http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-20T15:49:15-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/sex-reassignment_surgery_of_infant_in_states_care_violated_due_process_adop/ The adoptive parents of a baby born with both male and female genitalia claim the state of South Carolina violated their child’s constitutional rights by subjecting the child to sex-reassignment surgery. The child, identified as “M.C.,” was 16 months old when surgeons removed the toddler’s male genitals before the adoption,… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Government Law, Tort Law, Medical Malpractice, Trials & Litigation, States, South Carolina Wed, 15 May 2013 07:39:10 -0500 44188.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ogletree_leader_says_he_quit_over_lawyer_issue_is_taking_group_and_10m_busi/ A now-former vice president of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Steward has made an unusual announcement. Don Prophete, 45, says he has resigned from the South Carolina-based national labor and employment boutique over a dispute about its treatment of a lawyer he recruited. Although he apparently has no firm plans… Careers, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, States, Missouri, South Carolina Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:16:06 -0500 43578.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/Missing_lawyer_faces_multiple_lawsuits/ A suspended South Carolina lawyer has been named as a defendant in multiple lawsuits and is also facing an ongoing legal ethics investigation. But Mark Brunty appears to be missing, along with the $700,000 that Brunty was supposed to have used to purchase property, his partners in a real estate… Legal Ethics, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, South Carolina Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:50:47 -0500 43369.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/court_overturns_settlement_of_james_brown_estate/ The South Carolina Supreme Court has overturned a settlement of the late singer James Brown's multimillion-dollar estate. In its ruling Wednesday, the court chastised former state attorney general Henry McMaster, who brokered the settlement between Brown's survivors, for turning a blind eye to the late singer's wishes, the Celebrities, Entertainment & Sports Law, Trusts & Estates, States, South Carolina Thu, 28 Feb 2013 18:09:45 -0600 43050.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/courthouse_gunman_wounds_two_leads_police_in_car_chase/ A South Carolina man has been charged with shooting and wounding a young mother and her stepfather outside a courthouse in Chesterfield County on Wednesday. Police say 57-year-old Curtis Gorny was charged after a car chase in which he fired at officers pursuing him, report the Charlotte… Criminal Justice, Family Law, Judiciary, Court Security, States, South Carolina Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:23:45 -0600 42865.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/genl_counsel_for_sc_motor_vehicles_dept_is_reprimanded_for_writing_judges/ The general counsel for South Carolina's department of motor vehicles has been reprimanded by the state supreme court for writing a number of letters to judges to express objections to their orders concerning tickets, but not copying pro se defendants. General counsel Frank Valenta didn't realize the ex parte communications… Government Law, In-house Counsel, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, States, South Carolina Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:22:53 -0600 41971.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/handcuffed_defendant_takes_plea_decks_defense_counsel_with_a_single_punch/ A handcuffed defendant suddenly took a swing at defense counsel in court after pleading guilty on Tuesday in a South Carolina criminal case, knocking the surprised attorney backward to the floor as a security camera caught the entire incident. Already sentenced to the 15-year maximum Tuesday as a result of… Criminal Justice, Public Defenders, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Judiciary, Court Security, Trials & Litigation, States, South Carolina Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:26:15 -0500 41021.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/partying_teens/ News of criminal suspects being identified by posts on Facebook and other social media sites isn't all that unusual. But a homeowner in Tega Cay, S.C., didn't even know his house had been the site of an apparent trespass by partying teens, at a time when the entire family was… Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, South Carolina Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:04:20 -0500 40983.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/investigators_say_there_are_likely_more_immigration_victims_of_disbarred/ At least 10 people paid a disbarred South Carolina lawyer for immigration services he didn't provide and authorities say they expect more victims to surface. Former Hilton Head lawyer Michael George Wyman, who opened Wyman's Immigrant Angels Inc. in March, was charged this week with 10 counts of breach of… Criminal Justice, Immigration Law, Legal Ethics, States, South Carolina Fri, 28 Sep 2012 06:15:35 -0500 40910.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suspended_s.c._lawyer_breibart_indicted_accused_of_extorting_money_from_cli/ A prominent South Carolina lawyer recently suspended from practice has been federally indicted on extortion and mail fraud charges. Richard J. Breibart is accused of bilking clients of $1.1 million by pressuring them to give him the contents of their bank and retirement accounts by telling them they or their… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Law Firms, Partners, Solos/Small Firms, Legal Ethics, 4th Circuit Court, States, South Carolina Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:06:47 -0500 40807.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_court_nixes_cert_petition_by_pro_se_lawyer_objecting_to_public_admoniti/ The nation's top court has rejected without comment a pro se petition for a writ of certiorari by a New York lawyer publicly admonished by a federal appeals court for his handling of a South Carolina criminal identity theft and wire fraud case. Called out for what the Richmond, Va.-based… Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court, 4th Circuit Court, States, New York, South Carolina Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:29:52 -0500 40461.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_orders_dui_defendant_to_write_report_on_book_of_job/ A South Carolina judge has ordered a DUI defendant to read and write a summary of the Old Testament book of Job. Judge Michael Nettles also sentenced 28-year-old Cassandra Tolley to eight years in prison after she pleaded guilty in a drunk-driving crash that seriously injured two people, according to… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, States, South Carolina Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:34:11 -0500 39552.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_is_suspended_amid_allegations_he_punched_and_bit_a_cop_who_tasered_h/ A South Carolina lawyer won’t be allowed to practice law during an investigation of allegations that he punched and bit a state trooper in Utah. Charleston lawyer Michael DuPree was placed on interim suspension last month due to his arrest in Park City, Utah, the Criminal Justice, Legal Ethics, States, South Carolina Fri, 11 May 2012 07:44:24 -0500 38756.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_accused_of_smuggling_contraband_into_jail_to_influence_witness_again/ A lawyer admitted in Georgia and South Carolina is facing the loss of law practice privileges in both states after pleading guilty to 11 misdemeanors in a case concerning contraband smuggled into the Richmond County Jail. Sidney “Chuck” Jones, 59, who practiced in Aiken, S.C., was accused by authorities of… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Georgia, South Carolina Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:37:13 -0500 37925.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/homeowner_on_60_minutes_foreclosure_program_will_get_18m_settlement_in_whis/ A Florida homeowner and foreclosure fighter who was featured on a 60 Minutes program about the so-called robo-signing scandal concerning improperly attested documents is scheduled to get an $18 million settlement from a whistle-blower case. The money will come from a $95 million settlement between five of the nation's biggest… Banking Law, Real Estate & Property Law, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Florida, South Carolina Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:45:15 -0500 37775.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pd_for_girlfriend_charged_in_attorneys_slaying_says_his_home_had_bullet_hol/ A gun collection and a history of domestic disputes between a South Carolina lawyer and a former client with whom he was in a relationship may ultimately prove to have been a fatal combination in October, when attorney Michael Howe was found dead in the bathroom of his York home.… Criminal Justice, States, South Carolina Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:22:26 -0600 37454.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/newly_licensed_solo_reprimanded_for_exaggerating_experience_in_online_profi/ A solo practitioner licensed to practice law in 2010 has been reprimanded for exaggerating his experience on law firm websites and in online profiles. The South Carolina Supreme Court says in a public reprimand released today that Dannitte Mays Dickey mischaracterized his legal skills through misleading statements… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Legal Marketing & Consulting, Careers, Legal Ethics, States, South Carolina Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:42:49 -0600 37129.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/black_baptist_church_rightful_owner_of_kkk_store_judge_rules/ A South Carolina district court judge recently ruled that the New Beginnings Baptist Church is the rightful owner of a store that sells Ku Klux Klan robes and T-shirts. The battle over the building began in 1997 when a disgruntled KKK member transferred ownership to Rev. David Kennedy and his… Real Estate & Property Law, States, South Carolina Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:23:55 -0600 36693.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_blocks_provisions_of_new_sc_immigration_law_says_they_infring/ A federal judge in South Carolina has temporarily blocked provisions of a new state immigration statute that were to go into effect Jan. 1, finding the state was infringing on the federal government's prerogative to enforce immigration law. Among the new rules nixed by U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel… Constitutional Law, Immigration Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 4th Circuit Court, States, South Carolina Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:43:06 -0600 36642.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/biglaw_firm_opens_40th_office_with_seven_lawyers_from_park_poe/ K&L Gates is expanding once again. The law firm is adding an office in Charleston, S.C., with seven partners from Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, report the Am Law Daily, the Pittsburgh Business Times and a press release.… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, States, South Carolina Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:24:29 -0600 36450.abajournal.com