AND ONCE AGAIN, SOUTH CAROLINA’S BLACK CAUCUS IS “ALL UP IN IT”
|| By FITSNEWS || While one judicial scandal rages in South Carolina, another is bubbling below the surface … with allegations of vote trading rocking yet another judicial election in the notoriously corrupt S.C. General Assembly.
Wait … didn’t we see these headlines last year? Yes, we did.
And we’ll continue to see them, sadly … because lawmakers in this state are totally incapable of choosing judges based on their merits. Instead, it’s all about who you know. Or who you’re related to.
South Carolina is the only state in the nation in which the legislative branch determine the candidates for each judge’s seat – and then votes on them. Has that process worked? Hell no.
This time the vote trading revolves around a race for the S.C. circuit court – specifically the seat vacated recently by judge Stephanie McDonald, who moved up to the state’s court of appeals.
There are three candidates for the at-large circuit court post – attorneys Jerome P. Adkins, Tanya Gee and Clifford Scott.
According to our sources, one of the candidates in the race – Adkins – sought a judicial post previously but was told by lawmakers it was not his time.
“Run again and we will be with you,” Adkins was told by legislative leaders.
“This is illegal,” a lobbyist familiar with the race told FITS. “You cannot commit your vote in advance of races.”
That’s correct … but remember, this is South Carolina. Lawmakers here can’t be bothered to follow the laws they pass (especially those dealing with public corruption).
Anyway … according to our sources Scott is reportedly dropping out of the race, meaning it’s now down to Adkins (a self-described “country lawyer”) and Gee (a former appellate court clerk).
“Apparently, (Scott) took being black for granted and didn’t work,” one source familiar with the vote count tells FITS.
Ouch …
That means the votes of the S.C. Legislative Black Caucus (which were previously with the black candidate) are now available for, um, “rent” – with supporters of Adkins and Gee making entreaties.
Shameful … but again, not surprising. If they’re not deciding something purely on the basis of skin color, the black caucus is voting on the basis of who is giving them the biggest sop.
Ah, black “leadership.” Gotta love it …
19 comments
What you be talkin bout Will(is)?
It’s absurd that Gee is even in the running. Askins has been engaged in a diverse law practice since 1976, which is one year before Gee was born. In contrast with Askins’ nearly 40 years of practice experience, Gee has practiced for about six months, collectively, mostly doing appeals and not being in a real courtroom. She has no meaningful experience as an attorney in a trial court, although she did hold hands with criminals and their families when she was worked for the public defender’s office. The rest her experience is as a law clerk at the court of appeals, which is an ivory tower. The disparity in experience is probably the greatest ever seen in a judicial race in SC, except for maybe when Ros Frierson ran for the family court without having ever appeared in family court as a practicing attorney. Gee and Frierson are the protégés of Jean Toal, and Gee would perpetuate the liberal activism of Toal and her allies. Gee is also an unabashed advocate of criminals and opponent of criminal victims, which makes her objectivity impossible to consider appropriate for the bench.
Tanya Gee:
Special Counsel,
Nexsen Pruet LLC – April 2012 to present
· Member of the Business Litigation Practice
Group and Appellate Practice Group, regularly appearing in the Circuit Court,
Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court of South Carolina.
· Frequent lecturer at Continuing Legal
Education Seminars, providing case law updates to the bench and bar.
· Mentor for the Appellate Litigation
Project, which provides attorneys in private practice with the opportunity to
appear before the appellate courts in criminal appeals.
Clerk of Court, South
Carolina Court of Appeals- January 2010 to
March 2012
Administered the state’s intermediate
appellate court, consisting of nine active judges, one retired judge,
their chambers, the staff attorneys’ offices, the docketing offices, and
all support personnel.
Relied upon as being the “face and voice”
of the Court, handling all outside correspondence.
Ruled on hundreds of administrative
motions, ranging from extension requests to dismissals.
Chief Staff
Attorney, South Carolina Court of Appeals- August
2007 to December 2009
Supervised and trained ten attorneys, orally
presented motions to panels of judges, and organized over a dozen CLE
programs.
Author of the Law Clerk and Staff Attorney
Manual and previous editor of the South Carolina Appellate Courts’
Standard of Review Outline.
Law Clerk to Chief
Judge Kaye G. Hearn, South Carolina Court of
Appeals – August 2002 to August 2007
Responsible for reading cases, researching
the law, and writing and orally presenting opinions.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND RECOGNITION
Member of the Liberty Fellowship Class of
2012.
Member of The State newspaper’s 2010 “20 Under 40” class of young
professionals.
2009 Recipient of the U.S.C. Law School
Alumni Association’s Silver Compleat Lawyer Award.
Inaugural class recipient of the 2009 “Leaders
in the Law Award” presented by SC Lawyers Weekly.
Event Chair for Richland County Young
Lawyer Division’s Book Drive and Kids’ ID Project.
Ebenezer Lutheran Church (Sunday school teacher
for high school youth; Organizer of service project where lawyer-members
of the church drafted wills and health care powers of attorney for low
income retirees).
EDUCATION
University of South Carolina School of Law- J.D., May 2002
GPA: 3.58/4.00, top 15%
Recipient of the Bronze Compleat Lawyer
Award (selected by law school faculty and administration), the Claude Sapp
Award (selected by vote of the 3L class), Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year
Award (3L year), Pro Bono Outstanding Service Award (1L and 2L years),
CALI Award for Property I, Hoefer Toal Scholarship, Justice Ness
Scholarship, and Susan McCrary Scholarship.
Member of the Order of Wig and Robe, S.C.
Law Review (Associate Student Works Editor), USC Law Pro Bono Board
(President), and Public Interest Law Society (President 2L and 3L years).
Volunteer for Richland County’s Guardian Ad
Litem Program and Logan Elementary School.
Author of Comment, South Carolina’s Abandoned
Baby Statute: A Band-Aid Remedy for the Baby-Dumping “Epidemic,” 53
S.C. L. Rev. (Fall 2001).
Winthrop University- B.A. in Sociology- May 1999
GPA: 3.89/4.00 Magna Cum Laude; Minor: Professional Writing
Fogot: SC Girls State 1996
High School Who’s Who 1995
Add: Gee promises to do any and everything Toal and her hand picked successor to be Chief Justice Kaye Hearn until Toal is stone cold dead in her grave. Amen.
Nexsen Pruet is trying to take Betsy Gray’s firm’s position as Toal’s biggest asshole kisser. Vickie Eslinger is trying her damnest there.
Just because you managed to pass the Bar some 40 years ago and kept your head above water does not make you a good lawyer, much less a qualified Judge!!
Just because you survived a horrible battle with cancer does not make you a good lawyer, much less a qualified Judge!!
Wow!! Let’s hope you never have to battle cancer; but if you or a loved one does, let’s hope you do it with as much dignity and determination as she has; Tanya Gee is the most qualified candidate and it has nothing to do with race, religion or her illness!! This post regarding her illness was callous, malicious and CHILDISH!! Maybe the other guy shouldn’t have cut deals last time and then sat on his laurels waiting for his turn!! AND BTW, Kaye Hearn will not be the next Chief Justice; work on getting your facts straight too!
Repugnant, CNSYD…hope you don’t believe in Karma, because it’s gonna kick you in the backside. If you are a non-believer, at least you won’t be worrying about it until the fateful day.
Just because you manage to stay up Jean Toal’s ass does not make you good lawyer, much less qualified to be a judge.
Hmmm…now what, Simon M?
The scandal is with the Electric Co-ops using their influence to push Candidate Tanya Gee who’s husband works for the co-ops. They are using lobbyists and the co-op network to push her. Looks like it is backfiring.
Jean Toal is using Bob Coble to help Gee, too. They know a thing or two about judicial vote trading.
Yep looks like it backfired on the Hon. Tanya Gee…what next Co-op Scandal?
US Attorney General Bill Nettles and SC Atty Gen Alan Wilson gave them the green light to go back to their same old ways, I tell you.
The Midlands Citizen’s Committee on Judicial Qualification found Ms. Gee to be “Qualified” in the evaluative criteria of professional and academic ability, physical health, and experience. The Committee found Ms. Gee to be “Well Qualified” in the remaining evaluative criteria of constitutional qualifications, ethical fitness, character, reputation, mental stability, and judicial temperament. The Committee stated in related comments, “Ms. Gee has impressive credentials in the area of appellate law. Such attorneys also acquire exceptional knowledge of case law and statute law, and, no doubt, has Ms. Gee. The Committee has questions about her lack of trial experience.” The Committee stated in summary, “Ms. Gee’s lack of trial experience prevents her from being “Well Qualified,” but otherwise, she is qualified to serve as a Circuit Court Judge.”
Ah Black leadership gotta love it
Fits
Oh it’s about in the same boat with”conservative leadership.”
Adkins or Askins???????????????