In re Singleton

605 S.E.2d 518, 361 S.C. 364, 2004 S.C. LEXIS 264
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedNovember 8, 2004
DocketNo. 25894
StatusPublished

This text of 605 S.E.2d 518 (In re Singleton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Singleton, 605 S.E.2d 518, 361 S.C. 364, 2004 S.C. LEXIS 264 (S.C. 2004).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

In this judicial disciplinary matter, respondent and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) have entered into an Agreement for Discipline by Consent pursuant to Rule 21, RJDE, Rule 502, SCACR. In the agreement, respondent admits misconduct and consents to any sanction set forth in Rule 7(b), RJDE, Rule 502, SCACR. We accept the agreement and remove respondent from office. The facts as set forth in the agreement are as follows.

FACTS

Respondent adjudicated fourteen traffic tickets issued to close family members and three traffic tickets issued to a friend. With regard to these instances, respondent and ODC agree:

1. Respondent served as the presiding judge on five speeding tickets which had been issued to his father. Respondent adjudicated his father not guilty on each of the [366]*366tickets. Notations on three of the tickets indicate the officer or trooper had already reduced the violation to speeding less than ten miles over the speed limit at the time the tickets were issued.
2. Respondent served as the presiding judge on a speeding ticket issued to his mother for speeding 64 in a 55 miles per hour zone. Notations by the officer on this ticket indicate the vehicle was traveling 68 miles per hour, that respondent’s mother admitted she thought she was driving 65 miles per hour, and that the ticket was issued for the lesser offense of speeding less than ten miles per hour over the speed limit. Respondent adjudicated his mother not guilty.
3. Respondent served as the presiding judge on a speeding ticket issued to his daughter for speeding 73 in a 55 miles per hour zone. Notations on the ticket indicate respondent’s daughter admitted “she was rushing to get home.” Respondent adjudicated his daughter not guilty.
4. Respondent served as the presiding judge on two speeding tickets issued to his sister-in-law. “No Help” is written in large letters on the bottom of the earlier ticket. Respondent adjudicated his sister-in-law not guilty on this ticket.
Notations on the “Trial Officer’s Copy” of the other ticket indicate respondent’s sister-in-law was traveling 70 in a 55 miles per hour zone and that she told the trooper she was inattentive to her speed. The trooper issued the ticket for the lesser offense of speeding 64 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone. The “Drivers Record Copy” of this ticket is marked to indicate that respondent’s sister-in-law did not appear for court, was found guilty, and a $50.00 fine was imposed. Approximately ten days later, respondent caused an Ishmell1 order to be issued changing the verdict to not guilty for the following reason: “Defendant had come before the judge prior to court time and had been granted a Not Guilty verdict. This verdict failed to reach proper persons handling court.” Three days after the Department of Public Safety acted on the [367]*367Ishmell order, respondent, or someone at his request, entered the notation “NG 3-9-01 DJS” on the “Trial Officer’s Copy” of this ticket. Respondent also wrote a note on the back of this ticket stating that the “verdict of the trial should read not guilty.”
5. Respondent served as the presiding judge on a speeding ticket issued to his sister for driving 64 in a 55 miles per hour zone. Notations on the ticket indicate she was actually driving 72 miles per hour, that she told the trooper she was not aware of her speed, and that the trooper reduced the charge to speeding less than ten miles per hour over the speed limit at the time the ticket was issued. Respondent adjudicated his sister not guilty.
6. Respondent served as the presiding judge on two tickets issued to another sister. A March 10, 1996, ticket for a seat belt violation was adjudicated guilty. Court records indicate the fine was suspended.
On October 25, 1998, respondent’s sister was issued a speeding ticket for driving 64 in a 55 miles per hour zone. The “Trial Officer’s Copy” of this ticket bears notations indicating that the car was traveling 68 miles per hour and that the driver told the trooper she “had [her] cruise on 64.” Court was set for November 19, 1998. The “Violator’s Copy” of this ticket bears a notation at the bottom “Not Guilty per conversation with [the trooper] on 11-18-98” (the day before court was to convene), and respondent’s initials. Court records establish that a not guilty verdict was entered on this ticket.
7. Respondent served as the presiding judge on two tickets issued to his brother. On April 4, 1998, respondent’s brother was charged with speeding .78 in a 55 miles per hour zone. The ticket was adjudicated not guilty by respondent.
On June 24, 2000, respondent’s brother was charged with speeding 64 in a 55 miles per hour zone. Notations on the ticket indicate the car was traveling 70 miles per hour, that the driver said he “was not paying attention,” and that the officer issued the ticket for the lesser offense of speeding less than ten miles per hour over the speed limit. Court records establish respondent adjudicated his [368]*368brother guilty and imposed a sentence of one day in jail, but suspended the sentence.
8. Respondent served as the presiding judge on three tickets issued to his friend Kenneth C. McMillian. Respondent found McMillian not guilty on one speeding ticket. Two tickets were issued to McMillian on December 6, 2002, one for speeding 83 in a 55 miles per hour zone and the other for no driver’s license in possession. Respondent found McMillian guilty of the diver’s license violation but suspended the fine. The “Driver’s Record Copy” of the speeding ticket indicates McMillian appeared for court and was found guilty of the speeding violation. This disposition is certified as correct by a signature which appears to be respondent’s on the “Driver’s Record Copy” of the ticket. Later, respondent sought to have an Ishmell order issued concerning the ticket but the trooper refused on the ground that the proposed disposition would not be truthful. According to the trooper, McMillian appeared for court and pled guilty to the offense. Respondent, however, contacted the trooper’s supervisor who agreed to issuance of an Ishmell order. The order subsequently was issued and McMillian’s guilty verdict was changed to not guilty. A note handwritten by respondent appears on the back of the ticket stating that the “verdict of trial should read not guilty.”

Of the foregoing seventeen tickets issued to respondent’s family and friends, respondent rendered a guilty verdict in five instances. He subsequently changed two of the convictions to not guilty by an Ishmell order. He issued suspended sentences on the remaining three convictions.

An examination of the thirteen tickets obtained by ODC revealed that the two instances where a finding of guilt was recorded but later nullified by an Ishmell order, the “Driver’s Records Copy” of the tickets had been marked in the appropriate manner to show the disposition of the matter and the identity of the presiding judge. In all other instances where respondent issued a not guilty verdict for family members, no entry was made in the appropriate area of the “Trial Officer’s Copy” of the ticket and no identification of the presiding judge was made on that copy. Instead, the notation “NG” or “Not

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Related

Ishmell v. South Carolina Highway Department
215 S.E.2d 201 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1975)
In Re O'Kelley
603 S.E.2d 410 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2004)
In Re Singleton
584 S.E.2d 365 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 2003)

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Bluebook (online)
605 S.E.2d 518, 361 S.C. 364, 2004 S.C. LEXIS 264, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-singleton-sc-2004.