Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Judges to speak at law school BY TRICIA RIDGWAY THE GAMECOCK The South Carolina Law Review is holding a symposium today featuring two prominent judges to discuss the recent S.C. rule that bans secret settlements. The seminar, titled “Court Enforced Secrecy: Formation, Debate and Application of South Carolina’s New Secrecy Rules,” will run from 8:50 a.m. until 3:45 p.m. in the law school auditorium. The judges who initiated the rules, Chief Judge Joe Anderson of the U.S. District Court for South Carolina and S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal, will be the first two speakers. The discussion, co-sponsored by the South Carolina Bar, will also feature le gal experts from across the coun try. After each panelist speaks, he or she will have an opportunity to address other panelists and an swer questions from the audience. Previously, parties that settled outside of court could get a judge’s order to seal the terms of the set tlement from the public. Now, a party asking to seal information has to meet strict guidelines under the state rule to obtain an order, which include determining the public significance of the suit and the perceived harm to the parties if the information was made public. Supporters of the rule generally think the “courts are an instru ment of the public, and thus, things that go on in the courtroom we should know about,” said Eli Poliakoff, editor in chief of the South Carolina Law Review. “There’s a strong history of pub lic trials — trials are in public — so there’s no secrecy involved with the judicial branch.” If certain settlements were or dered secret, the public would lose access to important information. For instance, in a product’s liabil ity case, the public would not be able to find out what was wrong with the product or what the com pany admitted to doing, he said. Poliakoff said he is pleased with the number ot participants and that the event “reflects well on the University of South Carolina and the university’s school of law be cause it is a national issue, and le gal commentators from around the country will be paying atten tion to what is said.” The seminar is free and open to the public. Poliakoff said he hopes the public will gain a better un derstanding of the issues involved in secret settlements and how the public and courts interact. The lawyers in attendance will also learn how to better apply the rules, he said. “This is one of the first times, if not the first time, that these South Carolina rules have been dis cussed in one setting,” he said. Each panelist will discuss a dif ferent aspect of the rules, repre senting the varied opinions. Anderson will cover the federal ruling, while Toal will discuss the state law. Ethics, settlements in family courts and the application for defense lawyers are among the topics that will be covered by oth er panelists. South Carolina’s rules on secret settlements are unique, as no oth er state has a complete ban on court-enforced secrecy. The fed eral rule took effect in November 2002, and the state rule, which is not as strict and takes into con sideration specific circumstances, took effect this May. Detractors argue that there are some circumstances in which se crecy is necessary in the best in terest of the parties involved. For example, if a company gets sued and settles, it would likely want that information sealed so that other people don’t hear about it and decide to sue, Poliakoff said. After the seminar, panelists will put their remarks into essays, which will be published, along with a transcript of the events, in the South Carolina Law Review that comes out in the spring. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotma il.com Homecoming CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the University of South Carolina, with all of the im provements to campus... we have truly come home to a new Carolina.” Pleased with the progres sion of Homecoming week so far, Sowell described the fes tivities as “the perfect prelude to when USC’s fighting Gamecocks send the Vanderbilt Commodores back home!” Comments on this story?Email gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Homecoming 2003 Results Homecoming Queen: Sarah Bayko Talent: played an improvisational piece on piano First runner-up: Lara Bratcher Talent: played “The Gas” on Spanish guitar Second runner-up: Amanda Ingram Talent: performed the theme from “Romeo and Juliet" on piano Other finalists: Shanequa Jones Amanda Marshall Homecoming King: Josh Black Talent: played “St. Elmo’s Fire” on piano First runner-up: Steven Tapler Talent: performed Busffs Sept. 11 speech Second runner-up; Ben Edwards Talent: danced "The Shag” Other finalists: Steven Byrd Marcus Alexander Mr. Congeniality: Josh Black Miss Congeniality: Sarah Bayko We'll help you every step of the way. 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