Articles Posted in In The News

On Wednesday, May 23 2007, State newspaper reporter, Rick Brundrett, reported that S.C. Court of Appeals Judge Donald Beatty (55) from Spartanburg, South Carolina became only the 3rd African-American in South Carolina history to join the state’s highest court.

The former state representative defeated two colleagues on the Court of Appeals — Chief Judge Kaye Hearn of Conway and Bruce Williams of Columbia — to win the seat of retiring S.C. Supreme Court Justice E.C. Burnett.

Judge Beatty is the first African-American to be elected to the five-member court since Ernest Finney Jr. retired in 2000 after six years as the state’s first black chief justice and a total of 15 years on the court.

The court’s first black member was Jonathan Jasper Wright, who served from 1870-77 during Reconstruction.

Judge Beatty said he starting thinking about the Supreme Court about six to eight months ago after being asked to run. Beatty, who served in the military and also on Spartanburg City Council in the late 1980s, was one of 7 children and said growing up in a large family helped him to “negotiate and compromise.

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State reporter, Aaron Gould Sheinen, reported on Monday, May 21, 2007 that the race for a seat on the state Supreme Court has become “bloody,” according to a state lawmaker.

South Carolina is one of the few states where lawmakers alone pick judges for family court, circuit court, Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court and judicial elections are almost always contentious.

“The process is flawed from the start,” Rep. Mitt Pitts, R-Laurens, said last week. “I’m seeing relationships eroded to the point that I believe it’s going to affect what the body does legislatively for the next few years. The floor is getting bloody..

This year’s Supreme Court race is especially heated for several reasons:

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Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post reported on Wednesday May 16 that federal court has ruled that a white teacher in a predominantly black school was subjected to a racially hostile work environment.

The case involved teacher Elizabeth Kandrac, who was verbally abused by black students at Brentwood Middle School in North Charleston, South Carolina. Despite Ms. Kandrac’s frequent complaints, school officials did nothing to stop the harassment. School official said the racially charged profanity was simply part of the students’ culture and that if Kandrac couldn’t handle cursing she was in the wrong school.

Kandrac finally filed a complaint with the EEOC and ultimately filed a lawsuit against the Charleston County School District. The case was tried and the jury found that the school was a racially hostile environment to teach in and that the school district retaliated against Kandrac for complaining about it.

U.S. District Judge David C. Norton recently affirmed the verdict after the defendants asked for a new trial.

The judge found, however, that the jury’s finding of $307,500 in damages for lost income and emotional distress was not supported by the evidence and a new trial would have to be held to determine the appropriate measure of damages. Kandrac and the school district end up settling the case for $200,000.

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This week the U.S. Supreme Court refused the request of South Carolina to argue ownership of over 400 letters from the Civil War, clearing the way for the surviving heir to send the letters to auction this summer. The letters had been in possession of the family of Thomas Willcox since 1865. At that time, Major General Evander McIver Law, great-great uncle of Mr. Willcox, amassed the letters during burning of Columbia which include correspondences from General Robert E. Lee as well as several Civil War figures of South Carolina.

Three years ago, Mr. Willcox had planned to sell the letters, worth an approximate $2.4 million when Attorney General Henry McMaster sued on behalf of the state to block the sale on the grounds that the letters are the property of the state. The letters were taken from Mr. Willcox and stored in a bank vault pending outcome of the trial. In October of 2006; a panel of judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond upheld the ruling of a lower court that stated Willcox owns the letters and could have them back.

Mr. Willcox decided to sell the letters three years ago when faced with foreclosure on his home and another property. Now more than ever the sale is a necessity, “Because the state tried to seize the documents, he had to file bankruptcy,” Willcox’s attorney, Kenneth Krawcheck said. “We’re working under a bankruptcy court approved plan that calls for an auction once these sorts of issues have been resolved. It’s time to go do that..

The Associated Press reported on Sunday, May 6, 2007 that a high school senior who was arrested for writing a violent essay for an English class may return to school and will be allowed to graduate with his class.

Allen Lee, who wrote the essay on April 23, 2007 at Cary-Grove High School in Chicago, was arrested the next day on two misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct. Lee, an honor student with a 4.2 grade point average, was readmitted following negotiations with school district officials. According to Mr. Lee’s attorney, Dane Loizzo, the meeting with the school board officials resulted in an agreement that Allen Lee was “not a threat and never was a threat and he should be treated as such”.

Loizzo contended that charges against Mr. Lee were the product of paranoia as a result of the massacre of 32 students at Virginia Tech.

Lee’s essay read in part: ” Blood, sex and booze. Drugs,drugs,drugs are fun. Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, s…t…a…b… puke. So I had this dream last night where I went into a building, pulled out two P90s and started shooting everyone, then had sex with the dead bodies. Well, not really, but it would be funny if I did”.

Despite the graphic nature of Mr. Lee’s essay, his attorney said that the teacher had told students: “Be creative; there will be no judgment and no censorship.”

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In an article published on Friday, April 27, 2007 in the Charleston Post and Courier the Reverend Joseph A. Darby, Senior Pastor of Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church, shares his thoughts on the continuing confederate flag debate in South Carolina. The most recent rash of controversy has been stirred up as a result of University of South Carolina football coach, Steve Spurrier, taking a public position in opposition to the flag.

For those of you unfamiliar with the confederate flag debate in South Carolina, a few years ago the flag was removed from the top of the State Capital and placed in another, still prominent, place on the State House grounds.

Rev. Darby’s article is largely in response to statements made by Sen. Glenn McConnell who is a confederate flag supporter. In referring to the NAACP sanctions resolution, Rev. Darby starts out by saying that “the Senator and I disagree on what constitutes sovereign placement.” The NAACP resolution maintains that the only flags that should fly in front of any public building, whether a post office, a school or the state house should be the flags of an existing sovereign government. The resolution goes on to state that the bipartisan compromise which placed the flag on State House grounds has failed to resolve the issue.