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Author Archives: J. Brooks Davis

Bans on driver texting not easy to enforce

By Sara Coello, Post and Courier As South Carolina legislators debate whether to strengthen the state’s lax textingwhile-driving laws, officers already struggle to hold motorists accountable for an infraction that can be hard to prosecute. Area drivers are generally honest about when they’ve been texting, according to Charleston police Sgt. William Gritzuk, but if they don’t fess… Read More »

FOR THE RECORD: THEY GET YOU COMING AND GOING REVOKED, SUSPENDED, DENIED, OR SURRENDERED?

By Jaren Allen, AOPA PILOT Whether you’re looking to keep your third class medical or are one of the growing number of pilots thinking about leaving it behind to fly under sport pilot or BasicMed rules, it’s worth noting a recent FAA letter to AOPA that provides some helpful guidance about the medical certification process…. Read More »

A 17-year-old girl was arrested after allegedly stealing a $2 million plane and driving it into an airport building in California

By Bill Bostock, Business Insider A 17-year-old girl was arrested after police say she stole a private plane, drove it along a runway, then crashed it at a California airport. Security footage taken at Fresno Yosemite International Airport on Wednesday, and broadcast by local news station ABC30, shows the aircraft, a King Air 200 plane, veering… Read More »

Lawmaker seeks overhaul of magistrate system in SC

By Joseph Cranney, Post and Courier COLUMBIA — A South Carolina lawmaker is proposing the most sweeping changes in two decades to the state’s magistrate system after an investigation by The Post and Courier and ProPublica exposed how politics and flawed oversight provided fertile ground for incompetence and corruption on the bench. The legislation filed Wednesday… Read More »

Lawmaker seeks scrutiny for judicial panels

By Adam Benson, Post and Courier COLUMBIA — An Upstate lawmaker wants more scrutiny of two judicial oversight panels that largely declined to take any action against the state’s circuit judges over two decades despite more than 1,000 formal complaints. The request from Rep. Tommy Stringer, a Greer Republican, targets the Judicial Merit Selection Commission, which… Read More »

Hemp farmer gets an initial win in court

By Thomas Novelly, Post and Courie A Dorchester County hemp farmer who was arrested by law enforcement earlier this year after they destroyed his crops has won an initial victory in court. John Pendarvis, a Harleyville resident, had 10 acres of hemp destroyed by State Law Enforcement Division agents in September. He had a license to… Read More »

Public Safety inquiry over arrest interference prompts concerns

By Adam Benson, Post and Courier COLUMBIA — An internal state Department of Public Safety report this month concluded a retired Highway Patrol administrator interfered in the 2014 arrest of a prominent Clemson booster, which lawmakers cite as an example of the culture that contributed to the impending departure of embattled Director Leroy Smith. “I think… Read More »

Qualified to judge?

By Joseph Cranney, Post and Courier The trial that upended Sasha Darby’s life lasted just 11 minutes. She had struck her roommate during a spat and found herself charged with assault. Standing alone at the defendant’s table that day, she tried to argue that the attack was self-defense. But Magistrate Rebecca Adams cut her off. “You… Read More »

Civil asset forfeitures violate SC and US constitutions, Horry judge rules

By David Slade, The Post and Courier In a stunning and strongly worded ruling, an Horry County judge declared South Carolina’s civil asset forfeiture laws violate both the state and federal constitutions. The decision sets the stage for court challenges and potentially a rewriting of state laws that allow police to seize cash, cars and other… Read More »

SC ‘sovereign citizen’ rejects delusional outlaw world, gets mercy from federal judge

By John Monk, The Stat Back in January, when he was arrested by the FBI, nothing could convince Arthur Cropp that his self-proclaimed status as a “sovereign citizen” didn’t allow him to peddle fraudulent money orders as if they were real. But during the last 10 months, which he spent in jail, Cropp, 31, of the… Read More »