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October 2006 |
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The summary below each case is prepared to offer lawyers and the public a general overview of what issues are included in a case which will be argued. The summary is not a limit on what issues a party to a case may present at oral argument.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4265 The State, Respondent v. Kamell Delshawn Evans, Appellant. Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, of South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka and Assistant Attorney General Melody J. Brown, of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia and Solicitor Robert M. Ariail, of Greenville, for Respondent. This is an appeal from a capital sentencing proceeding. Appellant argues the trial court erred by not submitting to the jury an additional statutory mitigating circumstance provided by S.C. Code § 16-3-20(C)(b)(6).
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10:00 a.m. | |
4266 Doctors Hospital of Augusta, L.L.C., Plaintiff v. CompTrust AGC Workers' Compensation Trust Fund, Defendant. C. Mitchell Brown, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, of Columbia and Steven M. Wynkoop, of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, of Greenville, for Plaintiff. Clinton Jason Echols and Nathan Montgomery Rymer, both of Houston, Texas, Sterling G. Davies and Weston Adams, III, both of McAngus, Goudelock and Courie, LLC, of Columbia and G. Thomas Chase, of McAngus, Goudelock and Courie, LLC, of Greenville, for Defendant. This is a certified question addressing the proper forum for a fee dispute between an out of state medical care provider and a Workers’ Compensation Insurance carrier.
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10:30 a.m. | |
4267 Ronnie W. Ellison, Petitioner v. Frigidaire Home Products, Employer, and WCI Outdoor Products, Carrier, Respondents. Edgar W. Dickson, of Williams & Williams, of Orangeburg, for Petitioner. E. Ros Huff, Jr., of Irmo, for Respondents. In this workers' compensation case, Employer appeals an award for total disability where the combined effect of the claimant's pre-existing conditions and a workplace injury to a scheduled member resulted in an inability to return to work.
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Wednesday, October 4, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4268 James R. Davis, Stephen King, Walter Robbie Robinson, Hannah R. Timmons, and Danny Young, individually and as members of the Recreation Commission of Richland County, Appellants v. The Richland County Council as Governing Body of Richland County and Mark Sanford, as Governor of the State of South Carolina, Respondents. Belton Zeigler and Travis Wheeler, of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Robert D. Cook, Assistant Deputy Attorney General J. Emory Smith, Jr., of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, for Respondent, Mark Sanford as Governor of the State of South Carolina. M. Elizabeth Crum, Francenia B. Heizer and Robert T. Bockman, of McNair Law Firm, P.A. and Larry Cornell Smith, all of Columbia, for Respondent, Richland County Council. This is an appeal from the circuit court’s denial of a temporary injunction. The appellants are members of the Richland County Recreation Commission, who sought an injunction to prevent the Richland County Council from enforcing the provisions of Act No. 207, 2005 S.C. Acts 1961. The Act devolves upon the Richland County Council the authority to recommend members of the Recreation Commission to the Governor. Under prior law, that authority was held by the Richland County Legislative Delegation. The Act also provided that the terms of the Commission previously appointed by the Richland County Legislative Delegation would expire on June 30, 2005.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4273 CASE DISMISSED-ORAL ARGUMENT CANCELLED - The Recreation Commission of Richland County, Appellant v. The Richland County Council as governing body of Richland County and Mark Sanford, as Governor of the State of South Carolina, Respondents. Belton Zeigler and Travis C. Wheeler, of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster and Assistant Deputy Attorney General J. Emory Smith, Jr., of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, for Respondent, Mark Sanford, as Governor of the State of South Carolina. M. Elizabeth Crum, Francenia B. Heizer and Robert T. Bockman, of McNair Law Firm, P.A. and Larry Cornell Smith, all of Columbia, for Respondent, Richland County Council.
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10:30 a.m. | |
4269 Craig A. Hurst, Appellant v. East Coast Hockey League, Inc., Knoxville Cherokees Hockey, Inc., d/b/a Pee Dee Pride Hockey, and d/b/a Florence Pride Hockey, Florence City-County Civic Center Commission, d/b/a Florence City-County Civic Center, City of Florence and County of Florence, Respondents. Stephen J. Wukela, of Florence, for Appellant. Robert Thomas King, of Willcox, Buyck and Williams, of Florence, for Respondents. This case involves the issues of whether the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment (1) to all Respondents on the ground Appellant assumed the risk of injury from an errant hockey puck by voluntarily attending the hockey game; (2) to all Respondents on the ground Appellant failed to prove the elements of negligence; and (3) to Respondents’ City of Florence and County of Florence on the ground that the South Carolina Tort Claims Act immunizes them from liability.
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Thursday, October 5, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4270 Doe Law Firm, Petitioner v. Henry B. Richardson, Jr., Disciplinary Counsel and Henry Dargan McMaster, Attorney General, Respondents. Desa Ballard and Jason B. Buffkin, of Law Offices of Desa Ballard, of West Columbia, for Petitioner. Michael James Virzi, of Columbia, for Respondent, Henry B. Richardson, Jr., Disciplinary Counsel. Assistant Deputy Attorney General J. Emory Smith, Jr., of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, for Respondent, Henry Dargan McMaster, Attorney General. John S. Nichols, of Bluestein and Nichols and Thad H. Westbrook, of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, both of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae, South Carolina Bar. James C. Harrison, Jr. and Andrew S. Radeker, of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae, South Carolina Financial Services Association, Inc. Sue Berkowitz and Robert Thuss, of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae, Appleseed Legal Justice Center.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4271 The State, Respondent v. Christopher Frank Pittman, Appellant. Arnold Anderson Vickery, Paul F. Waldner and Fred H. Shepherd, of Vickery and Waldner, LLP, of Houston, Texas and Henry J. Mims, of The Mims Firm, of Greer, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka and Assistant Attorney General S. Creighton Waters, of Office of the Attorney General and Solicitor Warren Blair Giese, all of Columbia, for Respondent. Christopher Pittman appeals his convictions and sentence for double homicide, raising several issues including: the constitutionality of his conviction and sentence, juror misconduct, the family court’s waiver of jurisdiction, the admissibility of a confession, and a failure to charge the jury on voluntary/involuntary manslaughter.
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10:30 a.m. | |
4272 In the Interest of Johnny Lee W., a minor under the age of seventeen, Appellant. Assistant Appellate Defender Eleanor Duffy Cleary, of South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott and Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Mark Rapoport, of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, and Solicitor Cecil Kelly Jackson, of Sumter, for Respondent. This case involves the issue of whether appellant’s guilty plea is invalid as a conditional guilty plea.
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Tuesday, October 17, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4274 The State, Respondent v. Clinton Robert Northcutt, Appellant. David I. Bruck and Robert Edward Lominack, both of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, and Solicitor Donald V. Myers, of Lexington, for Respondent. This is a death penalty case involving a homicide in Lexington County. Appellant argues that the circuit court erred by denying his request to submit homicide by child abuse as a lesser-included offense and by requiring his expert witnesses to generate written reports for the prosecution. Appellant also argues that the circuit court erred in admitting certain evidence and that the solicitor’s closing argument prejudiced the jury such that the death sentence should be vacated.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4275 South Carolina Department of Social Services, Respondent v. Thomas Ashley Inman and Andrea Davis, Defendants, of whom Thomas Ashley Inman, is Appellant. In the interest of: Jacob Inman, 1/12/00, a minor under the age of 18. Gregory Samuel Forman, of Charleston, for Appellant. Graves H. Wilson, Jr., of Summerville and Deborah Murdock, of Greenville, for Respondent. Appellant, Thomas Ashley Inman, appeals from the family court’s finding that he abused his child, arguing that his due process rights were violated by the “preponderance of the evidence” standard used in abuse and neglect cases. Father also contends that hearsay evidence presented pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 19-1-180 violated the Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution and South Carolina Constitution.
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10:30 a.m. | |
4276 The State, Respondent v. Martha Banda, Appellant. Robert M. Dudek, of South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott and Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Mark Rapoport, of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, and Solicitor Robert M. Ariail, of Greenville, for Respondent. Appellant Martha Banda, a citizen of Zimbabwe, appeals the trial court’s denial of (1) her motion to suppress evidence of drugs recovered during an automobile stop on the grounds that it was the search was invalid under Terry; and 2) Appellant’s motion to suppress her statement to police on the grounds that law enforcement violated a U.S. treaty by its failure to advise her of her right to contact her foreign consulate upon her arrest and detainment.
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11:00 a.m. | |
4257 In the Matter of Brigina Dicks-Woolridge, Respondent. Disciplinary Counsel Henry B. Richardson, Jr. and Senior Assistant Disciplinary Counsel Barbara M. Seymour, of Columbia, for Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Ms. Brigina Dicks-Woolridge, Pro se Respondent. This is an attorney disciplinary matter.
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Wednesday, October 18, 2006 | |
09:30 a.m. | |
4278 The State, Respondent v. Christopher F. Davis, Petitioner. Chief Attorney Joseph L. Savitz, III, of South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, of Office of the Attorney General, of Columbia, and Solicitor Barbara R. Morgan, of Aiken, for Respondent. The issue in this criminal case is whether the Court of Appeals correctly held that the trial court did not err by admitting hearsay evidence.
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10:00 a.m. | |
4279 Eller Media Company and Ed Carver d/b/a Wallpapers by Lynne, Respondents/Appellants v. City of North Myrtle Beach, Appellant/ Respondent. Michael H. Battle and Salley W. Peace, of Battle & Vaught, PA, of Conway, for Appellant-Respondent. Douglas Michael Zayicek, of Bellamy, Rutenberg, Copeland, Epps, Gravely and Bowers, of Myrtle Beach, for Respondents-Appellants. In this cross-appeal, the issues raised by the City of North Myrtle Beach include whether the master-in-equity committed reversible error by finding (1) the City’s ordinances allow a free-standing business sign and a nonconforming, freestanding billboard on the same property; (2) state law preempts the City’s ordinances; and (3) the City is estopped from revoking Ed Carver’s sign permit. Eller Media Company and Ed Carver d/b/a Wallpapers by Lynne appeal the master-in-equity’s ruling on First Amendment issues.
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