Cases can settle at any time. While most cases settle before trial, nothing prevents litigants from negotiating after a case is appealed. I’ve had a couple of cases settle after an appeal is filed. So long as the ultimate result is uncertain–i.e., remittitur hasn’t issued–both parties have some incentive to reach an agreement. A procedural […]
Archive for May, 2013
South Carolina Supreme Court looks to state constitution’s right to privacy in finding due process requires judicial review of lifetime electronic monitoring of sex offenders
South Carolina is one of the few states with an explicit right to privacy within the state constitution. S.C. Const. art. I, §10. One of my early legal interests and my first published piece on the law regarded our state’s constitutional protection of the right to privacy. When“Privacy Rights in South Carolina After Singleton v. State” […]
Supreme Court finds harmless error in denial of counsel for termination of parental rights
The May 8, 2013 Supreme Court opinion in Broom v. Jennifer, 403 S.C. 96, 742 S.E.2d 382 (2013), affirmed a termination of parental rights (TPR) despite the appellant Mother having apparently completed the treatment plan from the removal action and being erroneously denied counsel at the beginning of the TPR proceedings. The Child at issue was initially removed […]
Supreme Court reconsiders equitable distribution of marital home
In a May 8, 2013 substituted opinion in Wilburn v. Wilburn, 403 S.C. 372, 743 S.E.2d 734 (2013), the South Carolina Supreme Court made minor modifications to its previous equitable distribution decision. While some of the analysis on other equitable distribution issues was modified, the only change in the Supreme Court’s previous ruling was on the equitable […]
Court of Appeals reverses termination of parental rights as not in child’s best interests
The May 3, 2013 Court of Appeals opinion in SCDSS v. Cameron N. F. L., 403 S.C. 323, 742 S.E.2d 697 (Ct.App 2013), (dig those initials) reversed the termination of parental rights (TPR) of a nine year old special needs child because it found such termination was not in the child’s best interests. Both the factual and evidentiary […]
No lesson learned two years after the spanking
Two years after the United States Supreme Court reversed the South Carolina Supreme Court in Turner v. Rodgers, 131 S.Ct. 2507 (2011), I see no evidence that our family court system has taken any of Turner’s ruling to heart. This is partially the fault of our state Supreme Court, which has failed to exercise its […]