South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Even though the respondent-magistrate made it a practice to disclose to litigants that his wife worked for the sheriff’s office, he failed (1) to disclose, when appropriate, that she supervised deputies involved in a particular matter; and (2) to allow ...

Tagged with: Judges

The testatrix’s will gave her personal representatives broad discretion in making distributions. Given such broad discretion, and despite the fact that the estate was unable to fulfill the testatrix’s specific bequest of $400,000 in cash to her respondent-stepdaughter, the personal ...

Tagged with: Trusts & Estates

In order to prove defendant’s guilt of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the first degree, the state was required to prove either a prior conviction of an offense listed in S.C. Code Ann. § 23-3-430(C) or that defendant ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

After defendant was found guilty of attempted murder based on a theory of transferred intent, this court ruled that transferred intent does not apply to attempted murder. We nevertheless affirm defendant’s conviction because, when he pointed and fired a deadly ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

A deputy sheriff received an anonymous tip that defendant was “cooking dope” in an apartment on Whitmire highway in Joanna. Although the tip was face-to-face, the deputy did not know the tipster, asked no follow-up questions, and did not corroborate ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

Although the limitations period of the arbitration clause in the parties’ contract is one-sided and oppressive, this unconscionable provision is severable.  As modified, we affirm the circuit court’s grant of defendant’s motion to dismiss and compel arbitration.  When plaintiffs bought ...

Tagged with: Arbitration

Before the building height restriction in their neighborhood was lowered from 75 feet to 45 feet, the appellant-landowners sought and received setback and buffer variances. At that time, appellants submitted neither a 1”=30’ scaled site plan nor a written narrative ...

Tagged with: Real Property

Where (1) police officers approached a parked car because they believed the car’s loud music violated the town’s noise ordinance; (2) the officer on the driver’s side noticed the smell of marijuana, and the driver admitted to having smoked marijuana ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

Even though the arresting officer knew of the complainant’s history of aggression towards the plaintiff’s decedent, the statements of the complainant and her son gave the officer probable cause to arrest the decedent for assault and battery after her altercation ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights

The stated asked us to review whether the Court of Appeals (1) improperly interpreted S.C. Code Ann. § 23-3-430(D) and the legislative intent behind it, (2)  improperly ignored the proper standard of appellate review by weighing evidence and substituting its ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations