Written Permission Required

The South Carolina Supreme Court imposed public reprimand on a former County Magistrate and Municipal Court Judge as a result of an Alford plea to two criminal offenses:

In early January 2007, respondent was arrested and charged with two crimes:  1) “Misconduct in Office.  Violation Section 8-1-0080/Common Law” and 2) receiving information in his official capacity concerning the unlawful sexual misconduct of a county employee and failing to report the information to law enforcement as required by S.C. Code Ann. § 44-23-1150(E) (Supp. 2007). On or about March 15, 2007, respondent was indicted on both charges in the Aiken County General Sessions Court.  In particular, the first indictment for misconduct in office alleged respondent had committed acts of fraud and corruption while acting in his official capacity as a judge and that he had disregarded his duties to enforce the law of the State in violation of S.C. Code Ann. § 8-1-80 (Supp. 2007).  The second indictment alleged respondent had received information in his professional capacity regarding the sexual misconduct of a county employee with a South Carolina Department of Corrections inmate and then failed to report the information to the appropriate law enforcement authority in violation of S.C. Code Ann. § 44-23-1150(E) (Supp. 2007).

In addition to the reprimand, he may not seek judicial office without the court’s express written permission. (Mike Frisch)