a big -- or part of the focus of my
22   practice in the last few, and it works.  What
23   mediation has done -- and as an aside, I'll tell
24   you that I was not a proponent when Greenville
25   County was initially made a pilot program requiring
0060
 1   that every case involving any contested issue would
 2   have to be mediated.
 3               I was -- I was sitting on the Family
 4   Law Council for the South Carolina Bar when the
 5   Supreme Court announced that, and I was against it.
 6   But I was quickly converted, and the reason for
 7   that is that I saw that cases through mandatory
 8   mediation were not only settling with more
 9   frequency, but they were settling earlier in the
10   case.  And why is that important?  Because cases
11   that settle earlier result in clients having less
12   fees, less costs, and the ability to move on with
13   their life earlier than they would if they had to
14   wait several months.
15               So mediation -- mandatory mediation in
16   any case involving any contested issue, whether
17   you're talking multimillion dollar corporate shares
18   or whether you're talking who gets to keep the
19   microwave oven, should be mediated and that should
20   be statewide.  It's worked in Greenville County and
21   it could work in other counties.
22               As another form of alternate dispute
23   resolution, I believe in binding arbitration, and
24   that is an area that is not used nearly enough in
25   family court.  I have several cases right now that
0061
 1   I would like to skip requesting the final hearing
 2   in family court and take it to a trained
 3   arbitrator, an attorney with knowledge in family
 4   law who has the ability to analyze facts and make a
 5   binding decision.
 6               And what does that do?  Well, it means
 7   that we're not going to have to take a day or two
 8   in court.  We can go in front of an arbitrator who
 9   is quite capable of understanding the facts.  We
10   can make a bunch of stipulations on evidentiary
11   matters and factual matters and reach a decision
12   out of court freeing up docket time for other --
13   other areas of family law.
14               Greenville County has experimented with
15   other things that they have apparently abandoned
16   that I'd like to see brought back.  Like you may
17   have heard other attorneys in Greenville County
18   talk about the rocket docket which is if you have a
19   divorce case and there's no contested issue and
20   it's a no fault divorce and there's nothing but
21   divorce on the table, that case takes about five
22   minutes.
23               Even if you're trying to stretch it, it
24   takes about five minutes.  So why have a 15 minute
25   hearing set aside for something that can be done in
0062
 1   five.  You can have two or three done in a 15
 2   minute period.  I'd like to see the rocket docket
 3   brought back in Greenville County.
 4               We have experimented with an agreement
 5   docket where if you settle a case, no matter how
 6   old your case is, if you're an attorney, you can go
 7   sign up on the agreement docket requesting your
 8   hearing and your hearing will be heard on a
 9   first-come-first-serve basis.  So even if your case
10   was filed last week, if you set it up this week,
11   you might be able to get in court in three weeks
12   and put that case to bed.
13               And what that does is it opens up the
14   docket for cases that can't be put to bed that
15   quickly.  It also gives attorneys and their clients
16   the incentive to settle the case at an earlier
17   point, which the net result of all that -- the
18   fallout of all that is that you're going to have a
19   cleaner docket.
20               I can go on and on about ideas I have
21   for that, but I won't take the Committee's time
22   unless you have a direct question about it.
23               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Mr. Robertson.
24   I want to cover some housekeeping issues with you
25   now.
0063
 1               Have you sought or received the pledge
 2   of any legislator prior to this day?
 3               MR. ROBERTSON:  No, I have not.
 4               MS. SHULER:  Have you sought or have
 5   you been offered a conditional pledge of support of
 6   any legislator pending the outcome of this
 7   screening?
 8               MR. ROBERTSON:  No.
 9               MS. SHULER:  Have you asked any third
10   parties to contact members of the General Assembly
11   on your behalf?
12               MR. ROBERTSON:  No, I have not.
13               MS. SHULER:  Have you contacted any
14   members of the Commission?
15               MR. ROBERTSON:  I have not.
16               MS. SHULER:  Do you understand that you
17   are prohibited from seeking a pledge or commitment
18   until 48 hours after formal release of the
19   Commission's report?
20               MR. ROBERTSON:  I do understand that.
21               MS. SHULER:  Have you reviewed the
22   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
23               MR. ROBERTSON:  Yes, I have.
24               MS. SHULER:  Are you aware of the
25   penalties for violating the pledging rules; that
0064
 1   is, it is considered a misdemeanor, and upon
 2   conviction you can be fined not more than a
 3   thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than 90
 4   days?
 5               MR. ROBERTSON:  Yes, I am aware.
 6               MS. SHULER:  At this time I would like
 7   to offer the report of the Midlands -- the Upstate
 8   Citizen Committee on Mr. Robertson.  They reported
 9   the following.
10               Constitutional qualifications.  Based
11   on the Personal Data Questionnaire, this candidate
12   appears to have all the necessary qualifications.
13               Ethical fitness.  The Committee has not
14   discovered any information that would lead them to
15   question the ethical fitness of this candidate.
16               Professional and academic abilities.
17   The interview of this candidate revealed that he is
18   a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial
19   Attorneys.  This credential alone is impressive.
20   However, the Committee believes it is especially
21   telling of his professional and academic abilities.
22               Character.  The committee had no reason
23   to believe the candidate has any negative character
24   traits.
25               Reputation.  The candidate enjoys a
0065
 1   favorable reputation in the community and among his
 2   legal peers.
 3               Physical health and mental stability.
 4   The candidate appears to be in good physical and
 5   mental health.
 6               Experience.  The candidate has
 7   practiced a hundred percent family law for 18
 8   years.  He is a member of the American Academy of
 9   Matrimonial Attorneys which evidences his
10   experience and commitment to family law.
11               Judicial temperament.  The Committee
12   held the candidate will have -- will have an
13   excellent judicial temperament.
14               Mr. Chairman, at this time I have
15   nothing further for Mr. Robertson.
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any member of the
17   Commission have any questions?
18               There being no questions,
19   Mr. Robertson, we appreciate your willingness to
20   participate in the process, and I will remind you
21   about the 48 hour rule which you will -- I know you
22   know well from being here before, which means that
23   once the draft report has been on the desk of the
24   General Assembly for 48 hours, it becomes the final
25   report, but up until that time, we could reconvene
0066
 1   a public hearing and bring you back.
 2               In any event, we would like to thank
 3   you for being here, thank your wife for being here,
 4   and hope you have a safe trip back home.
 5               MR. ROBERTSON:  Thank you very much.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Yes, sir.
 7               (Candidate excused.)
 8               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We have with us
 9   this afternoon Mr. David Rutledge.
10               We appreciate your being with us this
11   afternoon, Mr. Rutledge.
12               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Thank you.
13               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Did you bring
14   anybody with you?
15               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Yes.  I brought my wife,
16   Debra Rutledge.  She graciously came with me today.
17               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Ms. Rutledge, we're
18   glad to have you here.  Appreciate you being here.
19               MRS. RUTLEDGE:  Thank you.
20               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  If you would, we
21   have David Jamison Rutledge who seeks a position on
22   the family court, 13th Judicial Circuit, seat
23   number six.
24               If you would, raise your right hand to
25   be sworn.
0067
 1               (Candidate sworn.)
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
 3   The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has
 4   thoroughly investigated your qualifications for the
 5   bench.  Our investigation is primarily focused on
 6   nine evaluative criteria which include a survey of
 7   the bench and bar; a thorough study of your
 8   application materials; verification of your
 9   compliance with state ethics laws; search of any
10   newspaper articles which your name might appear;
11   study of any previous screenings; and a check for
12   economic conflicts.
13               You don't have any affidavits filed in
14   opposition to your election, nor are there any
15   witnesses here to testify.
16               Do you have a short opening statement
17   you'd like to make?
18               MR. RUTLEDGE:  I'll waive that
19   statement.
20               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you.  If you
21   would, answer any questions that counsel might
22   have.
23               MS. WELLS:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
24               Mr. Rutledge, you have before you the
25   Personal Data Questionnaire submitted with your
0068
 1   application.
 2               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Yes.
 3               MS. WELLS:  Are there any amendments
 4   you would like to make at this time?
 5               MR. RUTLEDGE:  No.
 6               MS. WELLS:  At this time, Mr. Chairman,
 7   I would ask that Mr. Rutledge's Personal Data
 8   Questionnaire be entered into -- as an exhibit in
 9   the hearing record.
10               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  It will be done at
11   this point in the transcript without objection.
12               (EXH. 7, Personal Data Questionnaire of
13   David Jamison Rutledge, admitted.)
14               MS. WELLS:  Mr. Rutledge, you also have
15   before you a copy of the sworn statement that was
16   submitted as part of your application.  Are there
17   any amendments you would like to make at this time
18   to your sworn statement?
19               MR. RUTLEDGE:  No.
20               MS. WELLS:  Again, Mr. Chairman, I ask
21   that Mr. Rutledge's sworn statement be entered into
22   the record as an exhibit.
23               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Mr. Rutledge's
24   sworn statement will be made part of the record of
25   the transcript at this point without objection.
0069
 1               (EXH. 8, Sworn Statement of David
 2   Jamison Rutledge, admitted.)
 3               MS. WELLS:  Thank you.  For the record,
 4   Mr. Rutledge meets the statutory requirements for
 5   this position regarding age, residence, and years
 6   of practice.
 7               Mr. Rutledge, would you please declare
 8   your county of residency.
 9               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Greenville County.
10               MS. WELLS:  And which circuit is that?
11               MR. RUTLEDGE:  It's in the 13th
12   Circuit.
13               MS. WELLS:  And, Mr. Rutledge, after so
14   many years of private practice, why do you now want
15   to serve as a family court judge?
16               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Well, to be honest with
17   you, when I went to law school, the last thing in
18   the world I thought I'd be doing is family law, but
19   since I've been doing family law -- I've been doing
20   it for 14 years, and I've been able to do personal
21   service to a great many people.  I think in some
22   ways I've helped people change their lives.
23               And the main reason I want to be a
24   family court judge is an extension of personal
25   service to the state and to the community.
0070
 1               MS. WELLS:  Regarding your experience
 2   as it relates to your candidacy today, would you
 3   explain to the Commission how you feel your legal
 4   and professional experience thus far would help you
 5   to be an effective family court judge.
 6               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Yes.  I have a very
 7   strong academic background.  I graduated in the top
 8   of my class at the Cumberland School of Law.  I was
 9   on the editorial board of the law review.  I
10   clerked for a U.S. district judge in Alabama.  I
11   have taken three state bars, Alabama, South
12   Carolina and North Carolina, and I've passed them
13   all on the first try.
14               Since I've been doing family court
15   work, I have dealt with literally thousands of
16   individuals.  I have done every -- just about
17   everything there is to do in family court, mainly
18   in Greenville County.  I have been a public
19   defender for juveniles.  I have -- I had about 250
20   DSS cases.  I've served as a guardian in many, many
21   cases.  I've represented lay guardians in cases.
22               I have been involved just about any
23   kind of a legal issue.  I've represented people who
24   have under $10,000 a year to millionaires.  All
25   races, all creeds, and nationalities, many
0071
 1   nationalities.  I speak Spanish fluently.  And I
 2   feel that my experience and my academic ability
 3   would lead me to be a very good family court judge.
 4               MS. WELLS:  Thank you.  Are there any
 5   areas you feel you would need to additionally
 6   prepare for to be an effective family court judge,
 7   and if so, how would you go about handling that
 8   additional preparation?
 9               MR. RUTLEDGE:  I have not had a great
10   many high-profile cases involving equitable
11   distribution and alimony.  I know the basics of
12   that, but because of my clientele, I've not had a
13   great many opportunities to learn about that.
14               What I will do if I'm a family court
15   judge is, of course, I will read that area.  I will
16   study the law more closely in that area and fine
17   tune my knowledge in that area.
18               MS. WELLS:  Would you please tell the
19   members of the Commission what you think is the
20   appropriate demeanor of a family court judge.
21               MR. RUTLEDGE:  I think it's more than
22   just be calming and patient.  I think that that's
23   just a given.  I think that part of the demeanor is
24   that you listen to everybody, that you not prejudge
25   somebody because of what they look like, because of
0072
 1   where they come from, because of their economic
 2   status.  And I think that listening, listening
 3   actively and giving everybody the chance to be
 4   heard is extremely important.
 5               MS. WELLS:  In your application you
 6   reported that you filed bankruptcy in 2001.  Would
 7   you please explain the circumstances that led to
 8   this and how you think this will not affect your
 9   ability to be an effective family court judge.
10               MR. RUTLEDGE:  In 1994 I lost my job.
11   I was 38 years old, and I came back to South
12   Carolina.  I had very little money.  I had about
13   $12,000.  I had no clients, and I had -- I had to
14   take the Bar in South Carolina.  I was out
15   preparing for my license.  I was out of -- I wasn't
16   able to work for about six or seven months until I
17   could actually get my licensure, and then it was
18   another year before I made any money at all.
19               To support my family, to begin my
20   practice, I went very heavily in debt.  The result
21   was that in 1999 and 2000 it became more than I
22   could pay back.  What I did was I sold everything
23   of value that I had.  I had a family sword that
24   belonged to my great, great grandfather, General
25   Michael Jenkins.  I sold that, paid off my debts.
0073
 1   I paid off all the local vendors first, and then I
 2   finally declared bankruptcy.
 3               Since then I only have one credit card.
 4   I only have little -- less than a thousand dollars
 5   balance on that.  I have stayed out of debt, and
 6   all my obligations, my car, my home are -- are up
 7   to date.  I can't say the bankruptcy would help me
 8   on -- to be a good family court judge, but I can
 9   say that -- honestly say that with the economic
10   times we're in, the people that come in front of me
11   I kind of have walked in their shoes.
12               MS. WELLS:  Thank you.  In 2001 you --
13   in your application you also mentioned a letter of
14   caution you received from the disciplinary council.
15   Would you explain to the Commission the background
16   and the outcome of that, please.
17               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Yes.  The -- that person
18   hired me for a domestic action.  That person -- the
19   case got administratively stricken.  I told him
20   that I would refile it.  It took me two months to
21   refile it.  He reconciled with his wife and never
22   asked for his money back, which I would have gladly
23   have given to him, and I was sanctioned by the Bar.
24   And I might say that I was appropriately
25   sanctioned.
0074
 1               MS. WELLS:  But as you mentioned, the
 2   couple reconciled.
 3               MR. RUTLEDGE:  They did reconcile.
 4               MS. WELLS:  Do you have any
 5   suggestions you would offer to the members of the
 6   Commission for improving the backlog of cases on
 7   the docket in family court?
 8               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Yes.  There are quite a
 9   few.  One of the things that they do in Virginia
10   is -- for uncontested divorce is they allow the
11   people who have just the issue of divorce to go in
12   front of a court reporter, put the sworn testimony
13   on -- in front of the court reporter and submit
14   that to the judge for a hearing.  If South Carolina
15   did that, you can save 15 minutes on all these
16   uncontested divorces.  If you translate that into
17   every county over the state, you're talking about
18   thousands of judicial hours being saved.
19               Another thing that I think would be --
20   is important is that in Greenville County one of
21   the things that they did is that if a person is
22   behind on child support and is ruled in by the --
23   by the clerk of court, they give them an
24   opportunity to come in, to pay their balance in
25   child support up.  They pay a fine of about -- I
0075
 1   think it's a hundred dollars, and then they don't
 2   have to appear in front of a judge.  In that
 3   particular case everybody wins.  The person gets
 4   the child support.  The person does not go -- the
 5   payor does not have to go to jail, and you save
 6   that docket time.
 7               In the area of DJJ, we have thousands
 8   of people -- of juveniles going into juvenile
 9   services.  There are two areas that I think would
10   be very helpful and it would cost absolutely no
11   money to the state; in fact, probably would save a
12   great deal.  One of the problems is that the -- the
13   disturbing school statute is very, very vague.  As
14   a result, there's been a rise threefold over the
15   last ten years of disturbing schools so that now it
16   is the number one -- number one charge for
17   juveniles coming into court.
18               That statute needs to be amended to
19   give the school resource officers and school
20   officials a little bit more guidance as to what
21   kind of pay goes into the -- that would require a
22   disturbing the school charge.  DJJ -- in talking to
23   many people in DJJ, their problem with it is that
24   it dilutes the ability of DJJ to effectively deal
25   with the most critically needy individuals, the
0076
 1   ones that they are designed and have a mission to
 2   help.
 3               The other thing is very basic and would
 4   not cost any money is that when you have a child
 5   who is in DJJ, there is -- right now there is no
 6   coordination between agencies at all.  There's no
 7   staffing, and you have all these agencies offering
 8   services, but they -- there's nobody concentrating
 9   their efforts, particularly on a juvenile.
10               There needs to be a system that
11   identifies -- the DSS, the school, mental health,
12   DJJ, the law enforcement need to staff a case to
13   figure out a plan that would not only save the kid
14   the -- make -- save the kid from re-offending, it
15   would also not cost the state any more money than
16   they already have because the services that are now
17   existing.  And those are the areas that I think
18   would help in the docket.
19               MS. WELLS:  Thank you.  Mr. Rutledge,
20   have you sought or received the pledge of any
21   legislator prior to this date?
22               MR. RUTLEDGE:  No, I haven't.
23               MS. WELLS:  Have you sought or have
24   you been offered a conditional pledge of support of
25   any legislator pending the outcome of your
0077
 1   screening?
 2               MR. RUTLEDGE:  No.
 3               MS. WELLS:  Have you asked any third
 4   parties to contact members of the General Assembly
 5   on your behalf?
 6               MR. RUTLEDGE:  No.
 7               MS. WELLS:  Have you contacted any
 8   members of this Commission?
 9               MR. RUTLEDGE:  No.
10               MS. WELLS:  Do you understand you are
11   prohibited from seeking a pledge of commitment
12   until 48 hours after the formal release of the
13   Commission's report?
14               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Yes.
15               MS. WELLS:  Have you reviewed the
16   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
17               MR. RUTLEDGE:  I have.
18               MS. WELLS:  As a follow-up, are you
19   aware of the penalties for violating the pledging
20   rules; that is, it is a misdemeanor and upon
21   conviction the violator must be fined not more than
22   $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 90 days?
23               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Yes.
24               MS. WELLS:  I would note for the
25   members of the Commission that the Upstate Citizens
0078
 1   Committee reported that Mr. Rutledge meets the
 2   qualifications as set forth in the evaluative
 3   criteria.  They determined he is qualified for the
 4   position he seeks.  They also indicated that he
 5   satisfactorily explained the circumstances
 6   surrounding his bankruptcy.
 7               Any concerns raised during the
 8   investigation have been incorporated into the
 9   questioning of Mr. Rutledge today.  And I have no
10   further questions.
11               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Senator Knotts.
12               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Just one question.
13               Just one question, Mr. Rutledge.
14   Whenever you left Birmingham and lost your job,
15   what was the circumstances around that?
16               MR. RUTLEDGE:  I was travelling three
17   years.  I would -- and that means I was in
18   Mississippi, Alabama --
19               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Were you travelling as
20   an attorney?
21               MR. RUTLEDGE:  As an attorney.  I was
22   handling cases in those cases -- in those states.
23               I had two small children.  I -- I would
24   leave that -- on Sunday morning -- on Sunday night
25   around nine o'clock.  I would drive down to
0079
 1   Pascagoula, Mississippi, get in at two o'clock in
 2   the morning, and then I would work all day in
 3   Pascagoula, Mississippi, all through the week, and
 4   then I would return on Friday, and I'd usually get
 5   home about nine o'clock.  I was away from my
 6   family.  On Saturday I would have to come in again
 7   and to work -- handle things that were in the
 8   Birmingham office.
 9               That went on for three years.  It
10   caused such a stress on my family that I had to
11   make a choice between my family and my career, and
12   so I told them I can no longer do it and I lost my
13   job.  And I came back to South Carolina --
14               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Well, you basically
15   didn't lose your job; you resigned from your job?
16               MR. RUTLEDGE:  I -- no, I was -- I
17   had --
18               SENATOR KNOTTS:  You weren't fired?
19               MR. RUTLEDGE:  I -- I was terminated
20   because I refused to go travel anymore.
21               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Oh, okay.  Thank you.
22               MR. RUTLEDGE:  But what I did led to
23   the termination.  I was not terminated for cause.
24               SENATOR KNOTTS:  So it was a voluntary
25   termination?
0080
 1               MR. RUTLEDGE:  It was voluntary.
 2               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Okay.
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any other
 4   questions?
 5               There being none, Mr. Rutledge, I'd
 6   like to thank you for appearing before us today,
 7   thank your wife for coming with you, and with that,
 8   I would remind you of the 48 hour rule.  We issue a
 9   report.  It's a draft report.  After it's been on
10   the desk of the General Assembly for 48 hours, it
11   turns into the final report of this Commission,
12   which we cannot change.
13               But prior to that time we can
14   re-call -- or reconvene public hearings and bring
15   candidates or witnesses back to testify before us,
16   which we don't do very often, but if an issue
17   arises -- most often when we have done that, that
18   issue would be some impropriety in the election
19   process.
20               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Thank you.
21               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  And I would just
22   remind you about that.  Again, I would thank you
23   for being here today and thank your wife and hope
24   y'all both have a safe trip back home.
25               MR. RUTLEDGE:  Thank you very much.
0081
 1               (Candidate excused.)
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Good afternoon,
 3   Mr. -- the Honorable Michael Don Stokes.  Did you
 4   bring anybody with you?
 5               JUDGE STOKES:  No, Mr. Chairman, I did
 6   not.
 7               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We have before us
 8   the Honorable Michael Don Stokes, seeking a
 9   position on the family court, 13th Judicial
10   Circuit, seat six.
11               Would you please raise your right hand
12   to be sworn.
13               (Candidate sworn.)
14               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
15   The Judicial Merit Selection Commission has
16   thoroughly investigated your qualifications for
17   service on the bench.  Our inquiry is focused
18   primarily on the nine evaluating criteria which
19   include survey of the bench and bar; thorough study
20   of your application materials; verification of your
21   compliance with state ethics laws; a search of
22   newspaper articles in which your name may appear;
23   any study of any previous screenings; and checks
24   for economic conflicts of interest.
25               We have no affidavits filed in
0082
 1   opposition to your election.  We have no witnesses
 2   here to testify.
 3               Do you have a brief opening statement
 4   you'd like to make?
 5               JUDGE STOKES:  No, Mr. Chairman.  Just
 6   thank you for hearing me today.
 7               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.  If
 8   you would, answer any questions counsel might have
 9   for you.
10               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes.
11               MS. BENSON:  Judge Stokes, you
12   submitted a Personal Data Questionnaire to the
13   Commission.  Do you have any changes or amendments
14   you would make in that statement?
15               JUDGE STOKES:  No, ma'am, I do not
16   believe so, other than my youngest child I believe
17   is four now instead of three.  That's the only
18   difference that I saw.
19               MS. BENSON:  Thank you, Judge.
20               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes, ma'am.
21               MS. BENSON:  Mr. Chairman, if it will
22   be the Commission's will that that be submitted for
23   the record at this time.  Thank you.
24               (EXH. 9, Personal Data Questionnaire of
25   Mr. Michael Don Stokes, admitted.)
0083
 1               JUDGE STOKES:  Thank you.
 2               MS. BENSON:  Judge, you also answered a
 3   sworn statement with detailed answers to over 30
 4   questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory
 5   qualifications, office administration, and
 6   temperament.  Are there any changes or amendments
 7   that you would make in that statement?
 8               JUDGE STOKES:  No, ma'am.
 9               MS. BENSON:  Thank you, Judge.
10               With the Commission's permission, that
11   that also can be made part of the record at this
12   time.
13               (EXH. 10, Sworn Statement of Michael
14   Don Stokes, admitted.)
15               MS. BENSON:  One final procedural
16   matter.  I would note for the record that based on
17   the testimony contained in the candidate's PDQ
18   which has been included in the record and with the
19   candidate's consent, Judge Stokes meets the
20   statutory requirements for this position regarding
21   age, residence, and years of practice.
22               Judge Stokes, will you please declare
23   your county and circuit of residence for the
24   record.
25               JUDGE STOKES:  I live in Greenville
0084
 1   County which is in -- which is in the 13th Judicial
 2   Circuit, with Greenville and Pickens.
 3               MS. BENSON:  Thank -- thank you, Judge.
 4   Judge, why do you want to serve as a family court
 5   judge?
 6               JUDGE STOKES:  Several reasons going
 7   from professional to personal.  Professionally I've
 8   been a magistrate for 12 years, stumbled into that,
 9   did not go to law school intending to follow that
10   road.  Found that I have enjoyed it.  I love the
11   public service aspect of it.  Personally believe
12   I'm a very good lawyer, but I think I'm a better
13   judge.  It suits my personality better, temperament
14   better.
15               Secondly, the -- I've been a part-time
16   magistrate.  My primary practice area has been
17   family law.  I like the area.  I want to become
18   more specialized in it.
19               Secondly -- or, thirdly, rather, by
20   virtue of being a magistrate we see so many people
21   coming in we see problems that eventually take them
22   to family court from, you know, "I'm being abused
23   emotionally, physically," some male, female.  And I
24   can't help them, and you can see, you know, the
25   distress in their faces, and I would like to be
0085
 1   able to help them.
 2               From a personal standpoint I have a
 3   couple special needs children, and family court
 4   judges make more money than magistrates with a
 5   part-time practice.  So very up-front, there's a
 6   personal aspect in it too.
 7               MS. BENSON:  Judge, are there any areas
 8   that you feel that you would need to acquire more
 9   experience in in order to serve effectively on a
10   family -- family court, and if so, how would you
11   acquire that -- that experience or knowledge that
12   you -- that you might need?
13               JUDGE STOKES:  I have done everything
14   in family court on multiple occasions with the
15   exception of representing a juvenile defendant.  I
16   have done -- not done that.  Obviously I've
17   represented criminal defendants in circuit court,
18   magistrate's court.  I've heard hundreds of
19   criminal matters.  The substantive law doesn't faze
20   me at all.  I know that very well.
21               I'm well versed in the procedure of the
22   juveniles.  I would -- before I heard a case
23   regarding juveniles would like to watch two or
24   three.  I -- you know, you can read it in the
25   statutory books, what's supposed to happen, but
0086
 1   reading it and seeing it are two entirely different
 2   things.  I would like to observe a few of those.
 3   Other than that, I believe I would be fairly ready
 4   to come out of the gate running.
 5               MS. BENSON:  Judge, you have had
 6   several tax liens filed against you.  Could you
 7   please -- all of which have been resolved at this
 8   point.  Could you please explain to the
 9   Commission --
10               JUDGE STOKES:  Sure.
11               MS. BENSON:  -- how those arose and how
12   they've been resolved.
13               JUDGE STOKES:  They arose when Tivis
14   Sutherland and I formed our partnership -- or
15   professional association, Stokes & Sutherland.  The
16   IRS filings went properly.  The work -- the
17   unemployment security Commission, they made the
18   switch with us.  The tax -- department of tax
19   revenue didn't.  We went back and got the forms,
20   got the right people on the phone.
21               They said, "Oh, wait a minute.  You --
22   you have paid these taxes.  We were taxing you
23   under your old proprietorship.  You were paying
24   these taxes timely under your -- the professional
25   association," and they dismissed them.  I didn't
0087
 1   owe any taxes, no penalties, no interest.
 2               MS. BENSON:  You also were involved in
 3   a foreclosure action where you served as a personal
 4   representative.  If you could, explain that
 5   situation to the Commission.
 6               JUDGE STOKES:  My clerk of court in my
 7   magistrate's office passed away, and she had no
 8   family that was responsible, asked me to do it.  We
 9   were in good shape till the house burned.  I
10   couldn't rent it out.  Obviously no income coming
11   in, we had to -- it went into foreclosure.
12               I was named as an individual.  We got
13   plaintiff's attorney on the line and said I have no
14   personal interest in it.  And he checked the title
15   notes and said, "You have no personal interest in
16   it," dismissed me.  We did settle the fire claim,
17   got some life insurance, paid the mortgage off in
18   full, and the whole case settled that way.  I was
19   included -- I was -- inadvertence.
20               MS. BENSON:  Judge, some housekeeping
21   issues.  Have you sought or received a pledge of
22   any legislator prior to this date?
23               JUDGE STOKES:  No, ma'am.
24               MS. BENSON:  Have you been offered a
25   conditional pledge of support of any legislator
0088
 1   pending the outcome of your screening?
 2               JUDGE STOKES:  No, ma'am.
 3               MS. BENSON:  Have you asked any third
 4   parties to contact the members of the General
 5   Assembly on your behalf?
 6               JUDGE STOKES:  No.
 7               MS. BENSON:  Have you contacted any
 8   members of the Commission?
 9               JUDGE STOKES:  No, ma'am.
10               MS. BENSON:  And you understand the 48
11   hour rule?
12               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes, ma'am.
13               MS. BENSON:  You've reviewed the
14   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
15               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes, ma'am.
16               MS. BENSON:  And you understand the
17   penalties for violating the pledging rules which
18   could be a fine of up to a thousand dollars or
19   imprisonment for not more than 90 days?
20               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes, ma'am.
21               MS. BENSON:  Judge, there would be one
22   other issue that I'd like to ask you about.  The
23   Upstate Citizens Committee made a report on you the
24   last time that you were screened, and they found
25   that there were no conditions to be changed about
0089
 1   this report.  One thing they mentioned in this
 2   report is that -- that you -- that the candidate
 3   has a reputation that concerns the Committee.
 4               The areas of concern are regarding
 5   judicial temperament, and the candidate is a
 6   sitting magistrate, and based on comments of
 7   several people who observed his conduct this
 8   Committee has serious concerns about his judicial
 9   temperament.  Judge, would you respond to that.
10               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes, ma'am.  In that
11   screening, they brought two things to my attention.
12   One, that my word was golden.  You could take it to
13   the bank.  The second item was -- I have no
14   recollection of the incident.  Several years ago --
15   and this is exactly what they gave me.
16               I was holding preliminary hearings, and
17   I apparently told an attorney I'm assuming in the
18   course of objections that if he was going to do
19   discovery, he needed to file Brady motions and
20   criminal rule five motions.  I have no recollection
21   of it.  That is the only incident they brought
22   before me.
23               Historically I'm told I'm a well-liked
24   judge.  I've had no complaints.  Other than through
25   the Citizens Screening Commission, I've heard no
0090
 1   complaints.  My appointing senator was Verne Smith.
 2   He never had a complaint.  I live in a
 3   magistrate for a rural area.  My mailbox has never
 4   been knocked over.  And my dog disappeared in the
 5   community, mobilized to find Judge Michi's dog.
 6   These are the people who would be the target of my
 7   supposed bad judicial temperament, and they were
 8   helping me find my Beagle.
 9               I don't know what to say.  It's not in
10   keeping with my persona.  I feel awful somebody
11   feels bad.  The trouble is people will remember how
12   you made them feel more than they remember what you
13   said or how you ruled or anything, and this
14   obviously -- this one person I made them feel bad,
15   and that bothers me.  I don't like to do that.  It
16   is not my practice to do that.  I'm relatively easy
17   going, make -- make no comments towards anybody
18   till, you know, they objected two or three times
19   and then it's rather gentle, like, "We, you know,
20   really need to move on from this," or something of
21   that nature.
22               In many instances -- we recently had a
23   case in Greenville that I was picked specifically
24   to hear it because it was -- had been mis-trialed
25   two or three times.  It was volatile.  They were so
0091
 1   concerned about it they moved it to the county
 2   courthouse for security reasons, and I was picked
 3   to do it because Michi will keep things moving
 4   quietly and calmly.
 5               I -- so it's not in keeping with my
 6   persona.  I don't understand it.  That is the only
 7   incident that the Committee made reference to.  As
 8   I said, I don't remember it.  I can't defend
 9   against it other than my practice is not to do
10   that.  In 12 years I remember having slight
11   disputes with two attorneys in cases, and I
12   remember both of those very clearly.  I do not
13   remember this at all.
14               MS. BENSON:  Judge, thank you.
15               Mr. Chairman, I don't have any more
16   questions.
17               JUDGE STOKES:  I'm sure -- I'm sure in
18   12 years I've honestly rubbed somebody wrong, even
19   if it was inadvertent, but I don't mean to, don't
20   want to.
21               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Questions from
22   members of the Commission?
23               There being none, we appreciate your
24   being here, Mr. Stokes -- or Judge Stokes.
25               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes, sir.
0092
 1               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  And I'll remind you
 2   about the 48 hour rule --
 3               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes, sir.
 4               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  -- which we issue a
 5   report.  It's a draft report.  48 hours after it's
 6   been on the desk of the General Assembly, the
 7   General Assembly turns it into a final report.
 8   Before that time, we can reconvene a hearing,
 9   re-call you as a witness or any other person we --
10   any other witness we want to hear from.
11               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes.
12               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  But once that
13   report becomes final, it becomes a final report and
14   we can't do that.  I just remind you about that,
15   and the times that we have reconvened a public
16   hearing on a candidate, most often has been some
17   suspicion of impropriety of the election process.
18               JUDGE STOKES:  Yes, sir.
19               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  But with having
20   said that, I wish you a safe trip back to
21   Greenville.
22               JUDGE STOKES:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
23               (Candidate excused.)
24               SENATOR McCONNELL:  Mr. Chairman, I
25   move we go into executive session on some
0093
 1   administrative matters that need to be handled with
 2   our lawyers.
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All in favor?  So
 4   moved.  We're now in executive session.
 5               (The Committee went into executive
 6   session at 5:29 p.m., which began off the record.)
 7                *     *     *     *     *
 8   
 9   
10   
11   
12   
13   
14   
15   
16   
17   
18   
19   
20   
21   
22   
23   
24   
25   
0105
 1               (The Committee came out of executive
 2   session at 6:08 p.m.)
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Okay.  We're in
 4   open session now, and we will call for the vote
 5   on -- first the three candidates from the family
 6   court judicial -- 10th Judicial Family Court, seat
 7   number one.
 8               Is there any objection in finding all
 9   three of the candidates, Mr. Long, Mr. McElhannon,
10   and Mr. Phillips all qualified?  Everybody in favor
11   of finding all three candidates qualified, raise
12   your hand.
13               MS. SHULER:  Voting a proxy for
14   Mr. Harrell and a proxy for Representative
15   Delleney, for Senator McConnell.
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We're voting that
17   all of the candidates qualified.
18               SENATOR KNOTTS:  All in.
19               SENATOR FORD:  Mr. Chairman, remember
20   we did that before and voted all them qualified,
21   but then we had to come back because if we -- if
22   we're going to vote all three qualified, then all
23   three have to be nominated.
24               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  You're right.
25               So does anybody have a problem with
0106
 1   voting all three qualified and nominated?
 2               PROFESSOR FREEMAN:  I'm for that.
 3               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Let's vote for it,
 4   right?
 5               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Right.
 6               SENATOR KNOTTS:  What you said was
 7   anybody have a problem with it.
 8               MS. SHULER:  Professor, are you voting?
 9               PROFESSOR FREEMAN:  Yeah.  I'm for it.
10               MS. SHULER:  Unanimous.
11               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  It's unanimous.
12   All three candidates were voted qualified and
13   nominated.
14               Okay.  Now we move on to family court,
15   13th Judicial Circuit, seat number six.  We can
16   only vote for three candidates.
17               The first candidate is Catherine C.
18   Christophillis.  All in favor of voting her to be
19   qualified and nominated, raise your hand.
20               MS. SHULER:  One, two, three, four.
21               MR. HARRELL:  Five.
22               MS. SHULER:  That's five.  Are you
23   voting a proxy with that?
24               MR. HARRELL:  Yes.
25               MS. SHULER:  Raise your hands again,
0107
 1   please.  One, two, three, four, five.  Five.  Five.
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All right.  All
 3   voting for W. Wallace Culp, III, as qualified and
 4   nominated, raise your hand.
 5               MS. SHULER:  One, two, three, four.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All voting for
 7   Catherine E. Fairey, qualified and nominated, raise
 8   your hand.
 9               MS. SHULER:  One.
10               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All voting for Alex
11   Kinlaw, Jr., nominated and qualified, raise your
12   hand.
13               MS. SHULER:  One, two, three, four --
14   two, three, four, five, six.
15               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  I'm voting for
16   Senator McConnell also.
17               MS. SHULER:  Seven, eight, nine, ten.
18               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All voting for
19   William Marsh Robertson as qualified and nominated,
20   raise your hand.
21               I'm voting for McConnell and myself.
22               MS. SHULER:  One, two, three, four,
23   five, six.
24               PROFESSOR FREEMAN:  I want to change my
25   vote from Culp.
0108
 1               MS. SHULER:  Seven, eight, nine.
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Did you get the
 3   professor's change in vote?
 4               MS. SHULER:  Yes.  Three for Culp now,
 5   nine for Marsh Robertson.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Okay.  I'm voting
 7   just for myself now.  I voted for Senator McConnell
 8   on Christophillis, Phillips and Marsh Robertson.
 9               All in favor of voting for David
10   Jamison Rutledge, qualified and nominated, raise
11   your hand.
12               MS. SHULER:  One, two.
13               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All in favor of
14   voting for the Honorable Michael Don Stokes as
15   qualified and nominated, raise your hand.
16               MS. SHULER:  All right.  We have two
17   top people, Alex Kinlaw with ten and Marsh
18   Robertson with nine, and then we have Catherine
19   Christophillis with five, and we need six, and
20   Wallace Culp with three, Catherine Fairey with one,
21   David Rutledge with two, and Michael Stokes with
22   zero.
23               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  So everybody can
24   vote once.  Everybody has got one vote, and we're
25   going to -- we're either going to vote for
0109
 1   Christophillis, Culp, Fairey, Rutledge or Stokes.
 2   Kinlaw and Robertson have already been qualified
 3   and nominated.
 4               So anybody voting for Catherine
 5   Christophillis raise your hand.
 6               MS. SHULER:  One, two, three, four,
 7   five.
 8               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Everybody voting
 9   for W. Wallace Culp, III, qualified and nominated,
10   raise your hand.
11               MS. SHULER:  One, two.
12               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Everybody voting
13   for Catherine E. Fairey, qualified and nominated,
14   raise your hand.
15               Everybody voting for David Jamison
16   Rutledge, qualified and nominated, raise your hand.
17               MS. SHULER:  One, two.
18               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Everybody voting
19   for the Honorable Don -- Michael Don Stokes,
20   qualified and nominated, raise your hand.
21               So that puts it --
22               SENATOR FORD:  Did the five win?
23               MS. SHULER:  Somebody did not -- did
24   you vote for --
25               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Yes, I voted.
0110
 1               MS. SHULER:  -- McConnell's proxy for
 2   Rutledge?
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  I did not vote for
 4   the proxy.
 5               MS. SHULER:  Which one did you need to
 6   vote for, for McConnell's proxy?
 7               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Well, he wanted to
 8   vote for Christopher -- or Christophillis.
 9               MS. SHULER:  That leaves six for
10   Christophillis, two for Culp, zero for Fairey, two
11   for Rutledge, and zero for Stokes.  And
12   Ms. Christophillis is the third candidate.
13               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Six was the magic
14   number.
15               MS. SHULER:  Six was the magic number.
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  So that's --
17               MS. SHULER:  That's it.  So we have
18   Christophillis, Kinlaw, and Robertson.
19               (A recess transpired.)
20               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We have before us
21   this evening Ms. Cynthia Graham Howe who seeks a
22   position as a master-in-equity for Horry County.
23               MS. HOWE:  That's correct.
24               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Which I understand
25   is a full-time job.
0111
 1               MS. HOWE:  That is correct.
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Would you please
 3   raise your right hand to be sworn.
 4               (Candidate sworn.)
 5               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, ma'am.
 6               REPRESENTATIVE CLEMMONS:  Mr. Chairman.
 7               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Yes, sir.
 8               REPRESENTATIVE CLEMMONS:  Prior to
 9   having received notice I was being appointed to
10   this commission for the sake of full disclosure,
11   Ms. Graham Howe and I have had numerous
12   conversations concerning this election, without her
13   asking for nor my rendering an offer to support.
14               In light of that and in light of her
15   family's long-term support to me in my elected
16   capacity, I'm going to recuse myself from this
17   election altogether without review of the
18   candidates and the election itself.
19               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Okay.  Thank you,
20   Mr. Clemmons.
21               The Judicial Merit Selection Commission
22   has thoroughly investigated your qualifications for
23   service on the bench, and our inquiry has primarily
24   been focussed on nine evaluative criteria which we
25   use.  Among those criteria are survey of the bench
0112
 1   and bar; a thorough study of your application
 2   materials; verification of your compliance with
 3   state ethics laws; search of any newspaper articles
 4   in which your name may have appeared; a study of
 5   any previous screenings that you may have been
 6   involved with; and a check for economic conflicts
 7   of interest.
 8               There are no witnesses -- no affidavits
 9   filed in opposition to your election of candidacy,
10   and there are no witnesses here to testify.
11               Do you have a brief opening statement
12   that you would like to make?
13               MS. HOWE:  No, I do not.  No.
14               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, ma'am.
15   If you would, answer any questions our counsel has.
16               MS. SHULER:  Good evening, Ms. Howe.
17               MS. HOWE:  Good evening.
18               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman and members
19   of the Commission, I have a few procedural matters
20   to take care of.
21               Ms. Howe, you have before you your
22   Personal Data Questionnaire.  Are there any
23   amendments you would like to make at this time?
24               MS. HOWE:  I don't believe so.
25               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman, I would like
0113
 1   to offer Ms. Howe's PDQ as an exhibit to the
 2   hearing record.
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  It will be done at
 4   this point in the transcript without objection.
 5               (EXH. 11, Personal Data Questionnaire
 6   of Ms. Cynthia Graham Howe, admitted.)
 7               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  Ms. Howe also
 8   provided a sworn statement with detailed answers to
 9   over 30 questions regarding judicial conduct,
10   statutory qualifications, office administration and
11   temperament.  That statement was also provided to
12   the commission members in their notebook.
13               Ms. Howe, your sworn statement is
14   before you today as well.  Are there any amendments
15   you would like to make to your sworn statement?
16               MS. HOWE:  No, there are not.
17               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman, I would like
18   to ask at this time that Ms. Howe's sworn statement
19   be entered as an exhibit into the hearing record.
20               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Her sworn statement
21   will be made part of the transcript of record at
22   this point without objection.
23               (EXH. 12, Sworn Statement of Ms.
24   Cynthia Graham Howe, admitted.)
25               MS. SHULER:  One final procedural
0114
 1   matter.  I note for the record that based on the
 2   testimony contained in the candidate's PDQ, which
 3   has been included in the record with the
 4   candidate's consent, Ms. Howe meets the statutory
 5   requirements for this position regarding age,
 6   residence, and years of practice.
 7               Ms. Howe, after being a licensed
 8   attorney for 27 years and practicing law for
 9   25 years, why do you now want to serve as a
10   master-in-equity for Horry County?
11               MS. HOWE:  Horry County deserves to
12   continue with a tradition of having the best
13   master-in-equity that it can possibly have.  I
14   believe that after being out of law school for
15   27 years, clerking for the Honorable David W.
16   Harwell for two years, and devoting my -- myself to
17   researching the law and writing the law alongside
18   of him for two years, and then practicing very
19   diligently in the -- solely in the area of civil
20   law for 25 years alongside of two of the most
21   well-qualified attorneys that I know of, James
22   Van Osdell, who is a preeminent attorney in South
23   Carolina for 23 years, and now Mike Battle, who is
24   also a very well-qualified attorney, that I believe
25   that I am qualified to take over the reins from
0115
 1   Stan Cross.
 2               I once saw while I was -- while I was a
 3   law clerk with David Harwell a sign on the Supreme
 4   Court wall that said, "We call him Your Honor to
 5   remind us of our own," and that has always stuck
 6   with me.  And I would like to join the ranks of
 7   those Honors and become the master-in-equity.
 8               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Ms. Howe.
 9               Would you describe to the Commission
10   what you believe to be the appropriate demeanor of
11   a master-in-equity.
12               MS. HOWE:  Certainly.  I believe the
13   master-in-equity should be humble, honest, patient,
14   wise.  A good sense of humor certainly should
15   always be there.  Compassionate, well rounded.
16   Certainly intelligent.  Open-minded always.  Always
17   willing to listen.  Prompt in her decisions.
18   Always willing -- always willing to be open-minded
19   and listening, patient and wise.
20               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Ms. Howe.
21               When you leave the bench, what would
22   you like your legacy to be as a master-in-equity?
23               MS. HOWE:  I believe that I would like
24   for someone to say that "She always was willing to
25   listen compassionately but always render a prompt,
0116
 1   just, fair decision."
 2               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  In 1997 your
 3   husband and you sued to obtain the return of your
 4   earnest money in a failed real estate deal in which
 5   you were the purchaser, and the seller
 6   counterclaimed to force you to purchase the house.
 7   Could you briefly explain how the lawsuit and the
 8   counterclaim were resolved.
 9               MS. HOWE:  Certainly.  It was resolved
10   very quickly.  It was resolved by summary judgment.
11   We moved for summary judgment on the grounds that
12   we were unable to obtain a clear CLE -- CL-100,
13   which basically says we could not obtain a clear
14   termite letter, so we were unable to obtain
15   financing for the home, which was a condition of
16   the sale.
17               So we were able to obtain a summary
18   judgment very quickly, and the counterclaim
19   thereafter was terminated.
20               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  Some
21   housekeeping issues.
22               Have you sought or received the pledge
23   of any legislator prior to this date.
24               MS. HOWE:  No, I have not.
25               MS. SHULER:  Have you sought or have
0117
 1   you been offered a conditional pledge of support of
 2   any legislator pending the outcome of your
 3   screening?
 4               MS. HOWE:  No, I have not.
 5               MS. SHULER:  Have you asked any third
 6   parties to contact members of the General Assembly
 7   on your behalf?
 8               MS. HOWE:  No, I have not.  I have made
 9   my friends and relatives aware that I am a
10   candidate for this position, but they know that
11   they are not to ask for any pledges until and if I
12   am lucky enough to become nominated for this
13   position, until after the 48 hour rule.
14               MS. SHULER:  Do you understand that
15   you're prohibited from seeking a pledge or
16   commitment until 48 hours after formal release of
17   the Commission's report?
18               MS. HOWE:  Yes.
19               MS. SHULER:  Have you reviewed the
20   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
21               MS. HOWE:  Yes, I have.
22               MS. SHULER:  Are you aware of those
23   penalties, that is, it's a misdemeanor, and if
24   convicted, fined not more than a thousand dollars
25   or imprisoned not more than 90 days?
0118
 1               MS. HOWE:  Yes, I certainly am.
 2               MS. SHULER:  I would note that the Pee
 3   Dee Citizens Committee found Cynthia Graham Howe to
 4   be an excellent candidate who would ably serve as a
 5   master-in-equity.  I would just note for the record
 6   that any concerns raised during the investigation
 7   regarding the candidate were incorporated into the
 8   questioning of the candidate today.
 9               And, Mr. Chairman, I have no further
10   questions for Ms. Howe.
11               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, ma'am.
12               Senator Ford.
13               SENATOR FORD:  I have a question for
14   you, Mr. Chairman.  Do -- what's -- what's the
15   procedure in electing a master-of-equity?
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  They're voted in by
17   their delegation.  We have -- we have to screen and
18   qualify them by screening them, but then they're
19   voted on only by their delegation.
20               SENATOR FORD:  Are all masters elected
21   through us or do they have --
22               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  No.  All of them
23   are screened through us.
24               SENATOR FORD:  Even in Charleston we
25   don't elect them for our -- I mean, countywide?
0119
 1               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  No.  Your
 2   delegation votes for them.
 3               SENATOR FORD:  So I got to listen to
 4   Horry --
 5               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  They're actually
 6   appointed by the Governor, but they -- with the
 7   advice and consent of the delegation.
 8               SENATOR KNOTTS:  The Governor has been
 9   appointing y'all's master-in-equity after you're --
10               SENATOR FORD:  I thought we elected
11   them for countywide.  Didn't we elect O.T. Wallace?
12               SENATOR McCONNELL:  He was elected by
13   the delegation and appointed by the Governor.
14               SENATOR FORD:  How long that's been the
15   law?
16               SENATOR McCONNELL:  It has always been
17   since I've been here.
18               SENATOR FORD:  Yeah, but you didn't
19   know nothing about that law until 1982, right?
20               SENATOR McCONNELL:  I knew about it a
21   little bit.  I'm a little older than that.
22               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any further
23   questions?
24               There being none, Ms. Howe, we
25   appreciate you appearing before us today, and of
0120
 1   course I remind you about the 48 hour rule, but
 2   you're in a little different situation.
 3   Nevertheless, the rule applies, and thank you for
 4   appearing before us and wish you well and have a
 5   safe trip back home.
 6               MS. HOWE:  Thank you, Representative
 7   Delleney, and the rest of the Commission.
 8               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you.
 9               (Candidate excused.)
10               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We have before us
11   this evening Mr. Carroll -- Mr. Carroll D. Padgett,
12   Jr., who seeks a position as a master-in-equity for
13   Horry County.
14               If you would -- if you would,
15   Mr. Padgett, please raise your right hand to be
16   sworn.
17               (Candidate sworn.)
18               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
19               MR. PADGETT:  Thank you.
20               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  The Judicial Merit
21   Selection Commission has thoroughly investigated
22   your qualifications for service on the bench.  Our
23   inquiry has primarily focused on nine evaluative
24   criteria.  Among those criteria are survey of the
25   bench and bar; a thorough study of your application
0121
 1   materials; verification of your compliance with
 2   state ethics laws; the search of any newspaper
 3   articles in which your name may have appeared; a
 4   study of any previous screenings; and a check for
 5   economic conflicts of interest.
 6               We do not have any affidavits filed in
 7   opposition to your candidacy, nor are there any
 8   witnesses here to testify.
 9               Do you have a brief opening statement
10   you'd like to make?
11               MR. PADGETT:  Just very brief.  I just
12   want to thank you for the opportunity of being here
13   and do consider it quite an honor to be able to
14   even be considered for the position as
15   master-in-equity for Horry County.  Thank you.
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you.  Answer
17   any questions counsel might have.
18               MR. PADGETT:  Yes, sir.
19               MR. GENTRY:  Mr. Chairman and members
20   of the Commission, I have a few procedural matters
21   to take care of.
22               Mr. Padgett, in front of you you have
23   two documents.  Do you recognize the first document
24   as the Personal Data Questionnaire that you
25   submitted as part of your application.
0122
 1               MR. PADGETT:  Yes, sir, I do.
 2               MR. GENTRY:  Is there any amendment
 3   you'd like to make to your Personal Data
 4   Questionnaire?
 5               MR. PADGETT:  No, sir.
 6               MR. GENTRY:  Do you recognize the
 7   second document as the sworn statement you
 8   submitted as part of your application?
 9               MR. PADGETT:  Yes, sir, I do.
10               MR. GENTRY:  Is there any amendment
11   you'd like to make at this time to your sworn
12   statement?
13               MR. PADGETT:  No, sir.
14               MR. GENTRY:  At this time,
15   Mr. Chairman, I'd like to ask that Mr. Padgett's
16   Personal Data Questionnaire and sworn statement be
17   entered as an exhibit into the hearing record.
18               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Without objection,
19   it will be made part of the record at this time in
20   the transcript.
21               (EXH. 13, Personal Data Questionnaire
22   of Mr. Carroll D. Padgett, Jr., admitted.)
23               (EXH. 14, Sworn Statement of Carroll
24   Dorn Padgett, Jr., admitted.)
25               MR. GENTRY:  Mr. Padgett's sworn
0123
 1   statement with detailed answers to over 30
 2   questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory
 3   qualifications, office administration, and
 4   temperament is included in your notebooks.  I have
 5   no concerns with the statement, and with the
 6   Commission's approval, I ask those questions be
 7   waived in the public hearing today.
 8               One final procedural matter.  I note
 9   for the record that based on the testimony
10   contained in the candidate's PDQ, which has been
11   included in the record with the candidate's
12   consent, Mr. Padgett meets the statutory
13   requirements for this position regarding age,
14   residence, and years of practice.
15               Mr. Padgett --
16               MR. PADGETT:  Yes, sir.
17               MR. GENTRY:  -- why do you want to
18   serve as a master-in-equity?
19               MR. PADGETT:  Well, as a young lawyer I
20   think all of our goals are to -- at one time
21   hopefully in our career to become a judge and be
22   able to give back to the system, because I think
23   it's really important that those of us who have
24   practiced a long time and worked within the system
25   be able to give back, and I've always wanted to do
0124
 1   that.
 2               MR. GENTRY:  Can you explain to the
 3   Commission how you feel your legal professional
 4   experience will help you be an effective
 5   master-in-equity.
 6               MR. PADGETT:  Since I started
 7   practicing law in 1972, I've always had a general
 8   practice, trial practice, nonjury practice, and
 9   with that wide variety in experience in different
10   areas of the law and as well as family court,
11   domestic, corporate, criminal and civil trial work,
12   I feel that it gives me a good background to be
13   able to understand the litigants and the attorneys
14   and representatives that would come before me if
15   I'm lucky enough to be selected for this position.
16               MR. GENTRY:  Are there any additional
17   legal or procedural areas that you feel you would
18   need to prepare for, and if so, how would you go
19   about that initial preparation?
20               MR. PADGETT:  Probably the one thing I
21   would like to do would be like to mentor a
22   master-in-equity, even though I have appeared
23   before hundreds, as a matter of fact, the four or
24   five different masters that have been here in my
25   36 years in Horry County.  I've been before many of
0125
 1   them probably over 300, 400 times, but I think it
 2   would be good being on the other side of the bench.
 3   It's a different perspective than being an advocate
 4   for a particular position or client than it is to
 5   try to make decisions about two competing
 6   interests.
 7               So I'd like to get mentored in that
 8   regard, if possible, and also learn from other
 9   judges their best qualities of how to be a good
10   judge.
11               MR. GENTRY:  Could you please tell the
12   members of the Commission what you think is the
13   appropriate demeanor for a judge.
14               MR. PADGETT:  Well, a judge should
15   always be under control at all times, and probably
16   one of the most important things is impartiality.
17   I think every litigant and lawyer need to be able
18   to feel that they have gotten a fair chance to
19   present their client's side of the case and that
20   they've had an opportunity to get to the judge and
21   tell him their side that they want to get across,
22   and to treat everybody fairly and everybody
23   equally.
24               The scales of justice are blind for one
25   reason, and that is it shouldn't matter who you
0126
 1   are, but what position you have or what the legal
 2   rights of the particular litigants are.
 3               MR. GENTRY:  If you're elected to the
 4   bench, what would you want for your legacy to be as
 5   a master-in-equity?
 6               MR. PADGETT:  I would like for the
 7   bench and bar to feel as though when they came
 8   before me as the master-in-equity that they could
 9   be -- they could rest assured that they would get
10   an opportunity to present their -- their side of
11   the case and present it fully and to be able to,
12   when they leave the courtroom, whether I ruled in
13   their favor or not, feel like they had a fair
14   opportunity to be heard on the issue, because I
15   think that's important.
16               MR. GENTRY:  The Commission has
17   received two anonymous bench and bar surveys, one
18   of which was positive and one of which expressed
19   some concerns that you might be somewhat emotional
20   and volatile.  Would you like to respond to those
21   bench surveys.
22               MR. PADGETT:  Yes.  I'd like to say
23   that the positive questionnaire I'd like to -- I'd
24   like to think that that is who I really am.
25               The emotional, I've never been an
0127
 1   extremely emotional person.  I'm passionate about
 2   the issues and the clients that I represent and
 3   their positions, but I don't know that I've ever
 4   been emotional, and I'm certainly not volatile.
 5   Anyone that has ever tried a case with me, for me
 6   or against me, I think would tell you I'm about as
 7   even-handed and mild-mannered as possible, because
 8   I think that's what we as lawyers and judges owe to
 9   the judicial system, and that is great respect.  I
10   have respect for the system and the people that
11   make up that system, and I think everybody needs to
12   be treated that way.
13               MR. GENTRY:  In 2003 you were sued by
14   Mr. Harold Worley.  Can you please explain to the
15   Commission the nature of the lawsuit and the
16   lawsuit's ultimate outcome.
17               MR. PADGETT:  Yes.  Mr. Worley owned a
18   motel at the beach, and I had done some work for he
19   and his family off and on for years.  I was not his
20   principal attorney.  But a lady while he was doing
21   some extensive construction on his motel fell down
22   an elevator shaft and was injured, and Mr. Worley
23   was sued.
24               While I was out of town, he faxed a
25   copy of the summons and complaint to my office.
0128
 1   When I got back two days later, three days later, I
 2   called him and explained the situation to him, and
 3   I told him to take it to his insurance carrier,
 4   which he did because he had insurance with
 5   Travelers.
 6               We later found the dec page, which had
 7   him as a loss payee.  It was secured by Dargan's
 8   Construction Company with him as loss payee.  And
 9   he did do that.  He took it to Travelers.  He never
10   retained me, never asked me to represent him or
11   anything like that.
12               And Travelers later denied coverage,
13   and at the time they denied coverage, they let him
14   go into default, and he brought an action against
15   me in hopes that if a judgment was got -- rendered
16   against him, that maybe he could recoup some of his
17   losses because the insurance company denied
18   coverage.
19               There was extensive litigation, and the
20   case was settled out of court by all parties.
21               MR. GENTRY:  Thank you, Mr. Padgett.
22               Have you sought or received the pledge
23   of any legislator prior to this date?
24               MR. PADGETT:  No, sir.
25               MR. GENTRY:  Have you sought or have
0129
 1   you been offered a conditional pledge of support of
 2   any legislator pending the outcome of your
 3   screening?
 4               MR. PADGETT:  No, sir.
 5               MR. GENTRY:  Have you asked any thirty
 6   party to contact members of the General Assembly on
 7   your behalf?
 8               MR. PADGETT:  No, sir.
 9               MR. GENTRY:  Have you contacted any
10   members of the Commission?
11               MR. PADGETT:  No, sir.
12               MR. GENTRY:  You understand you're
13   prohibited from seeking a pledge or commitment
14   until 48 hours after the formal release of the
15   Commission's report?
16               MR. PADGETT:  Yes, sir.
17               MR. GENTRY:  Have you reviewed the
18   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
19               MR. PADGETT:  Yes.
20               MR. GENTRY:  As a follow-up, are you
21   aware of the penalties for violating the pledging
22   rules?
23               MR. PADGETT:  Yes, sir.
24               MR. GENTRY:  I would note that the Pee
25   Dee Citizens Committee found Mr. Padgett would be
0130
 1   an excellent candidate who would ably serve on the
 2   master-in-equity bench.
 3               I would note for the record that any
 4   concerns raised during the investigation regarding
 5   the candidate were incorporated into the
 6   questioning of the candidate today.
 7               Mr. Chairman, I have no further
 8   questions.
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any questions by
10   any members of the Commission?
11               There being no questions, Mr. Padgett,
12   we appreciate you appearing before us, and I would
13   remind you of the 48 hour rule.  Of course you're
14   in a little different situation, but nevertheless
15   it still applies, and hope you have a safe trip
16   home back to Horry County.
17               MR. PADGETT:  Thank you so much.  I do
18   appreciate that.
19               Do I need to hand these up to -- thank
20   you.
21               (Candidate excused.)
22               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Mr. Weaver?
23               MR. RATHBUN:  Rathbun.
24               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Excuse me, Rathbun.
25   Did you bring anybody with you, Mr. Rathbun?
0131
 1               MR. RATHBUN:  I brought my wife, yes,
 2   sir.
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All right.  Would
 4   you like to introduce her to us?
 5               MR. RATHBUN:  Yes.  This is my wife
 6   Paulette.  She's from Horry County.
 7               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Glad you came to be
 8   with your husband tonight.
 9               MRS. RATHBUN:  Thank you, sir.
10               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Appreciate you
11   being here.
12               THE WIFE:  Thank you.
13               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We have Mr. Paul E.
14   Rathbun who seeks the position as master-in-equity
15   for York County.
16               If you would, please raise your right
17   hand to be sworn.
18               MR. RATHBUN:  If I may correct you,
19   it's for Horry County.
20               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  What did I say?
21               MR. RATHBUN:  You said York.
22               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Oh, I'm sorry.
23   Horry County.
24               (Candidate sworn.)
25               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
0132
 1               The Judicial Merit Selection Commission
 2   has thoroughly investigated your qualifications for
 3   the bench.  Our inquiry has primarily focused on
 4   nine evaluative criteria which have included a
 5   survey of the bench and bar; a thorough study of
 6   your application materials; verification of your
 7   compliance with state ethics laws; a search of any
 8   newspaper articles in which your name may appear;
 9   and a study of any previous screenings; or a check
10   for any conflicts of interest.
11               There are no affidavits filed in
12   opposition to your candidacy or election, and there
13   are no witnesses here to testify.
14               Do you have a short opening statement
15   you'd like to make?
16               MR. RATHBUN:  Yes, sir, I do.  I thank
17   the Commission for this opportunity.  I know that
18   you folks have had a busy two days and you're going
19   to have some more time.  I appreciate what you're
20   doing.
21               I believe that I've got the
22   qualifications to be a master, and I'm hoping that
23   you have the same opinion of me at the end of the
24   evening.
25               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.  If
0133
 1   you would, answer any questions counsel might have.
 2               MS. SHULER:  Good evening, Mr. Rathbun.
 3               MR. RATHBUN:  Good evening.
 4               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman and members
 5   of the Commission, I have a few procedural matters
 6   to handle.
 7               Mr. Rathbun, before you you have your
 8   Personal Data Questionnaire.  Are there any
 9   amendments that you would like to make to the PDQ?
10               MR. RATHBUN:  There are.  I have two
11   copies of my amendments if you'd like to have
12   those.
13               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.
14               Mr. Chairman, at this time I would
15   offer that Mr. Rathbun's PDQ, as well as his
16   amendments be entered into the record as an
17   exhibit.
18               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Without objection,
19   it will be done at this point in the transcript of
20   the record.
21               (EXH. 15, Personal Data Questionnaire
22   of Mr. Paul E. Rathbun, admitted.)
23               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Rathbun has also
24   provided a sworn statement with detailed answers to
25   over 30 questions regarding judicial conduct,
0134
 1   statutory qualifications, office administration,
 2   and temperament.
 3               Mr. Rathbun, your sworn statement is
 4   before you.  Are there any amendments you would
 5   like to make to your sworn statement?
 6               MR. RATHBUN:  There are not.
 7               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman, at this time
 8   I would ask that Mr. Rathbun's sworn statement be
 9   entered as an exhibit into the hearing record.
10               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  It will be done at
11   this point in the transcript of the record without
12   objection.
13               (EXH. 16, Sworn Statement of Paul
14   Elbert Rathbun, admitted.)
15               MS. SHULER:  One final procedural
16   matter.  I note for the record that based on the
17   testimony contained in the candidate's PDQ, which
18   has been included in the record, Mr. Rathbun meets
19   the statutory requirements for this position
20   regarding age, residence, and years of practice.
21               Mr. Rathbun, after being a licensed
22   attorney since 1995 in South Carolina, why do you
23   now want to serve as a master-in-equity for Horry
24   County?
25               MR. RATHBUN:  I have -- I turned
0135
 1   60 years old this past summer.  I have a few more
 2   years I would like to work, and to me, after being
 3   a trial lawyer for 13 years, I've been involved
 4   with numerous judges, and I believe that I can
 5   serve as master.  It would be -- to me it's a
 6   logical steppingstone of where I started from.
 7               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  Mr. Rathbun,
 8   currently a hundred percent of your practice is in
 9   the criminal arena and you have never practiced in
10   front of a master-in-equity.  How would you go
11   about additional preparation in order to serve as
12   an effective master-in-equity?
13               MR. RATHBUN:  I would do the studying
14   that I needed to do through the statutes and
15   through the canons.  I have approached the clerk
16   for Judge Cross, who is going to be retiring, and I
17   asked her if she would stay on for a while to
18   soften the transition.
19               I believe that by education and
20   temperament I'd be able to come up to speed in a
21   very quick order.
22               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  Could you
23   explain to the Commission what you believe to be
24   the appropriate demeanor for a master-in-equity.
25               MR. RATHBUN:  Having been a trial
0136
 1   lawyer for 13 years, I know that the advocates want
 2   a level playing field.  They want to approach an
 3   environment where nobody is deemed detrimental to
 4   them or to their clients.  They want to have a
 5   peaceful and calm experience in court.
 6               I believe that any judge needs to be
 7   cognizant of the feelings of the petitioners or the
 8   defendants and of the attorneys.  I don't believe
 9   that putting somebody down, yelling at them is
10   appropriate for a judge.  I think a judge should be
11   professional and yet a calming force for a court.
12               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  If you are
13   selected as a master-in-equity and after you finish
14   serving on the bench, what would you like your
15   legacy to be known?
16               MR. RATHBUN:  That's an interesting
17   question.  I would like to be known as having been
18   an honorable, responsible individual, that my
19   honesty was in the forbearance, and that I treated
20   people the way that they deserved to be treated.
21               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Mr. Rathbun.
22   Some housekeeping issues to cover with you.
23               Have you sought or received a pledge of
24   any legislator prior to this day?
25               MR. RATHBUN:  No, I have not.
0137
 1               MS. SHULER:  Have you sought or have
 2   you been offered a conditional pledge of support of
 3   any legislator pending the outcome of your
 4   screening?
 5               MR. RATHBUN:  I have not.
 6               MS. SHULER:  Have you asked any third
 7   parties to contact members of the General Assembly
 8   on your behalf?
 9               MR. RATHBUN:  I have not.  In fact,
10   I've made it known that I don't want anybody to
11   approach any of the delegates.
12               MS. SHULER:  Have you contacted any
13   members of the Commission?
14               MR. RATHBUN:  Not -- only through --
15   no, not the Commission.  The -- the lawyers.
16               MS. SHULER:  Do you understand that
17   you're prohibited from seeking a pledge or
18   commitment until 48 hours after the formal release
19   of the Commission's report?
20               MR. RATHBUN:  I am aware of that.
21               MS. SHULER:  Have you reviewed the
22   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
23               MR. RATHBUN:  No, I have not.
24               MS. SHULER:  Well, let me make you
25   aware of the penalties if you violate them and
0138
 1   those guidelines on pledging are included in your
 2   application package, and I would encourage you to
 3   go back and review them, and if you have any
 4   questions about them, to please contact me directly
 5   at my office.
 6               MR. RATHBUN:  I did review them some
 7   time ago, yes.
 8               MS. SHULER:  Let me make you aware of
 9   those penalties.  If you're found violating them,
10   it could be considered a misdemeanor, and if
11   convicted, fined not more than a thousand dollars,
12   imprisoned not more than 90 days.
13               MR. RATHBUN:  Yes, ma'am.
14               MS. SHULER:  I would note that the Pee
15   Dee Citizens Committee found that Mr. Rathbun meets
16   the Constitutional qualifications for the judicial
17   position he seeks.
18               Ethical fitness.  Persons interviewed
19   by the committee indicated that he was considered
20   ethical.
21               Professional, academic -- academic
22   ability.  The committee gave him a good rating in
23   this area.
24               Character.  The committee reported that
25   his character was unquestionable.
0139
 1               Reputation.  He enjoys a very good
 2   reputation in the community and among his peers.
 3               Physical and mental health.  There is
 4   evidence that he is physically and mentally capable
 5   of performing the duties required of a judge of a
 6   master-in-equity court.
 7               Experience.  The committee recognized
 8   Mr. Rathbun's legal experience in the criminal
 9   field.  However, it was specifically noted by the
10   committee that he has not appeared in equity court,
11   which is the position for which he applied.
12               Judicial temperament.  The committee
13   gave Mr. Rathbun an adequate rating in this
14   category.
15               In summary, they found that -- him to
16   be a questionable candidate for the
17   master-in-equity position.
18               Is there any response that you would
19   offer to the Pee Dee Citizens Committee findings?
20               MR. RATHBUN:  There is.  While I've not
21   practiced in equity, I have literally spent
22   thousands of hours in city court, magistrate's
23   court, general sessions, and of late in family
24   court before dozens of judges.  I have had the
25   opportunity to witness good judges and how they
0140
 1   treat people.
 2               I believe that all those skills that
 3   I've learned as a trial lawyer will transfer to
 4   equity court.  That's -- I can't change what I have
 5   not done.
 6               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Mr. Rathbun.
 7               Let me just note for the record that
 8   any concerns raised during the investigation
 9   regarding the candidate were incorporated into his
10   questioning today?
11               And, Mr. Chairman, I have no further
12   questions for this candidate.
13               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any member of the
14   Commission have any questions for Mr. Rathbun?
15               Senator Knotts?
16               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Mr. Rathbun, how about
17   telling me what you know about the duties and
18   running of the day-to-day operation of the
19   master-in-equity and what it handles and --
20               MR. RATHBUN:  My understanding,
21   Senator, is that the master handles sales for
22   properties that have come into foreclosure.  The
23   master also conducts trials for equity and for law
24   and any cases that are referred from common pleas.
25   That's --
0141
 1               SENATOR KNOTTS:  And you haven't
 2   handled any of those cases?
 3               MR. RATHBUN:  I have not.
 4               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Thank you.
 5               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Anybody else have
 6   any questions for Mr. Rathbun?
 7               There being no further questions,
 8   Mr. Rathbun, we thank you for being before us this
 9   evening, and again I would remind you about the 48
10   hour rule.  You're in a little different situation
11   than the other potential candidates, but
12   nevertheless it still applies, and we wish you well
13   and hope you and your wife have a safe trip back
14   home.
15               MR. RATHBUN:  Thank you.
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
17               MR. RATHBUN:  Appreciate everything.
18               (Candidate excused.)
19               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Good evening,
20   Mr. Weaver.
21               MR. WEAVER:  How are you, sir?
22               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All right.
23               We have before us this evening
24   Mr. John L. Weaver who seeks a position of
25   master-in-equity for Horry County.
0142
 1               If you would, raise your right hand to
 2   be sworn.
 3               (Candidate sworn.)
 4               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you.
 5               The Judicial Merit Selection Commission
 6   has thoroughly investigated your qualifications for
 7   service on the bench.  Our inquiry has primarily
 8   focused on our nine evaluative criteria, which
 9   include a survey of the bench and bar; a thorough
10   study of your application materials; verification
11   of your compliance with state ethics laws; a search
12   of newspaper articles in which your name may have
13   appeared; a study of any previous screenings that
14   you may have been involved in; and a check for
15   economic conflicts of interest.
16               There are no affidavits filed in
17   opposition to your election, and there are no
18   witnesses present to testify.
19               Do you have a brief opening statement
20   you'd like to make?
21               MR. WEAVER:  Yes, sir, I'd be glad to.
22   For the last eight years I have served as the
23   county attorney in Horry County.  Prior to that
24   time I spent 25 years as a litigator in Florence
25   and Charleston Counties.  I have found my public
0143
 1   service in Horry County as the county attorney
 2   working primarily with our county council
 3   administrator -- but the public service to be a
 4   pleasurable term.
 5               I believe that my experience as a
 6   litigator -- I miss the courtroom environment.  I
 7   believe that serving as a master-in-equity will
 8   provide not only additional public service, but
 9   will allow me more access to the courtroom than I
10   generally have now.  And I hope that my experience
11   would be of benefit to not only the litigators but
12   the local bar before you.
13               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.  If
14   you would, answer any questions our counsel has for
15   you.
16               MR. WRIGHT:  Good evening, Mr. Weaver.
17               MR. WEAVER:  Yes, sir.
18               MR. WRIGHT:  Mr. Chairman and members
19   of the Commission, I have a few procedural matters
20   to take care of.
21               Mr. Weaver, before we enter your PDQ
22   into the record, do you have any amendments?
23               MR. WEAVER:  I do not.
24               MR. WRIGHT:  At this time,
25   Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask that Mr. Weaver's
0144
 1   PDQ be entered as an exhibit into the hearing
 2   record.
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  It will be admitted
 4   into the record at this point, in the written
 5   transcript of record, without objection.
 6               (EXH. 17, Personal Data Questionnaire
 7   of Mr. John L. Weaver, admitted.)
 8               MR. WRIGHT:  Mr. Weaver also provided a
 9   sworn statement with detailed answers to over
10   30 questions regarding judicial conduct, statutory
11   qualifications, office administration and
12   temperament.  That statement was provided to all
13   commission members earlier and is included in your
14   notebooks.  I have no concern for the statement,
15   and with the Commission's approval, I would ask
16   those questions be waived in this public hearing
17   today.
18               Mr. Weaver, before we enter your sworn
19   statement into the record, do you have any
20   amendments to that?
21               MR. WEAVER:  No, sir, I do not.
22               MR. WRIGHT:  At this time,
23   Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask that Mr. Weaver's
24   sworn statement be entered in as an exhibit into
25   the hearing record.
0145
 1               (EXH. 18, Sworn Statement of John
 2   Lawrence Weaver, admitted.)
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Mr. Weaver's sworn
 4   statement will be entered into the record at this
 5   point, in the transcript of record without
 6   objection.
 7               MR. WRIGHT:  One final procedural
 8   matter.  I note for the record that based on the
 9   testimony contained in the candidate's PDQ, which
10   has been included in the record with the
11   candidates's consent, Mr. Weaver meets the
12   statutory requirements for this position regarding
13   age, residence, and years of practice.
14               Mr. Weaver, why do you want to now
15   serve as master-in-equity?
16               MR. WEAVER:  I'll sort of reiterate in
17   perhaps a briefer fashion.  I believe that public
18   service is an important function.  I have that
19   experience as a public servant.  I believe that
20   Horry County needs a master-in-equity that is
21   experienced, well versed in not only the rules of
22   law and court rules, but also has the experience to
23   handle all types of cases that come before us.
24               The master-in-equity is generally seen
25   by many as one who handles real estate
0146
 1   foreclosures, and of course we have plenty of those
 2   in Horry County now.  But in my experience with the
 3   county over the last eight years, our
 4   master-in-equity, Judge Cross, has considered many,
 5   many technical, far-reaching, broad issues far
 6   beyond real estate matters.  Copyright versus
 7   Freedom of Information is the case heard by the
 8   Supreme Court that originated in our county.
 9               I think that my experience and my
10   willingness to serve as a public servant are the
11   two prime factors as to why I would like that
12   position.
13               MR. WRIGHT:  Mr. Weaver, can you please
14   tell the members of the Commission what you think
15   is the appropriate demeanor for a judge.
16               MR. WEAVER:  I think the most important
17   demeanor for a judge probably is cooperative,
18   leadership, but more importantly, it is the
19   temperament of concern for the litigants and
20   concern for the lawyers.  In a case before a judge,
21   the attitude displayed by the judge in ensuring
22   that there is an atmosphere of cooperation and an
23   atmosphere of leadership at the same time, ensuring
24   that the litigants who are there who are generally
25   not familiar with the courtroom environment, it is
0147
 1   an intense environment, and if there is an
 2   atmosphere of cooperation and a calm demeanor
 3   exercised by the judge, that will create a more
 4   subtle environment in which a case is to be
 5   litigated.
 6               I believe that from a judicial
 7   standpoint leadership is also important.  Taking
 8   control of the courtroom.  The lawyers in the case
 9   have often worked several years.  They know their
10   case well.  They are advocates for their particular
11   case.  And if you can -- and they will -- they
12   should go to the extremes in representing their
13   clients on both sides.  I think it is important
14   that the judge display the necessary leadership to
15   ensure that a full and fair trial is presented, but
16   at the same time not allow any situation to get out
17   of control.  I believe I have that quality and that
18   personality.
19               I also will say this.  I do not believe
20   on any given case and every case that a judge has
21   to be the smartest person on every issue before
22   him.  There are two lawyers at least on each case.
23   They know the case.  They know the facts.  A judge
24   needs to be prepared not only to be fair but
25   willing to learn, and if -- and if a judge has that
0148
 1   demeanor, a judge has that willingness and openness
 2   to learn specific issues that are before him and to
 3   render a fair verdict, I think those are examples
 4   of what's necessary.
 5               MR. WRIGHT:  Mr. Weaver, if you were
 6   elected as master and were to serve as master, what
 7   would you want your legacy to be?
 8               MR. WEAVER:  Using Horry County
 9   language, I would say I would want to be known as a
10   fair straight shooter.  I can't think of anything
11   more important than that.  That everyone who
12   appeared before me, win or lose, would be able to
13   say that they got a fair shake, that they were
14   treated politely and courteously, that they were
15   given the full opportunity to present their side,
16   and the verdict, whether it be favorable or
17   unfavorable, was rendered in a fair and equitable
18   manner.
19               MR. WRIGHT:  Mr. Weaver, in your PDQ
20   you mentioned a lawsuit that was filed against you
21   by a former client.  Can you please briefly explain
22   the nature and disposition of this lawsuit.
23               MR. WEAVER:  Yes, sir.  I represented
24   the estate of a widow -- of a lady who had died.  I
25   represented her husband.  There was an issue that
0149
 1   was raised about underinsurance.  There was a
 2   $100,000 underinsurance policy in Mr. Edgeworth's
 3   case.  We made a demand upon the carrier for that.
 4   They declined that coverage.
 5               I explained to Mr. Edgeworth that we
 6   could bring the lawsuit against that and litigate
 7   that issue.  He chose not to do that.  The case
 8   would have originated in North Carolina, in the
 9   mountains of North Carolina.  We were in Charleston
10   at the time.  Because of the tragic death, because
11   of the location, he chose not to do that.
12               The case was settled.  He got his money
13   from the at-fault party and went his way.  More
14   than a year later I received a letter from that
15   underinsurance carrier saying that they had
16   reevaluated, that they wanted to see the documents
17   that had been signed in the primary case, the
18   release, and I sent that letter -- I of course had
19   not seen Mr. Edgeworth for at least a year by that
20   time.  I sent the letter to him and suggested that
21   he seek an attorney.  Since I was the one who had
22   handled it originally, I suggested that he see
23   another attorney and determine whether or not --
24   what his course of action should be.
25               Did not hear from him for a long period
0150
 1   of time.  One day I received a call from a
 2   Charleston attorney, and I know there are a number
 3   of Charleston people in here, so I don't care to
 4   mention his name.  And I was told that I would call
 5   the insurance company and ask that the release that
 6   had been signed by Mr. Edgeworth some years earlier
 7   be substituted for a covenant not to enforce a
 8   judgment.  That would have opened the door for
 9   possibly that underinsurance coverage.
10               I told the attorney that I had not
11   heard from Mr. Edgeworth, took him at his word that
12   he represented Mr. Edgeworth.  Told the attorney
13   certainly that was something that he could do, that
14   I did not represent Mr. Edgeworth any longer, that
15   he could do that.
16               What I did not put in that report was
17   that I was told that I would either do that or I
18   would be sued.  And never hearing from
19   Mr. Edgeworth, I was not intimidated by that
20   threat, and in fact a lawsuit was brought against
21   me.  And really for the benefit of Mr. Edgeworth
22   more than myself, while it was contested, it was
23   contested very nominally, and my carrier paid
24   50 percent of the underinsurance benefits.
25               MR. WRIGHT:  Thank you, Mr. Weaver.  I
0151
 1   have just a few housekeeping issues.
 2               Have you sought or received the pledge
 3   of any legislator prior to this date.
 4               MR. WEAVER:  I have not.
 5               MR. WRIGHT:  Have you sought or have
 6   you been offered a conditional pledge of support of
 7   any legislator pending the outcome of your
 8   screening?
 9               MR. WEAVER:  No.
10               MR. WRIGHT:  Have you asked any third
11   parties to contact members of the General Assembly
12   on your behalf?
13               MR. WEAVER:  I have not.
14               MR. WRIGHT:  Have you contacted any
15   members of the Commission?
16               MR. WEAVER:  No, sir.
17               MR. WRIGHT:  Do you understand that you
18   are prohibited from seeking a pledge or commitment
19   until 48 hours after the formal release of the
20   Commission's report?
21               MR. WEAVER:  I do.
22               MR. WRIGHT:  Have you reviewed the
23   Commission's guidelines on pledging?
24               MR. WEAVER:  Yes, sir.
25               MR. WRIGHT:  And to follow up, are you
0152
 1   aware of the penalties for violating the pledging
 2   rules; that is, it's a misdemeanor and upon
 3   conviction a violator must be fined not more than
 4   $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 90 days?
 5               MR. WEAVER:  I am aware of that.
 6               MR. WRIGHT:  I would note that the Pee
 7   Dee Citizens Committee found Mr. Weaver to be an
 8   exceptionally regarded candidate who would ably
 9   serve as a master-in-equity.  I would just note for
10   the record that any concerns raised in the
11   investigation regarding the candidate were
12   incorporated into the questioning of the candidate
13   today.
14               Mr. Chairman, I have no further
15   questions.
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any member of the
17   Commission have any questions for Mr. Weaver?
18               There being no questions for
19   Mr. Weaver, Mr. Weaver, we thank you for appearing
20   before us tonight.  I remind you about the 48 hour
21   rule.  Of course you're in a little different
22   situation than the usual candidate in the way y'all
23   are elected, but it still applies.  And with that,
24   thank you for being here and I hope you have a safe
25   trip home.
0153
 1               MR. WEAVER:  Thank you very much.  Good
 2   night.
 3               (Candidate excused.)
 4               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Do y'all want to
 5   vote on these things?  I hear a motion for
 6   executive session?
 7               PROFESSOR FREEMAN:  So moved.
 8               SENATOR KNOTTS:  So moved.
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We're now in
10   executive session.
11               (The Committee went into executive
12   session at 7:24 p.m.)
13                *     *     *     *     *
14   
15   
16   
17   
18   
19   
20   
21   
22   
23   
24   
25   
0157
 1               (The Committee came out of executive
 2   session at 7:26 p.m.)
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We are now in open
 4   session.
 5               PROFESSOR FREEMAN:  I move that each of
 6   the candidates be qualified.
 7               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Everybody in favor
 8   of finding the candidates qualified, raise your
 9   hand.
10               MS. SHULER:  Did Senator Ford leave his
11   proxy with anybody?
12               And you're voting your proxy?
13               MR. HARRELL:  Yes, I am.
14               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Which one are you
15   calling on now?
16               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  I guess I'll
17   start -- everybody in favor of Cynthia Graham Howe
18   being nominated and qualified, raise your hand.
19               MS. SHULER:  One, two, three, four
20   five, six, seven, eight.
21               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Everybody in favor
22   of Carol D. Padgett being qualified and nominated,
23   raise your hand.
24               MS. SHULER:  One, two, three, four,
25   five, six, seven, eight.
0158
 1               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Everybody in favor
 2   of Paul E. Rathbun being qualified and nominated,
 3   raise your hand.  Nobody raised their hand.
 4               Everybody in favor of John L. Weaver,
 5   nominated and qualified?
 6               MS. SHULER:  Howe, Padgett and Weaver.
 7               (A recess transpired.)
 8               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All right.  We have
 9   before us this evening the Honorable Olin Davie
10   Jones Burgdorf who is the master-in-equity for
11   Orangeburg County.
12               Judge, if you would, raise your right
13   hand to be sworn.
14               (Candidate sworn.)
15               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
16               The Judicial Merit Selection Commission
17   has thoroughly investigated your qualifications for
18   continued service on the bench, and our inquiry has
19   focused primarily on nine evaluative criteria,
20   which has included a survey of the bench and bar; a
21   thorough study of your application materials;
22   verification of your compliance with state ethics
23   laws; a search of newspaper articles in which your
24   name may have appeared; a study of any previous
25   screenings; and a check for economic conflicts of
0159
 1   interest.
 2               We have no affidavits filed in
 3   opposition to your candidacy and no witnesses here
 4   to testify.
 5               Do you have a brief opening statement
 6   you'd like to make?
 7               JUDGE BURGDORF:  Well, sir, I just
 8   appreciate y'all doing your job.  I want to say a
 9   special thanks to Ms. Shuler for being such a very
10   helpful person in the process and which this is
11   probably the third or fourth time I've gone through
12   it, and I think this is probably the most pleasant
13   experience I've had in the process so far.  So I
14   appreciate that.
15               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.  If
16   you would, answer any questions Ms. Shuler has for
17   you.
18               MS. SHULER:  Good evening, Judge
19   Burgdorf.  You have before you your PDQ, Personal
20   Data Questionnaire, and your sworn statement.  Are
21   there any amendments you would like to make to
22   either of your application documents?
23               JUDGE BURGDORF:  No, ma'am.  I don't
24   see anything, any changes that need to be made.
25               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Judge Burgdorf.
0160
 1               Mr. Chairman, at this time I would ask
 2   that Judge Burgdorf's Personal Data Questionnaire
 3   and sworn statement be entered into the record as
 4   an exhibit.
 5               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Both the PDQ and
 6   sworn statement will be entered into the record at
 7   this point in the transcript without objection.
 8               (EXH. 19, Personal Data Questionnaire
 9   of Mr. Olin Davie Jones Burgdorf, admitted.)
10               (EXH. 20, Sworn Statement of Olin Davie
11   Jones Burgdorf, admitted.)
12               MS. SHULER:  I would also note for the
13   record that Judge Burgdorf meets the statutory
14   requirements for this position regarding age,
15   residence, and years of practice.
16               Judge Burgdorf, you have served as a
17   part-time master-in-equity for Orangeburg County
18   since 1996.  Recently your --
19               JUDGE BURGDORF:  1986.
20               MS. SHULER:  1986.  Excuse me.  For the
21   last 12 years.
22               Recently your performance on the
23   Judicial Merit Selection Commission's practice and
24   procedure test causes me to ask you how you went
25   about your preparation for that test.
0161
 1               JUDGE BURGDORF:  Basically I -- well, I
 2   made a mistake, first of all.  I have to admit
 3   that.  And I hate to make excuses, but there are
 4   certain areas that I just did not know were going
 5   to be on the test and I did not study for, one of
 6   which was the canons of judicial ethics.  I've read
 7   them over many times, but I did not make a special
 8   preparation for that before the test.  And I admit
 9   that's certainly a mistake on my part, and like I
10   say, I take full credit for the mistake.  I should
11   have studied that.
12               But I was up on the statutory laws and
13   everything else I thought pretty much, and I feel
14   like that after 23 years of being on the bench,
15   that what I do as part-time judge is basically
16   foreclosure work, and that's, I mean, 90 percent --
17   at least 90 percent of my work is purely default
18   foreclosure work, and so, here again, I tried to
19   study things that were pertaining to what I do as a
20   judge.
21               And I felt like that I was prepared
22   except that I made a big mistake of having a
23   three-day hearing, being in the middle of a
24   three-day hearing when I took the test, and my mind
25   was -- I was nervous and my mind was on this
0162
 1   three-day hearing I was having, and it was a very
 2   complex accounting, and I know -- I hate to make
 3   excuses, but that's basically one of the reasons I
 4   did not do as well as I wish I had done on the
 5   test.
 6               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Judge Burgdorf.
 7               As a follow-up, how did you go about
 8   preparing for cases that you handle as a
 9   master-in-equity, especially default foreclosure
10   cases?
11               JUDGE BURGDORF:  Well, as I say, most
12   of my cases are default foreclosure cases, and I
13   prepare by going over the files, making sure
14   everything is in there, that they followed the
15   rules, that the necessary documents are in there,
16   the rules have been followed by service.  I'm very
17   particular about that.
18               And our case today that we deal with --
19   I thought I was going to be late for this today
20   because I had one where service was a problem.  A
21   very prominent lawyer had missed some people, and
22   we had to go back and make sure that was taken care
23   of.
24               And I try just to make sure all the I's
25   are dotted and T's are crossed, and so I don't like
0163
 1   to let things come back on me and somebody says,
 2   you know, "You didn't do your job."  And so far in
 3   23 years I don't think I've had any complaints,
 4   directly, if not behind my back.  I can't speak for
 5   that, but nothing on -- as master-in-equity.
 6               And I do act as special circuit judge.
 7   I had one spurious complaint made against me that
 8   was dismissed.  It was years ago as circuit --
 9   special circuit judge, but never as master, and
10   no -- nothing has ever been complained about as far
11   as I know of.
12               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  Judge
13   Burgdorf, I know you served part time.  How do you
14   manage the caseload that you have in that position?
15               JUDGE BURGDORF:  I'm very lucky.  I
16   have an excellent secretary, and we try to manage
17   the caseload in a manner that gives the attorneys
18   as much time as they need.  And I offer myself
19   available -- even though I could practice law, I do
20   not, because when I first came on as master in 1986
21   you could not practice law and be master, so I had
22   to give up my practice at that point.
23               Then when the law was changed and I
24   could practice, I was already -- I had already
25   given up my practice, so I decided not to go back
0164
 1   into practice and basically make that my -- even
 2   though it was part time, make it my full-time job.
 3               And so I make myself available.  If I'm
 4   not at my office every day of the week, I make
 5   myself available and have certain days we have
 6   certain hearings on and have everything planned for
 7   those days.
 8               And as I said, there's two of us in the
 9   office.  One full-time staff member, she's there
10   all the time, and myself, and we -- I accommodate
11   lawyers when they need it.  If they need me to be
12   there four days, I'm there four days.  If they
13   don't need me, I'm not.  But I'm always there two
14   days at least minimum, two days a week.
15               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Judge Burgdorf.
16               I would note that the Low Country
17   Citizens Committee reported the following about
18   Judge Burgdorf.  Judge Burgdorf meets the
19   Constitutional qualifications for the judicial
20   position he seeks.
21               Ethical fitness.  Persons interviewed
22   by the committee indicated that Judge Burgdorf was
23   considered ethical.
24               Professional and academic ability.  The
25   committee gave Judge Burgdorf an exceptional rating
0165
 1   in this area.
 2               Character.  The committee reported that
 3   Judge Burgdorf's character is unquestionable.
 4               Reputation.  Judge Burgdorf enjoys a
 5   good reputation in the community and among his
 6   peers.
 7               Physical and mental health.  There is
 8   evidence that Judge Burgdorf is physically and
 9   mentally capable of performing the duties required
10   of a judge of the master-in-equity court.
11               Experience.  The committee recognized
12   Judge Burgdorf's excellent legal experience and
13   judicial experience.
14               Judicial temperament.  The committee
15   gave Judge Burgdorf an excellent rating in this
16   category.
17               Mr. Chairman, I have no further
18   questions for Judge Burgdorf.
19               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Does any member of
20   the Commission have any questions for
21   Judge Burgdorf?
22               There being no questions, Judge
23   Burgdorf, you've been through this process many
24   times, and the only thing I need to tell you would
25   be that you don't have any opposition in here.  So
0166
 1   I hope you have a safe trip home.
 2               JUDGE BURGDORF:  That's it?
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Yes, sir.
 4               JUDGE BURGDORF:  I appreciate that.
 5               SENATOR KNOTTS:  You're through.
 6               JUDGE BURGDORF:  I was hoping y'all
 7   wouldn't keep me here until two o'clock.  I heard
 8   y'all went to two o'clock last night.
 9               SENATOR McCONNELL:  If it's okay with
10   Senator Knotts, it's okay with me.
11               JUDGE BURGDORF:  I appreciate your
12   serving, and I know it's a hard job.  Again I want
13   to thank Ms. Shuler so much for her help.  I had
14   trouble getting here, and she's been extremely nice
15   to get me up here.  I really appreciate that.
16               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Judge Burgdorf.
17               (Candidate excused.)
18               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Next we have
19   Judge Goode.
20               MS. SHULER:  I am going to pass out
21   something that we need to discuss in executive
22   session with him.
23               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Judge, we're going
24   to let you sit over here where this water is.
25               JUDGE GOODE:  Thank you.  I brought
0167
 1   with me Catherine.
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We're glad you
 3   could be here tonight with us.  Nice to meet you
 4   tonight.
 5               Do we need to go into executive
 6   session?
 7               MS. SHULER:  Do you want to do that
 8   first?
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We've got a couple
10   of housekeeping matters to start with.  We have
11   before us the Honorable Kenneth G. Goode who seeks
12   reelection on the circuit court at-large, seat
13   number eight.
14               Judge, if you could, please raise your
15   right hand to be sworn.
16               (Candidate sworn.)
17               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
18               The Judicial Merit Selection Commission
19   has thoroughly investigated your qualifications for
20   the bench.  Our inquiry has focused primarily on
21   nine evaluative criteria which include a survey of
22   the bench and bar; a thorough study of your
23   application materials; verification of your
24   compliance with state ethics laws; a search of
25   newspaper articles in which your name may have
0168
 1   appeared; a study of any previous screenings; and a
 2   check for economic conflicts of interest.
 3               We have no affidavits filed in
 4   opposition to your reelection.  No witnesses are
 5   present to testify.
 6               You have a brief opening statement?
 7               JUDGE GOODE:  Just that it's a life
 8   dream.  I've done it almost ten years, and it's --
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  If you would, turn
10   your microphone on.
11               JUDGE GOODE:  Just a life's dream come
12   true.  I'm from a very modest family of very modest
13   means, and been able to reach this stage in life
14   and be a judge of general jurisdiction is kind of a
15   wow thing for me.  It's just what makes our country
16   what our country is.  That if you're willing to
17   work and do, that you can do okay.  I want to
18   continue to do that.
19               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.  If
20   you would, answer any questions our counsel has.
21               MS. SHULER:  Judge Goode, could you
22   pull the mic a little closer like me and try to
23   speak into it.
24               JUDGE GOODE:  How is that?
25               MS. SHULER:  That's good.  Thank you,
0169
 1   sir.
 2               I have a few procedural matters to
 3   handle with you.  You have before you your Personal
 4   Data Questionnaire, and I understand that you have
 5   an oral amendment to it, Number 5-A, dealing with
 6   the fact that you have recently remarried and that
 7   you wanted to add the date of your remarriage and
 8   your wife's name.  If you could, state that for the
 9   record, please.
10               JUDGE GOODE:  I remarried November 7th,
11   and Catherine Goode.
12               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Judge Goode.
13               You have also before you your sworn
14   statement.  Do you have any amendments to your
15   sworn statement?
16               JUDGE GOODE:  No, ma'am.
17               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman, at this time
18   I would like to offer Judge Goode's sworn statement
19   and PDQ as an exhibit into the hearing record.
20               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  It will be admitted
21   into our record at this point in the transcript
22   without objection.
23               (EXH. 21, Personal Data Questionnaire
24   of Kenneth G. Goode, admitted.)
25               (EXH. 22, Sworn Statement of Kenneth G.
0170
 1   Goode, admitted.)
 2               MS. SHULER:  I would also note for the
 3   record that Judge Goode meets the statutory
 4   requirements for this position regarding age,
 5   residence and years of practice.
 6               Judge Goode, the first question I would
 7   like to ask you deals with the Commission's
 8   practice and procedure test.  You did not meet
 9   expectations on that examination, and I would ask
10   what explanation could you give to the Commission
11   about any factors that may have affected your
12   performance on the examination.
13               JUDGE GOODE:  I've given that a great
14   deal of thought since I was informed that that was
15   the case, and I had -- I had thought I had done
16   well.  When I left speaking with Rick Benson, I
17   walked from there to Justice Pleicones’ office and
18   got married, and I knew that, and I knew it when I
19   was taking the test.
20               And also I had been down for -- to the
21   medical university to see a doctor about a fatty
22   liver, and I don't know what a fatty liver is, but
23   apparently I have one.  And he gave me two new --
24   new medications, and I don't know what they are.
25   One is like an aspirin, but rusty colored.  The
0171
 1   other one is a little teeny one I think.  But I
 2   didn't feel as if that were affecting me.  I didn't
 3   feel that I was overly nervous about the marriage
 4   that was -- at this point the justice was waiting
 5   for me to get there.
 6               And also I don't like to air family
 7   laundry, but the marriage caused a severe breach
 8   with my 25-year-old daughter.  I have two sons and
 9   a daughter.
10               I just think it was a combination of
11   these things.  At midday that day someone brought
12   to my attention that I had on one bedroom slipper
13   and one dress shoe, and so I guess maybe I was a
14   little more nervous than I understood.  But I think
15   that these factors together caused that.  And I've
16   never been a great test taker.
17               But I do feel that I can properly
18   handle a courtroom.  I think that justice comes
19   from my courtroom.  I see several people here who
20   have been there.  And I first try to establish
21   which parameters are legal, and then I attempt to
22   do what's right within the legal parameters.
23               So that's all I can say, Mr. Chairman,
24   is that I think I was more nervous than I thought I
25   was, and as I took the medicine for another couple
0172
 1   days, it does make me a little nervous and -- and I
 2   no longer take it.
 3               MS. SHULER:  Thank you, Judge Goode.
 4               Since 2005 you have been reversed five
 5   times for granting a post-conviction relief, most
 6   of the cases being based on ineffective assistance
 7   of counsel.
 8               Could you explain to the Commission
 9   what you have learned from your recent reversals
10   for granting of PCRs.
11               JUDGE GOODE:  Yes, ma'am.  Of course
12   the loose definition is an act or acts on the part
13   of the defense counsel that are deficient and that
14   that deficient act caused there to be an impact on
15   the outcome.  And I've learned that -- I practiced
16   a great deal of criminal law.  And that it had to
17   be really deficient to qualify, and the first prong
18   of being deficient and that having an impact on the
19   outcome of the trial is -- is difficult to define,
20   and I do think that in the last couple of years
21   that maybe I have learned from the past -- and I
22   don't think that I have had as many as I have
23   earlier.
24               A good lawyer can make a bad mistake,
25   and there have been what I perceived as mistakes,
0173
 1   even though the attorney trying the case enjoys an
 2   excellent reputation and does a good job.
 3               MS. SHULER:  Judge Goode, thank you.
 4               I'd like to ask that we go into
 5   executive session now, Mr. Chairman.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We have some
 7   matters that we need to take up in executive
 8   session.
 9               MR. HARRELL:  So moved.
10               SENATOR KNOTTS:  So moved.
11               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All in favor.
12               We're now in executive session.
13               (The Committee went into executive
14   session at 7:55 p.m.)
15                *     *     *     *     *
16   
17   
18   
19   
20   
21   
22   
23   
24   
25   
0178
 1               (The Committee came out of executive
 2   session at 8:04 p.m.)
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Go ahead,
 4   Ms. Shuler.
 5               MS. SHULER:  I would note that the
 6   Piedmont Citizens Committee reported the following
 7   regarding Judge Goode.
 8               "We find Judge Goode to be a -- very
 9   qualified and an asset to the judicial system.  We
10   also interviewed him personally recently and we
11   hope he can continue in his present position."
12               Mr. Chairman, I have no further
13   questions.
14               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any members of the
15   Commission have any questions of Judge Goode?
16               There being no questions, Judge Goode,
17   I would thank you for -- you and your wife for
18   coming up here today and appearing before us, and
19   hope you have a safe trip back to Winnsboro.
20               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Mr. Chairman, I don't
21   have a question.  Can I just make a statement?
22               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Sure.  You sure
23   can.
24               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Judge Goode, I have
25   watched you in the courtroom over in Lexington
0179
 1   County, and I think -- I concur with the finding of
 2   the Citizens Committee.  I think you're a
 3   workaholic, and you really look after the bench.
 4               JUDGE GOODE:  Thank you so much.  I
 5   try.
 6               SENATOR KNOTTS:  That's it.
 7               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any further
 8   comments or questions?
 9               All right.  Thank you, Judge.
10               JUDGE GOODE:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
11   Thank you so much for giving me this time.  And I
12   don't know to whom this compliment should go, but
13   your staff are incredible.  I mean, they just do a
14   wonderful job.  They're informed.  They -- I've
15   talked with them a number of times and there's
16   never been, "Wait, I'll look," or, "Hold on and
17   I'll see if I can find it."
18               These ladies -- I haven't dealt with a
19   gentleman.  I don't know if you have one, but
20   you've got some real gems in these folks.
21               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you.
22               All right.
23               (Candidate excused.)
24               (EXH. 23, Witness Affidavit Form,
25   admitted.)
0180
 1               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Do I hear a motion
 2   for executive session?
 3               REPRESENTATIVE CLEMMONS:  So moved.
 4               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All in favor, say
 5   aye.
 6               We're now in executive session.
 7               (Off-the-record executive session.)
 8               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  We're back on the
 9   record.
10               MS. SHULER:  Our last candidate for the
11   night.  Do you want to vote now?
12               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Yeah.
13               MS. SHULER:  And we also have to vote
14   on Judge Burgdorf too.
15               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Everybody --
16   anybody --
17               SENATOR KNOTTS:  Why don't we wait and
18   vote all three of them at the end.
19               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Okay.  We'll do
20   them all at one time.
21               Hello, Judge.
22               JUDGE MOBLEY:  Good to see you.
23               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Good to see you.
24               JUDGE MOBLEY:  Good to see you, sir.
25               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All right.  We have
0181
 1   before us the Honorable Barry L. Mobley, retired
 2   family court judge.
 3               Judge Mobley, if you would, please
 4   raise your right hand.
 5               (Candidate sworn.)
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
 7               Judge Mobley, the Judicial Merit
 8   Selection Commission has thoroughly investigated
 9   your qualifications for continued service on the
10   bench.  Our inquiry has focused on our nine
11   evaluative criteria which have included a survey of
12   the bench and bar; a study of your application
13   materials; verification of your compliance with
14   state ethics laws; a search of newspaper articles
15   in which your name may have appeared; a study of
16   any previous screenings; and a check for economic
17   conflicts of interest.
18               We have received one affidavit filed in
19   opposition to your election and one witness is here
20   to testify.
21               Do you have a brief opening statement
22   that you would like to make?
23               JUDGE MOBLEY:  About the complaint
24   that's been made?
25               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  No, sir.  This
0182
 1   hearing.
 2               JUDGE MOBLEY:  No, sir.  As you know,
 3   I'm retired, and I volunteered to come back if
 4   called by the chief justice.  I'm 76.  I would love
 5   to just do what I'm doing.  I thoroughly enjoy it.
 6   I'm trying to do as good as I can.
 7               I'd be delighted to answer anything
 8   further after the complainant --
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
10               JUDGE MOBLEY:  -- testifies.
11               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Would you please
12   answer some housekeeping matters from our staff
13   attorney, Ms. Shuler.
14               JUDGE MOBLEY:  Yes, sir.
15               MS. SHULER:  Good evening,
16   Judge Mobley.
17               JUDGE MOBLEY:  Good evening.
18               MS. SHULER:  I have a few procedural
19   matters.  You have in front of you your Personal
20   Data Questionnaire that you submitted as part of
21   your application.  Do you have any amendments you
22   would like to make to that?
23               JUDGE MOBLEY:  No, ma'am.
24               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman, I would
25   offer that as an exhibit into the record at this
0183
 1   time.
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  It will be so
 3   received at this point in the transcript without
 4   objection.
 5               (EXH. 24, Personal Data Questionnaire
 6   of Berry L. Mobley, admitted.)
 7               MS. SHULER:  You also have before you a
 8   sworn statement.  Do you have anything that you
 9   wish to amend in your sworn statement?
10               JUDGE MOBLEY:  No, ma'am, I do not.
11               MS. SHULER:  Mr. Chairman, I would ask
12   that Judge Mobley's sworn statement be offered as
13   an exhibit to the record today.
14               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  The sworn statement
15   shall be received as part of the record at this
16   point in the transcript.
17               (EXH. 25, Sworn Statement of Berry L.
18   Mobley, admitted.)
19               MS. SHULER:  And, Judge Mobley, if you
20   will, just stay where you are.
21               And, Ms. Boland, if you will, take the
22   microphone in the middle there.  We're going to
23   turn to your complaint.
24               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Ms. Boland, if you
25   would raise, your right hand to be sworn.
0184
 1               (Ms. Boland sworn.)
 2               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, ma'am.
 3   If you would, answer any questions that counsel has
 4   for you.
 5               MS. BOLAND:  Yes, sir.
 6               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Judge Mobley, if
 7   you would, turn your microphone off.
 8               JUDGE MOBLEY:  Turn it off.  Thank you,
 9   sir.
10               MS. SHULER:  I would like to briefly
11   summarize Ms. Boland's complaint.  Ms. Boland's
12   complaint refers to her divorce proceedings that
13   took place before Judge Mobley in March 2003 in
14   family court in Horry County.  It is our
15   understanding that Judge Mobley heard the case with
16   the property settlement portion only, and
17   Ms. Boland's request for a rehearing of Judge
18   Mobley's subsequent order related to the property
19   settlement.
20               Ms. Boland alleges that Judge Mobley
21   did not review her numerous exhibits, used an
22   incorrect valuation date for her husband's property
23   in dividing the marital assets, was abrupt at
24   trial, and did not wait to sign the order until her
25   own attorney had submitted her proposed order to
0185
 1   Judge Mobley.
 2               She also expressed concern with
 3   Judge Mobley's temperament, explaining that his
 4   demeanor was not what she expected from a trial
 5   judge.
 6               Ms. Boland, is that an accurate summary
 7   of your complaint?
 8               MS. BOLAND:  Briefly, yes.
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Is there anything
10   additionally regarding your allegations related to
11   Judge Mobley's character and fitness to serve as a
12   retired judge that you would wish to add?
13               MS. BOLAND:  Only that after -- you
14   know, that he gave -- we asked for an extended time
15   before the -- well, he had required the two orders
16   to be written because my attorney was involved in a
17   child custody case that she had to give her full
18   attention to, so he allowed us the two weeks before
19   her order had to be submitted, and that he did not
20   wait for that order, but on the eighth day the
21   opposing counsel gave the order, and then on the
22   tenth day he signed that order into law, which went
23   against his original order to wait for the two
24   weeks.
25               When we asked for a reconsideration, he
0186
 1   was very vague and didn't -- was not even sure of
 2   the dates himself then, but stated that he thought
 3   that the date for the valuation should be that of
 4   the day of filing, which I went by because I knew
 5   that that was the law also.
 6               But even after that, even after
 7   reconsideration of that, he would not even give us
 8   a chance to at least have the same date to valuate
 9   our accounts.
10               At the time of trial he was very rude
11   to me and my attorney, and he seemed to be very
12   disinterested and did not want to even pay any
13   attention to the material that I had presented to
14   him, and I find it very difficult to understand why
15   he would find a -- rule 100 percent in favor of
16   the -- of my former husband when he had not one
17   single piece of evidence when I had like 15.
18               I truly believe that Judge Mobley was
19   angry at me being in court for that long and
20   presenting that much evidence.  That was his
21   manner.  That's what I observed.
22               And I think that the -- he went against
23   his own order and that he was unsure, that he was
24   unsure of the law, and I believe that he just
25   doesn't really even care.  And I find -- and when I
0187
 1   asked several attorneys for -- to represent me in
 2   the appeal, when they asked me how did this happen
 3   when there was several South Carolina laws of
 4   divorce that were broken in that order, when they
 5   asked me who was the judge that was in charge and I
 6   said Judge Mobley, they said -- they all agreed
 7   that that was the reason why it happened, because
 8   you could not depend on him to rule by the law and
 9   that they could not even prepare a case by the law
10   because he just shot from the hip, as one of them
11   said.
12               MS. SHULER:  Ms. --
13               MS. BOLAND:  I don't think this is good
14   behavior for any judge in a court.
15               MS. SHULER:  Thank you.  Ms. Boland,
16   did you file an appeal of Judge Mobley's decision?
17               MS. BOLAND:  I did.
18               MS. SHULER:  And what was the outcome
19   of that decision?
20               MS. BOLAND:  Again, I did not find
21   favor of the family court.  Again, I don't think
22   they looked at the evidence.  Even in their ruling
23   they went totally against the evidence.  And I can
24   give you one example.
25               When I objected to my salary that I
0188
 1   earned after the date of filing because I had no
 2   income -- I had to take a small part-time job.  My
 3   ex-husband included this in marital assets.  I
 4   figured that he changed the day of court.  We had
 5   not -- we had agreed on everything before we had
 6   come into court.  That day as we sat down in the
 7   courtroom, they gave us a different list of assets
 8   in which they had included that salary.
 9               That should not have been included,
10   which the appellate court agreed, but they said his
11   salary should not have been included either, but
12   his salary was pension, which was so clearly
13   evident in the materials that I gave them.
14               That's just one issue which they just
15   totally ignored.
16               MS. SHULER:  That's all that I have of
17   Ms. Boland.  
18               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Do any Commission
19   members have any questions for Ms. Boland?
20               Okay.  Ms. Boland, if you would, have a
21   seat back there and we'll let Judge Mobley respond.
22               JUDGE MOBLEY:  Thank you, sir.
23               You know, Ms. Boland is a very nice
24   lady.  She says I looked like I was anguished at
25   being in the trial, but there were two good lawyers
0189
 1   in that trial and two very nice people, and I
 2   enjoyed trying the case.  It's one of those things
 3   where the parties were very much in disagreement of
 4   what was -- what should be the outcome of the
 5   trial, and that's the reason that we have trials,
 6   when they can't decide and we have a judge to make
 7   a decision.
 8               I did sign his order first, and there
 9   are a number of cases that I cited in my report, my
10   response to her allegations that say that the trial
11   judge has an absolute right to change his or her
12   mind anytime before the execution of the order.
13   And I really did not change my mind on what should
14   have been in the order, only as to when I was going
15   to sign it, and I signed his order earlier before I
16   got hers.
17               She made the motion to reconsider, and
18   she makes some statements in her complaint that
19   just are not true.  As you know, I am retired, and
20   I was not working all that much at that particular
21   time, and as soon as we could get the -- me back
22   into Horry County and get the motion heard, it was
23   heard, and I considered all of the factors that she
24   submitted, as I had done previous.
25               She makes an allegation that there is
0190
 1   no indication of my requesting the exhibits out of
 2   the file to go with me.  Well, as all of you know,
 3   the chief justice many years ago signed an order
 4   that said the clerk's files are the clerk's files
 5   and shall not be taken out of the courthouse.
 6   Exhibits are special.  They are given to the court
 7   reporter and then given to the clerk of court where
 8   they're kept in a separate secure place.  So if I
 9   wanted to get the files out, I could probably get
10   them out and look at them inside the building, but
11   could not take them outside of the building.
12               I did review the files after we
13   finished that day, and the next morning I had time
14   and I reviewed them.  She wasn't there and doesn't
15   know what I did back in my chambers.  And I
16   reviewed all the files and all the things that she
17   had said, as I did again in the motion to
18   reconsider.
19               I've been a judge since 1982.  I've had
20   some things said about me that I don't believe are
21   true, but one of the problems is if somebody thinks
22   something about you, that's usually true as far as
23   they're concerned even whether I agree with that or
24   not.
25               If you will look at the transcript --
0191
 1   and Ms. Shuler has a copy of the transcript, and
 2   I've reviewed the transcript.  And you can see all
 3   of the statements I made in there I think were very
 4   pleasant conversation with the lawyers.  I used the
 5   word yes, sir and no, sir and yes, ma'am, no,
 6   ma'am, please, thank you, all throughout the trial
 7   when you refer to the statements that I made to the
 8   lawyers.  And I never had any conversations at all
 9   with either one of the clients.  I just don't think
10   that's appropriate during the trial of a case or
11   before the trial of the case or after the trial of
12   the case.
13               So my demeanor is the one thing that
14   hurts me when people think that I'm not good.  I've
15   always tried to have such a demeanor to treat
16   people as I wanted to be treated in court.
17               As I told you earlier, I am retired.  I
18   retired in '01, and I am now subject to the recall
19   by the chief justice if I want to go.  I don't have
20   to try cases.  I can sit on my front porch and make
21   the same amount of money that I'm making holding
22   court down in Conway.
23               She says I was down there six weeks.  I
24   was only down there two weeks.  She says I'm a
25   settling judge.  Well, I try to settle every case
0192
 1   that comes before me.  If I didn't, y'all would
 2   have to elect a hundred more judges and set up
 3   courtrooms to hear it.
 4               And it's a fact that every circuit
 5   judge does.  Every family court judge does.  Even
 6   the federal court systems have that.  They have a
 7   judge in Beaufort who does the mediation on the
 8   appellate court trials in federal court, and we're
 9   doing mediation.
10               You as the General Assembly set up the
11   mediation and the arbitration, and this is the
12   thing of the future, and I don't think you want me
13   to stop trying to settle cases, because we just
14   don't have enough judges.
15               I had some 60 cases on a docket for
16   those two weeks that I was in Conway.  At the end
17   of the two weeks I had finished all of the cases
18   with the exception of one that I just didn't have
19   time to get to.  I settled a lot of them, and I
20   tried a lot of them.  This was one that I settled.
21               I would emphatically deny that my
22   demeanor was abusive or that I did anything wrong.
23   The appellate court has gone over her list of
24   complaints item by item, and they specifically went
25   over those things that she said I did incorrectly.
0193
 1   As a matter of fact, she's saying it now.  They did
 2   that too.  So if I did something wrong in that
 3   case -- the appellate court certainly had
 4   everything and arguments -- well, I believe they
 5   didn't do it with arguments.  Anyway, they had all
 6   the transcripts and all the orders, and they
 7   reviewed this case and said that they affirmed me
 8   without argument, and it was a memorandum of
 9   opinion.
10               I'd be delighted to answer any question
11   for any member of the council.
12               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Any member of the
13   Commission have any questions for Judge Mobley?
14               There being no questions, we'll take
15   this matter under advisement.
16               We appreciate, Judge Mobley, you coming
17   before us.
18               Ms. Boland, we appreciate you taking
19   your time to come down here.  I know it takes a lot
20   of courage to testify in these type matters, and we
21   appreciate your willingness to do that.
22               And with that, we will take this matter
23   under advisement, and we'll wish both of y'all a
24   safe trip home.
25               JUDGE MOBLEY:  Thank you.
0194
 1               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Thank you, sir.
 2               (Candidate excused.)
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  There being nothing
 4   left on our schedule other than executive
 5   session -- okay, counsel tells me that we have some
 6   matters to take up in executive session.  Hear a
 7   motion for executive session?
 8               PROFESSOR FREEMAN:  So moved.
 9               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All in favor, aye.
10               We are now in executive session.
11               (The Committee went into executive
12   session at 8:33 p.m.)
13                *     *     *     *     *
14   
15   
16   
17   
18   
19   
20   
21   
22   
23   
24   
25   
0197
 1               (The Committee came out of executive
 2   session at 8:35 p.m.)
 3               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  The first one is
 4   Judge Burgdorf.  Does anybody not find him
 5   qualified and nominate him?  All in favor of
 6   finding him qualified and nominated, raise your
 7   hand.
 8               MS. SHULER:  You have the proxy.  Seven,
 9   eight, nine.
10               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Okay.  Judge Goode.
11   All in favor of finding Judge Goode qualified and
12   nominated, raise your hand.
13               PROFESSOR FREEMAN:  I abstain and I
14   want it noted.
15               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  All in favor of
16   finding Judge Mobley qualified and nominated, raise
17   your hand.
18               Is there anything else we need to do
19   other than come back at nine o'clock in the
20   morning?
21               SENATOR KNOTTS:  We're coming back to
22   this room?
23               CHAIRMAN DELLENEY:  Yeah.
24               (The public hearings were adjourned at
25   8:36 p.m.)
0198
 1                CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER
 2               I, Yvonne R. Bohannon, Registered Merit
     Reporter, Certified Realtime Reporter, and Notary
 3   Public for the State of South Carolina at Large, do
     hereby certify:
 4   
                 That the foregoing transcript was taken
 5   before me on the date and at the time and location
     stated on page 1 of this transcript; that all
 6   statements made on the record at the time of the
     proceeding were recorded stenographically by me and
 7   were thereafter transcribed; that the foregoing
     proceeding as typed is a true, accurate and
 8   complete record of the proceeding to the best of my
     ability.
 9   
                 I further certify that I am neither
10   related to nor counsel for any party to the cause
     pending or interested in the events thereof.
11   
                 Witness my hand, I have hereunto
12   affixed my official seal this 5th day of
     December, 2008, at Columbia, Richland
13   County, South Carolina.
14   
15                    __________________________
                      Yvonne R. Bohannon
16                    Registered Merit
                      Reporter, CRR
17                    My Commission expires
                      April 11, 2015
18   
19   
20   
21   
22   
23   
24   
25   
0199
 1                               I N D E X
 2                                                              Page
 3   CANDIDATE:
               Catherine Fairey                                     3
 4   
               Alex Kinlaw, Jr.                                    27
 5   
               W. Marsh Robertson                                  52
 6   
               David Rutledge                                      66
 7   
               Honorable Michael Don Stokes                        81
 8   
               Cynthia Graham Howe                                110
 9   
               Carroll D. Padgett, Jr.                            120
10   
               Paul E. Rathbun                                    131
11   
               John L. Weaver                                     141
12   
               Honorable Olin Davie Jones Burgdorf                158
13   
               Honorable Kenneth G. Goode                         167
14   
               Honorable Barry L. Mobley                          181
15   
      CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER                                     198
16   
17