The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 11, 1985, Page Page 3, Image 3
THE GAMECOCK News February 11, 1985 ? Page 3
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Debate caused b\
By Anociated Preit
An 81-year-old retired Judge's use of
the phrase "damn niggers" in an Anderson
County courtroom has fueled the controversy
over whether South Carolina
should continue to use the retirees as
special judges.
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice
Joseph Moss, who made the remark last
month, is one of seven retired judges in
South Carolina who remain on the bench.
The judges, who range in age from 60 to
81, often are asked to replace absent or ill
circuit court judges. They also help fulltime
judges sift through a growing pile of
criminal and civil cases.
Defenders of the nrnetice rile the
retirees' experience and note that none
left full-time work for health reasons. The
mandatory retirement age for state
employees is 72.
"IT'S NO extra cost to the state to use
them, plus it's hard not to take advantage
oi inai experience,'' said Kep. Palmer
Freeman, D-York.
Last year, the retirees worked 105
weeks of court ? the equivalent of 2.5
full-time judges ? at a cost to the state of
$46,510, plus travel expenses. To add 2.5
permanent judges to the bench, would
cost $422,652 annually in judicial and
support-staff salaries, according to Steve
_ Good, financial director of the State
%/ Court Administration.
But some legislators question the merits
of using retired judges. Bills are pending
it: both the House and Senate that would
bar any retired judge from performing
any judicial duties.
"I wouldn't want anyone with any
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remote senility sitting in judgement on
me," said Sen. Rick Lee, R-Spananburg,
who sponsored the Senate bill.
SEN. JOHN DRUMMOND, DGreenwood,
the bill's co-author, criticizes
what he calls a "good-buddy system" that
circumvents the state's retirement policy.
And Rep. Frank McBride, D-Richland,
who sponsored the House bill, cites the
age factor.
The lawmakers say their bills were in
the works before the Moss controversy
erupted.
Lee and Drummond say they're concerned
retired judges aren't subject to the
same checks as permanent members of the
bench, such as mandatory continuing
legal education and a ban on political
campaigning.
The authority of the chief justice to appoint
a retired judge or lawyer as a special
judge is written into the South Carolina
Constitution.
HOWEVER. THE General Assembly
could discourage their use by refusing to
allow special judges to be paid, according
to Court Administration Director Louis
Rosen.
South Carolina's court administration
has doubled its use of retired judges since
1983, to relieve family court judges who
were filling in on the circuit bench at the
expense of their own dockets.
The practice drew attention last month,
when Moss uttered the phrase "damn niggers"
in reference to a group of blacks
who were protesting the conviction of a
friend.
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