SUPREME COURT RECEIVES COMPLAINTS, OPENS INQUIRY …
|| By FITSNEWS || Formal complaints against an Upstate, S.C. judge have prompted an official judicial branch investigation.
A source at the S.C. Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) confirmed that magistrate Tina Gibson McMillan of Spartanburg County, S.C. – who was appointed to her post in 2010 by S.C. Senator Lee Bright – is the focus of an inquiry.
If McMillan’s name sounds familiar, it should. She was the focus of this exclusive report last month.
What’s she done?
According to our sources, the complaints received by the ODC focus on the nature of McMillan’s relationship with a Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputy who frequently testified before her court. The officer – James Tate – was deposed not long ago in connection with McMillan’s ongoing divorce case.
During that deposition, Tate acknowledged McMillan had tipped him off about the questions he would be asked – including questions about text messages exchanged between the two.
“She said, ‘Hey, you know, there is going to be a thing about the text that I sent you, the joke I played on you.’” Tate said during the deposition.
According to our sources, the “joke” involved illicit messages sent between McMillan and Tate – an exchange in which the judge was “pretending” to be a romantic interest.
Unfortunately, we can’t learn much more about this situation because her divorce records were improperly sealed by Barnwell, S.C. family court judge Agnes Dale Gable at the request of S.C. Rep. Doug Brannon (who, it’s worth noting, was instrumental in securing state money for restoration efforts at Barnwell’s courthouse).
Yeah …
The corruption just never stops in this state, does it?
We challenged South Carolina lawmakers to address judicial corruption last fall … but they didn’t. And then the judiciary got even more corrupt. They say they’re going to address it this year, but we’ll believe that when we see it.
In the meantime, we’ll be sure to let you know what the investigation of McMillan uncovers …
21 comments
Judges pretend to be love interests of Sheriff’s deputies all the time.
Don’t they?
Uniform fetish.
Is there any trend here – all these investigations tend to be on Upstate folks.
Es verdad, Rocky.
Many sighs of relief are being heaved down here along the coast of SC over that very fact.
“Maybe I approach the bench your Honor?”
“Only if it’s on your hands and knees, carrying my riding crop in your mouth, slave.”-The Honorable Tina Gibson McMillan
(the above is fictional, for entertainment purposes only, it may or may not have actually happened)
This one’s for Shifty!
***********
In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, ‘Mrs. Jones, do you know me?’ She responded, ‘Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a big shot when you haven’t the brains to realise you’ll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.’
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, ‘Mrs. Jones, do you know the defence attorney?’
She again replied, ‘Why yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He’s lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.’
The defence attorney nearly died.
The judge asked both counsellors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said,
‘If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I’ll send you both to the electric chair.”
In small towns like Barnwell that also serve as the county seat, beautiful old courthouses dominate the town squares and serve as a reminder of the lofty goals of our system of justice. They are well worth saving for posterity.
Why is it NEVER a circuit court judge? Over the years, many most certainly should have been “investigated.” Some even thrown off the bench like Segars-Andrews. Most all SC Magistrates are not even lawyers. And its not a requirement. It use to be all you were required to have in SC was a high school education and you would be a magistrate. That was not all that long ago, either. Can you imagine all the constitutional violations? Why, there are even attorneys coming out of USC who do not even know constitutional law. Is it even taught there?
T. M. says:
October 15, 2013 at 8:03 AM
The South Carolina family courts is a cult that cares none about children. Above the law in every way these worthless judges do every thing possible to destroy men and their children daily. In Aiken, S.C. a female judge has damaged my son and I forever mentally and financially I’ve been forced by a sex discriminating judge to go through $200,000 worth of assets to protect my child. Virtually everything I’ve worked my life for has been used we are virtually homeless. I own two homes when this started. I had two hundred thousand dollars in the bank. I had an adulteress wife. I filed charges of adultery with 5 witnesses and the judge refused to see it. Even though state law clearly states that I should have been divorced and 30 days with proof of adultery. I also filed charges of criminal domestic violence where she had admitted to a police of trying to stab me and it was ignored like it never happened.http://familycourtinamerica.org/family-law-practice-state/south-carolina-family-court/
South Carolina
Corruption Risk Report Card
Rank among 50 states: 45th
Exposing corrupt lawyers in South Carolina
by tiredoflawyersinsc » Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:06 am
I have been involved in 5 years of Family court litigation in Beaufort County SC. It is the grossest abuse of process. I have not initiated any of the 5 years worth of litigation. My ex-spouse sues for sport. The court accommodates my ex-spouse and allows themselves to be used as a means of harassment. No merit in filings but Beaufort County Family Court just wants to fill their dockets with useless litigation that has no real meaning. South Carolina has been ranked third worst state to divorce in for length of litigation and cost. South Carolina isn’t interested in cleaning up the Family Court abuses because that would mean less money in the pockets of corrupt judges and lawyers. Profit made on the backs of children.
Why South Carolina is One of the Most Corrupt States in the Nation …. http://thenerve.org/news/2013/01/14/Viewpoints-Fay/
SC Circuit Court Judge Thomas Hughston Long History of Corruption … “Is he really the ‘Felon’s Friend’? …. He let a convicted child molester go free, put him back on the street without any prison time at all … Cops in SC do not like him … prosecutors protect him .. He is labeled as “The Felon’s Friend” … Court records have allegedly been destroyed to protect him from Judicial Complaints … http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130824/PC16/130829556/1177/is-he-really-the-x2018-felon-x2019-s-friend-x2019
A magistrate is not a “judge” – doesn’t even need a law degree. And if Nikki Haley can cheat with total impunity, Tina should be able to get some too.
Is it cheating of you have an open marriage?
Well ,yeah, they are.
They preside over trials and have the power to imprison people ,issue restraining orders, assess fines,hear lawsuits involving claims of up to 7500 dollars,evict tenants, conduct bail proceedings ,preside over Preliminary Hearings, issue arrest and search warrants, and perform other judicial functions.
That’s why they are subject to “judicial” discipline.
The term “Judge” depends on whether one exercises judicial power,not the qualifications for the position.Indeed, the legislature could require that all Magistrates be lawyers.
The fact is though that Magistrates exercise judicial power and are indeed, “Judges.”
It is ironic that we call this the “land of freedom” when corruption is a part of our court system. A lawyer in South Carolina was found guilty of over $1 million in extortion. “Breibart is accused of persuading clients to turn over large sums of money to him by concocting fictitious stories about claimed threats of criminal prosecution or hefty civil penalties from which he could protect them, among other wrongful conduct.” He used his position of power in the court system to blackmail his clients for money
It was more extortion than blackmail. There had to be more people involved in his scheme other than him and they walked away scot free. I know of one land grab deal that he was in cahoots with a judge on.
Lawyer in Charleston secretly and indirectly threatened with arrest by FBI agents if lawyers acted on intent stated in letter to adversary.
“A source at the S.C. Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC)”
Um . . .
It’s The World Gone Crazy Cotillion!