AND IT’S NOT JUST HIS LETHARGIC, EMOTIONLESS CANDIDACY …
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign is set to release what one source termed a “devastating blow” against her Democratic rival for governor, S.C. Sen. Vincent Sheheen.
Democrats bracing for the broadside tell FITS that Haley’s campaign – or at least Republican officials supportive of her bid – has obtained court records from one of Sheheen’s clients that will paint him into a difficult corner.
“The SCGOP has court records of Sheheen negotiating a sex offenders’ sentence from ten years to thirty-eight days,” the source told us, adding that the case involved an offender who “had sex with a 14-year-old girl after getting her high and drunk.”
According to the source, it gets better … or worse for Sheheen.
“The offender got out, then was arrested thirteen more times – for being in a hotel room with a 13-year-old girl, a 14-year-old male and a 16-year-old girl – failing to register as a sex offender, cocaine possession and giving alcohol to minors,” the source said.
The source adds Sheheen was “not the public defender, he got paid.”
Wow …
So who is the offender? Our source declined to provide that information. S.C. Republican Party officials did not respond to our request for comment.
“I’m sure the GOP is going to plaster it all over the media,” our source said.
After nearly rebounding from a 21-point deficit against Haley in 2010, Sheheen has been running an abysmal race this go-round. Most notably, he’s failed to find a way to get to the right of the increasingly liberal Haley on the bread and butter fiscal issues voters care about.
He’s also failed to exploit some of Haley’s glaring vulnerabilities …
Sheheen’s biggest mistake? Read all about it HERE.
UPDATE: Sheheen’s campaign has responded to the allegations against him with a shot across Haley’s bow – specifically referencing the blood on the governor’s hands related to her S.C. Department of Social Services (SCDSS) scandal. Here’s the quote we were provided by Sheheen’s campaign manager, Andrew Whalen …
“If Governor Haley and her SCGOP were truly concerned about children’s safety then she would fire her Social Services Director and stop the incompetence that has resulted in children’s deaths across the state. As a former prosecutor, Vincent has seen what families and victims go through and he has worked to hold criminals accountable. We understand that Nikki Haley is intimately familiar with criminal defense lawyers from her constant ethical violations, but she and the SCGOP should focus less on misrepresenting Sen. Sheheen’s record and get to work stopping more deaths at her Department of Social Services. ”
78 comments
Ok, it sounds as though Sheheen was doing his job for his client, as he is supposed to do. He was the defense attorney, was he not? I don’t see the scandal here. Had he been the judge who released the offender so he could commit additional crimes, there would probably be a gripe, but such is not the case.
So you don’t see any ethical problem?
An ethical problem would be NOT trying to get the sentence reduced. Are you this thick in real life?
Private practice attorneys are allowed to refuse to represent potential clients. He chose to represent the child rapist, so he deserves everything coming his way.
So he was forced to take this repeated child molester as a client? Are you a defense attorney?
are you?
Why would you assume that I was one? Because I badmouthed one?
Aaccording to the article, Shaheen represented him for his FIRST offense. The repeated offenses were later.
No story here.
There was never a “real” story. Just desperate actions by losers.
YES – squishy is that thick!
what do you know about ethics?
Probably more than you. All you see is (R) and (D).
I don’t believe you can see anything.
And all you see is BLACK PEOPLE as the Boogie-Man and you get on here and make all sorts of racist rants . . .
Not at night.
If they have good dental hygiene and are smiling you might.
Teeth and eyeballs…
I don’t like Sheheen, but there is no ethical problem. He’s a defense attorney, it’s his job to do everything he can for his client to have him found not guilty and to negoitate the absolute minimum sentence he can if the client is found guilty. If he didn’t do these things then I would say he had an ethics problem.
What about his decision to representing a repeat child molester as a client? He could have told him to get the fuck out of his office when the client came in waving his checkbook.
If I was an attorney, that’s what I’d say to you, if you walked in to my office.
I’d tend not to select a lawyer who worked out of a strip mall.
Bob Shaver’s upstairs law and barber?
He could have been appointed by the court to represent this individual based on his indigent status!!! Just sayin…..
And he could refuse on moral grounds. Just because the court says you have to represent a client, doesn’t mean you have to agree.
Yes, you do.
Hi Squishy! Re-reading the article, as I originally understood it and still do, the crud was charged with an offense and Sheheen did his job as a defense attorney, and got his sentence reduced.
SUBSEQUENTLY, after this event, the crud committed additional offenses of a similar nature, for which he has been charged. There is nothing I can find, unless I am overlooking something in the article, to indicate that the client had multiple offenses under his belt when initially represented by Sheheen.
Even if there were, again, Sheheen was hired by the defendant to represent him as a defense attorney. In such capacity, it is Sheheen’s job to argue, bargain, plead, and negotiate, for his client’s best interests. I do not see a scandal in this. I am not a Sheheen fan, but as this reads, he was doing his job as he was supposed to.
Seriously, what are the circumstances in this event? How old was the offender, especially on the initial charge that is written about, here? Was he 18-20, or 45-50? There was a time, in fact when many of our grandparents were young, when it was not unusual for a 14 year old girl and a man as old as his early 30’s would pair off and start a family. In fact, quite a few of us might not be here now if people had adhered to the arbitrary legal standards of what ages can or cannot be together in a carnal way, that society has adopted over the last 50-75 years.
Given the repeat offenses, I concede this guy sounds as though he has issues and may be older, but for the first offense at least (and according to our legal system, even subsequent ones), he is entitled to legal representation which puts his best interests first and foremost.
Any anger issues would likely be more appropriately directed at the judge(s) who keep turning him loose to commit more crimes.
So, only defendants you LIKE get to be represented by a lawyer? If you don’t like them, they don’t get to hire one? Not how our system works….. and should never work.
As a private attorney, nobody tells you who you have to represent.
This is America. If my dislike for you is not based on race, creed, sex, national origin, and perhaps sexual preference, I can turn your business down every day of the week. The guy down the street will serve you. There is no shortage of good attorneys willing to represent clients with money.
The criminal sounds like a complete shitstain, but defense attorneys must actually represent their client to the best of their ability, even if they don’t like them.
Only if they agree to take them on as clients. Someone who takes on repeat child molesters for nothing more than a paycheck and does their best to keep them out in society are as bad as those who molest children.
What ethical problem? It would’ve been an ethical problem if he didn’t do all he could to help his client’s defense.
Your face is my case.
You want his face in your case?
Nope, not for a defense attorney. Anger would be more justly vented in the direction of the judge(s) who keep turning this crud loose to commit more crimes. The defense attorney is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing.
Lawyers doing a job by conning the court or using undue influence on judges they appoint. B/S wake up folks. Lawyers are the only folks in this country that get paid to lie and dream up lies.
Good lawyers don’t lie and they don’t dream up lies. Nikki Haley DOES as has been proven time and time and time again. She will sell her soul and South Carolina to the highest bidder….or the first bidder.
What have you been smoking?
“Lawyers are the only folks in this country that get paid to lie and dream up lies.”
.
How charmingly naïve about management almost everywhere.
Management in General do not hold a candle to lawyers simply because lawyers control the system from beginning to end. Wake up!
Yeah, this one is the fault of the prosecutor/judge, not the defense attorney who was doing his job to get the best possible outcome for his client.
I was expecting a “real” problem when I opened this article and read about his “devastating problem.”
I thought you were going to say he caught a cold, with a schnoz that large that could be life threatening.
We can always count on you to make interesting and substantive comments.
What’s he doing with a kid’s aquarium and a package of sea horses?
How old is he, anyway? 12?
Looks like Santa brought him a bunch of them.
He’s a Democrat, he’s trying to figure out how he can get pregnant so his wife doesn’t have to, hence the seahorses.
If the offender is a Democrat, this is some good cred to run for office
His career choice of being acriminal defense lawyer makes me wonder about his
Personal ethics.
You need to read up on the epidemic of LE and prosecutorial misconduct in this country. And, your con-servative US supreme court says that the prosecutors have immunity when they railroad innocent people.
This link about it even mentions SC supreme court justice Beatty:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/03/07/judge-says-prosecutors-should-follow-the-law-prosecutors-revolt/
Just last night, I was reading as story about a man who was at Disney World back in the 80’s when an acquaintance of his was murdered in New York. The guy had video recordings and other solid proof that he was at Disney when the murder occurred. Still, somehow, he was railroaded by the system and one witness who falsely identified him as the murderer, in order to get leniency from the police on another case. The man spent 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. A new DA in New York began digging into the case and the false “witness” recanted her statement. The guy was just released after spending 25 years of his life behind bars for something he did not do.
Two decades as a cop, and I’ve had more issues with prosecutors than with defense lawyers. Too many prosecutors are only interested in conviction rates over justice. It’s strange when police have to fight the solicitor’s office over cases.
Thank You!
That’s your evidence of rampant prosecutorial misconduct- Beatty’s now-infamous delirious threats to start disbarring everyone and Alex Kozinsky from the wackiest, most left-leaning federal circuit in the US? Even the article is weak, and states that Beatty’s rant “reveals” that all of that bad conduct has been occurring (it naturally did no such thing). There’s no epidemic on either side- the problems in the system (which, of course, exist) have remained fairly constant over the past few decades. The cliche is true, though- our system sucks, and is the best one in the world. I know I wouldn’t want to be a defendant in any other country.
It’s a BAD BAD time to be a democrat. That’s his biggest problem, no matter how rich he is getting playing that angle…
The country is in a big mess. people feel beaten down by the federal gov’t…and we are scared to death of the damage Obamacare will cause..and is already causing…
Wash.. DC needs an enema…and SC needs to flush all the Sheheens we have.
He suffers from affluenza.
Even turds need defense attorney’s, just ask Doug Brannon. The difference being that some attorney’s charge the turds to high heaven, others do it for practically free-cause they like turds.
How about the case number?
Looks like Sheheen’s client got arrested almost as many times as Bakari Sellers had his drivers license suspended!
Sheheen/Sellers is quite a ticket!
It’s never going to run. Reason – I bet the defendant was a major GOP player living in Lexington County and a member of the SC National Guard.
It is only a scandal if you already hate him for having a (D) behind his name. His real problem is that he isn’t putting nealry enough effort into attacking Haley on her record.
Wow I didn’t know that you were going to talk about Kirk Pickard and how he rapped someone.
Sheheen’s teenage girl-like response should speak volumes.
Sheheen’s real problem is being from a one-party state. I admire him for not pretending to be a Republican like most of the pols in this state.
Knowing the public’s deep appreciation for scumbag attorneys, I would suspect that Mr. Sheheen might well have a problem…..
38 days, if it had been my daughter I would probably be in for life.
Good lawyers or as a matter of fact no lawyer is put under oath unless there are special circumstances. But who do you think helps defendants dream up ideas and why do they tell defendants not to tell them they are guilty.I have dealt with many a lawyer and yes they give defendants false scenarios that are lies and build a case on them. So spred the B/S somewhere else. Is this or that possible,yes it is a charade and so is court!
Can you translate this into english?
In any event, you have a naive understanding of our system of advocacy. In theory, the “truth” is reached when both sides–prosecutor and defense–put up their best possible case. The system depends on the defendant having someone zealously defend him or her.
While this system is far from perfect, it’s less bad than all the others that have been tried throughout history.
In English,
The system is corrupt,unethical and filled with liars. The Judicial System in America may be one of the best but there are numerous lies presented to juries and lawyers run the system in court from beginning to end. America’s greatest weakness comes from Americans’ believing we are the best at everything and this is a system that has not improved over the last century other than things like DNA,etc and so forth. We have a government that in my opinion murdered Randy Weavers wife,killed 80 folks at Waco,turned its back in Mogadishu,Benghazi and on the USS Cole. We provided weapons for drug cartels and the Attorney General picks and chooses cases by race and political party. I am a retired Police officer and I am ashamed of the system!
All that stuff about Weaver and Waco have nothing to do with America’s jury trial system. If you were ever wrongfully charged with a crime, would you want a criminal defense attorney who did his best for you in front of 12 of your peers, or would you want something different?
It has everything to do with the system. We are supposed to be a nation of laws but the system is rigged to protect politicians,the wealth and those in control. I have never been charged with a crime but I had to use the system and my so called lawyer sold me out. I do not owe this country anything and it certainly no longer has the respect I once gave it. I served in the military and was discharged honorably and I was a Police Officer for over 30 years. I would willingly take a polygraph test to anything I ever testified to and would suggest that any person that has the authority to take you rights away or incarcerate you should do the same. That includes all lawyers and judges. I have personally watched the election system as it was corrupted and testified to the same. America may well still be the best country but we have not progressed as well as we should and most folks will sell themselves for the dollar! You have a lot to learn.
Well any prosecutor worth their salt should be able to expose “false scenarios and lies.” You act like only one side gets to tell their story.
B/S
I have watched many a jury trial and the scenarios that are painted are unbelievable and juries buy them because of personal feeling’s and do not have the ability to discern the truth. Court is a farce and is run from beginning to end by lawyers. Money talks!
Vince was doing what happens a lot in this state. If the victim is above the age of 12, the creeps having sex with them often get an Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature-ABHAN charge, not Criminal Sexual Conduct 1 or 2. If you are a female public school teacher and your victim was a male, you get a Walmart gift card. 16 is the (parents) consent age in this state to get married. It used to be 14.
Hope that Vinny recognizes the ambulance’s brake lights, though there are enough willing to feed on his carcass “on his own behalf” cause the Ambulance must have been trying to back over the closest chaser.
So Sheheen is Ted Nugent’s lawyer. Well no shit.
Vincent Austin Sheheen has a real problem now, Tom Pickett.
I don’t care Who Sheheen defends.If don’t want the sleazeball running the State.This Lad knew He was a career politician and He exposed His true soul anyway.The voters need to know this
I wonder, is this the same sheheen that in 08 or 09 used I 95 as his personal race way, being recorded several times of exceeding 90 mph, and when stopped, used the “legislation body in session” rule to keep from getting tickets, and then he CRITISIES Nicki for doing what ThE STATE AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT requested her to do, while she went ahead and started to gather information on getting FREE monitoring on the affected people