South Carolina

8 states file brief supporting the government’s attempt to deny abortions to immigrant minors

Eight states described as having “a legitimate and substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life” have weighed in on a lawsuit seeking to clear the way for immigrant minors in federal custody to have abortions. An amicus brief in Garza v. Hargan from the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan,…

Jan 9, 2018 4:02 PM CST

Former cop sentenced to 20 years for fatally shooting unarmed black man

A federal judge in Charleston, South Carolina, has sentenced a white former police officer to 20 years in prison after his guilty plea to a federal civil-rights charge for shooting an unarmed black man who was running from him. Michael Slager had admitted to using excessive force against Walter Scott…

Dec 7, 2017 12:39 PM CST

South Carolina chief justice tells judges to stop jailing poor defendants without lawyers

Thousands of arrest warrants from lower-level judges are being suspended in South Carolina as a result of instructions by the state's chief justice.

Nov 10, 2017 10:26 AM CST

Suit claims South Carolina municipal courts jail poor people without providing a lawyer

A class action lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that municipal courts in South Carolina fail to provide lawyers to people who can’t afford them and fail to advise defendants of their right to a lawyer.

Oct 13, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Cases raise questions about adult guardianship and lawyer-hospital relationships

Cases in Michigan and South Carolina are raising questions about lawyers who receive guardianship appointments as a result of their relationships with hospitals.

Oct 10, 2017 7:45 AM CDT

South Dakota inmates get tablets for legal research; state drops paralegal and part-time lawyer

Inmates in South Dakota no longer have a need for legal help from a paralegal or lawyer because they can do their own research on tablets, according to Department of Corrections Secretary Denny Kaemingk. South Dakota is one of two states that had offered legal help to inmates researching the…

Oct 3, 2017 11:02 AM CDT

Legal aid hotline opens for Hurricane Irma victims

Updated: A legal aid hotline has opened for Hurricane Irma victims in Florida who can’t afford a lawyer. The hotline number is 866-550-2929, report the Orlando Sentinel and an ABA press release. The hotline is operated by young lawyers divisions of the ABA and the Florida Bar, in conjunction with…

Sep 14, 2017 10:27 AM CDT

Florida Bar raises income cap for Free Legal Answers website to help Hurricane Irma victims

The Florida Bar has raised the income cap for users of the Florida Free Legal Answers online legal clinic to help more victims of Hurricane Irma get answers to their legal questions.

Sep 11, 2017 8:31 AM CDT

Recaptured inmate, convicted in lawyer home invasion, likely used drone in escape, cops say

Police have captured an escaped South Carolina inmate who was in prison for holding his lawyer and his lawyer’s family at gunpoint. Authorities arrested the inmate, Jimmy Causey, early Friday at a Motel 6 in Austin Texas, as a result of a tip, report the New York Times, the State…

Jul 7, 2017 2:01 PM CDT

Man convicted for holding his lawyer at gunpoint escapes from prison a second time

A South Carolina lawyer says he and his family are taking precautions after the man convicted of holding him at gunpoint escaped from prison for a second time. Authorities on Thursday continued their search for the inmate, 46-year-old Jimmy Causey, who went missing Wednesday afternoon from a maximum security South…

Jul 6, 2017 9:12 AM CDT

Arkansas lawyer is reprimanded over use of private investigators who misrepresented themselves

Updated: An Arkansas lawyer has been reprimanded in South Carolina for sending private investigators into the state to pose as customers and gather evidence of intellectual property infringement. The South Carolina Supreme Court reprimanded lawyer Cecil Duff Nolan Jr. in a Feb. 15 opinion (PDF), the Legal Profession Blog reports.…

Feb 21, 2017 7:00 AM CST

Jury sentences Dylann Roof to death for Charleston church massacre

A South Carolina jury sentenced mass shooter Dylann Roof to death late Tuesday, the Post and Courier reported. Roof, 22, killed nine people at a Bible study meeting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in June of 2015. Shortly after he was taken into custody, he confessed to law…

Jan 10, 2017 5:25 PM CST

Dylann Roof is convicted in church shooting; jurors deliberated less than two hours

Federal jurors in Charleston, South Carolina, have convicted white supremacist Dylann Roof in the June 2015 shooting deaths of nine black church members attending a Bible study. Jurors deliberated for less than two hours before convicting Roof on Thursday on all 33 charges, the Washington Post reports. The charges included…

Dec 15, 2016 3:09 PM CST

Mistrial is declared in trial of cop accused of fatally shooting unarmed black man

A South Carolina judge on Monday declared a mistrial in the prosecution of a police officer accused of fatally shooting a black man who was running away from him after a traffic stop. Judge Clifton Newman declared the mistrial after jurors indicated for a second time that they couldn’t reach…

Dec 5, 2016 3:17 PM CST

Judge refuses for-cause challenge to potential juror wearing Confederate flag T-shirt

A judge in South Carolina last week rejected a public defender’s for-cause challenge to a potential juror who showed up to the courthouse wearing a Confederate flag T-shirt. Assistant public defender Monier Abusaft asked a judge in York to remove the juror because Abusaft felt that the shirt and its…

Aug 31, 2016 8:00 AM CDT