Lord Have Mercy, FITSNews, February 27, 2009

Lord Have Mercy …

FITSNews
February 27, 2009

http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/02/27/lord-have-mercy/

Just when you thought South Carolina couldn't get any more scandalous, along comes a story that literally blows the doors off of the joint …

A disgraced former judge, a Supreme Court hopeful and the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, S.C. all stand accused of collusion in an "altar boy" case that's poised to rock this state's judicial establishment to its core - and force S.C. Chief Justice Jean Toal into perhaps the most precarious position of her career.

At issue is the startling accusation that attorneys who represented victims of sexual abuse colluded with a Circuit Court judge and the Charleston Diocese to pocket $2.5 million in legal fees and "steer away" future molestation charges.

From reporter Adam Parker of the Charleston Post and Courier:

The complaint, filed in December by Greenville lawyer J. David Flowers, alleges negligence and breach of fiduciary duty by class counsel; civil conspiracy by class counsel, the diocese and Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein; and "outrage against all Defendants."

"Collusion by a church, lawyers and a judge to harm the rights and interests of victims of sexual abuse constitutes extreme and outrageous conduct which exceeds all possible bounds of decency and which must be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community," the complaint states.

Larry Richter and David Haller, the two attorneys who represented the class of victims, strongly denied the allegations. Goodstein did not return phone and e-mail queries by The Post and Courier.

Wow.

Of course they "strongly denied" the accusations. And of course the judge refused to comment.

That's because in meticulous detail, Parker's article highlights how allegations of shady billing practices, undisclosed conflicts of interest and a questionable change in venue contributed to what could be the most explosive judicial scandal this state has ever seen - and one that has now fallen directly in Chief Justice Toal's lap.

Not surprisingly, the Chief Justice has cozy relations with two people who are neck deep in this scandal - attorney Larry Richter and Judge Diane Goodstein.

Toal's Office of Attorney Discipline has previously ignored complaints against her good friend Richter, a former Circuit Court Judge who gave up his seat two decades ago after he was accused of offering cocaine to a female law school student.

Those charges resurfaced in 2002 to help sink Richter's aborted campaign for Attorney General.

Of course, a much bigger fish than Richter - and a much closer friend to Toal - is Dorchester Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein, who many felt was the front-runner to fill the next vacancy on the S.C. Supreme Court.

Not anymore.

"This is toxic," said one Lowcountry lawmaker we spoke with. "You can stick a fork in (her Supreme Court candidacy)."