Judicial Secrecy

  • State law keeps judicial income hidden from public

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Under state court rules, judges must avoid even the “appearance of impropriety” in all of their activities, and “minimize the risk of conflict” with their official duties. Citizens, however, typically have no easy way of determining whether the income sources of many South Carolina judges or their...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    March 10, 2022

  • Judicial department releases staff salaries after legal pressure

    By RICK BRUNDRETT More than three months after ignoring The Nerve’s written requests, the S.C. Judicial Department has released an updated salary list of state judges and other higher-paid court staff, which shows 141 employees making at least $100,000. The third branch of state government responded to The Nerve only...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    March 04, 2022

  • Lawmakers secretly nominate ex-legislator for judge’s seat

    By RICK BRUNDRETT As expected, the Horry County legislative delegation last week nominated former House member Alan Clemmons as the county’s master-in-equity judge. But House and Senate members who make up the delegation didn’t  nominate Clemmons –  who had been a longtime delegation member – during a public meeting in...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    February 09, 2022

  • Judicial panel hiding behind secrecy law

    By RICK BRUNDRETT A legislatively controlled committee isn’t saying publicly why it found a longtime circuit court judge unqualified – and state law requires the secrecy. The six-legislator, 10-member Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) on Dec. 1 voted 9-0 not to qualify Horry County circuit judge Steven John, who has...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    January 26, 2022

  • Ex-House member top candidate for judgeship?

    By RICK BRUNDRETT Next month, the Horry County legislative delegation could recommend one of three master-in-equity judicial candidates to the governor for appointment to the six-figure seat. One of the candidates is former state Rep. Alan Clemmons, a Myrtle Beach attorney who was a longtime member of the Horry County...
    Rick Brundrett

    Written by
    January 19, 2022