He defended the Confederate flag and insulted immigrants. Now he's an SC judge. [View all]

[riversedge]

Source: PostCourier



He defended the Confederate flag and insulted immigrants. Now he’s an SC judge.

By Joseph Cranney [e-mail]
Nov 29, 2019 Updated 6 hrs ago


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When South Carolina lawmakers confirmed a batch of new magistrates this year, one nominee stood out from the pack: Mike Pitts.

The former state House member had made a name for himself in Columbia as a staunch defender of the Confederate flag, and on Facebook he has penned anti-immigration screeds and used racially charged language. In May, for example, he posted a photo of New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, an African American Democrat running for president. His caption: “Cory Booker alway [sic] looks like he just hit crack real hard.”

None of this, however, prompted any discussion in June, when the state Senate confirmed Pitts along with 33 other nominees for the lower courts.

Unlike South Carolina’s felony and appellate court judges, magistrates are not subjected to legislative hearings before lawmakers sign off on their appointments. In fact, there’s rarely any public debate at all. Nominations typically sail through the upper chamber with a single voice vote.

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Read more: https://www.postandcourier.com/news/he-defended-the-confederate-flag-and-insulted-immigrants-now-he/article_fccd2722-1144-11ea-bf17-dbfc08c2afcb.html

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This is Trumps America. I imagine other states are appointing the same type bigots!!---especially in Red states.
This is SC -the home of the bigot and Trump swamp-rat--Lindsey Graham!





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Former S.C. State Rep, Mike Pitts, a Laurens Republican who chaired the House Ethics Committee, was appointed to the magistrate’s bench after he retired from the Legislature. File/Paul Zoeller/Staff




Editorial: SC senators won’t let us fix magistrate system. But here’s how to improve it


https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-sc-senators-won-t-let-us-fix-magistrate-system/article_e963aa1e-115b-11ea-8c34-679426598e85.html

You’d be hard-pressed to find a larger concentration of ethically challenged and incompetent judges than in South Carolina’s magistrate courts.

Any court system has some ethically challenged judges. And even ethical judges sometimes misapply the law.

But as an investigation by The Post and Courier’s Joseph Cranney and Pro Publica reveals, you’d be hard-pressed to find a larger concentration of ethically challenged and incompetent judges than in South Carolina’s magistrate courts.
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These SC judges can have less training than barbers but still decide thousands of cases each year
These SC judges can have less training than barbers but still decide thousands of cases each year

In the magistrate courts of South Carolina, citizens often must fend for themselves before judges lacking formal training in the law and whose errors can result in punishing consequences for defendants.

The system, Mr. Cranney reports, is “unlike any other in the country, and one that has provided fertile ground for incompetence, corruption and other abuse.” That’s because of a combination of laws and traditions that state legislators refuse to change.

Higher-court judges must pass the Bar, demonstrate their knowledge of the law and clear ethical checks; magistrates essentially have to have a pulse — and the right relationship with the local senator. Because appointment is all about politics.........................................

Chairman Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens