The South Carolina State House is swarming with recriminations related to a contentious judicial election – reinforcing it further because we believe that the legislative branch of government should have no involvement in choosing candidates for the judiciary.
The process is very corruptible …
South Carolina is one of only two states in the country where lawmakers elect judges, a process that has led to all kinds of insider dealing … not to mention the preferential treatment given to powerful lawyer-legislators as soon as the judges who they elect to take their seats in the Bank.
We have argued for years that South Carolina should abandon this obscure process and instead adopt the federal model of judicial appointment … in which governors select nominees with the advice and consent of the legislative branch.
Anyway, the founding editor of this news medium Will Folks was recently dragged into the last judicial race, which puts the SC circuit court judge DeAndrea Benjamin of Columbia against family court judge Jay Vinson from Florence for a seat on the SC appeals court (the second largest seat in the state).
Benjamin is the wife of the mayor of Columbia, SC Steve Benjamin – which is expected to announce later this week that he is no seeking re-election to the current position. This, of course, sparked considerable speculation about his future as a potential candidate across the state (Benjamin ran unsuccessfully for the attorney general as a Democrat before becoming mayor).
Why were we dragged into the judge’s race? Because FITSNews criticized Judge Benjamin (and other judges) for excessive leniency in relation to posting bail for violent criminals. We believe this is a serious problem in South Carolina and we have said it often … although we have not taken a stand in one way or another in the appeals court dispute.
Benjamin was also criticized by a businessman John Warren – who questioned his former job at a law firm that distributed large dollar contributions to Democratic politicians a decade ago.
Warren was mocked by the reporter John Monk of O (Columbia, SC) State for his involvement in the election – including a headline that accused him of directing “defamation” against Benjamin.
*****
*****
Specifically, Monk criticized Warren for sending an email “clearly designed to dissuade 170 state lawmakers from voting for Benjamin”.
Wait a minute … since when does linking someone to Democrats constitute a “stain?”
I don’t want to say too well about it, but … Benjamin is a Democrat.
And while her law firm’s contributions were distributed more than a decade ago, a recent analysis of her voting record reveals that she has participated exclusively in the Democratic primary elections since then.
This is not a “stain”, it’s a fact.
Honestly, those who defend Benjamin’s candidacy at the SC General Assembly should probably thank Warren for raising the issue … especially considering how many “Republican” lawmakers in South Carolina vote as Democrats.
According to our sources, however, Benjamin’s race may end up being decided by … wait for it … the good old horse trading. Specifically, we are told that there is “another judicial race” scheduled for this week, in which the votes of several lawmakers are “at stake”.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw a flurry of vote negotiations at the last minute,” said one lawmaker, referring to the potential impact of this “other” race on Benjamin-Vinson’s vote for the appeals court.
Specifically, we are told that SC Legislative Black Caucus (SCLBC) is “dry as powder” in at least two other legal disputes in order to “try to influence a trade”.
But wait … isn’t the exchange of votes illegal?
Yes but …
Which reminds us, these same sources told us that at least one referral was made to the SC State Ethics Commission (SCSEC) about unspecified conduct related to the Benjamin-Vinson race … although it is not immediately clear who is being accused of wrongdoing in relation to this reference.
Stay tuned … lawmakers will cast their votes at a special joint session of the SC General Assembly scheduled for next Wednesday, February 3, 2021.
-FITSNews
*****
WANT TO TURN OFF THE SOUND?
Is there anything you would like to say in response to one of our stories? We have an open mic policy! Send your own letter to the editor (or guest column) by email HERE. Do you have a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Have a technical question or failure to report? CLICK HERE.
Flag: Getty
*****
