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Recent Blog Posts
Stricter golf cart rules sought following fatal accident
BY SHAMIRA MCCRAY, POST AND COURIER A Rock Hill woman is calling for stricter golf cart regulations in South Carolina following her daughter’s death this summer. Melanie Popjes died after falling from a moving golf cart while vacationing on Fripp Island last month. Popjes’ husband was driving the cart while she held their infant daughter. “They… Read More »
Wilson, researchers looking for bias in prosecutions
By Brian Hicks, Post and Courier The perception of bias in the criminal justice system is pretty common. In fact, it’s practically a stereotype that, if a white guy gets caught with a joint, he might get a fine … but a black man arrested for possession of the same joint could end up on… Read More »
MPPD Traffic Bureau launches distracted driving campaign
By Moultrie News, July 27, 2020 The Mount Pleasant Police Department Traffic Bureau will begin a distracted driving enforcement campaign the week of July 27. The goal of this campaign is to reduce collisions by issuing citations to drivers who use their phones instead of paying attention to the road. “One of the biggest complaints I… Read More »
License to kill
In the May 13 edition of The Post and Courier Brian Hicks refers to the South Carolina citizens arrest statutes as a “license to kill”. These statutes were enacted in 1866. State v. McAteer, 333 S.C. 615 (1999) affirmed that “South Carolina recognizes no common law right of a citizen to arrest, without a warrant,… Read More »
First Amendment (“Cop”) Audits
By J. Brooks Davis I have been following the so called First Amendment or “cop” audit videos with interest for several months. These videos are popular on social media and are generally of a citizen or citizens recording an encounter with law enforcement. Perhaps the most infamous and annoying of these is the “free inhabitant… Read More »
FAA AC Outlines Limits on Web-based Flight-sharing
By Kerry Lynch The FAA last week released much-anticipated guidance outlining when flight-sharing is permissible but reinforcing policy that holding out to the general public through a website or app without an operator’s certificate is prohibited. That guidance comes at the behest of Congress, which had asked the FAA to clarify regulations governing expense-sharing flights…. Read More »
Police training in South Carolina is dangerously deficient
By Seth w. Stoughton and Geoffrey P. Alpert Officer Jackson Winkeler was fatally shot Jan. 5 while conducting a traffic stop. Winkeler had not been trained on traffic stops. In fact, he had very limited training. In South Carolina, someone can serve as an officer before attending the police academy. This is unacceptable. Untrained and undertrained… Read More »
SC bill calls for harsher penalties for reckless vehicular homicide
By Fleming Smith, Post and Courie Cases of reckless vehicular homicide are on the rise and one S.C. state senator is pushing for harsher consequences for those who kill while driving recklessly. “I don’t want to criminalize negligence, but I do think it’s legitimate to criticize recklessness,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said. Still, the… Read More »
Baffling antiquated laws still on SC’s books
By Fleming Smith, Post and Courier If you consider yourself a law-abiding citizen, you might want to check South Carolina’s code of laws again. Despite attempts by legislators to repeal some of the state’s more outdated laws, many holdouts from the 20th and even 19th centuries mean a person could be breaking the law weekly or… Read More »
ADS-B: IT’S 2020, WHAT NOW?
By Mike Collins, AOPA PILOT What does this mean if your aircraft is not equipped with ADS-B Out? And what if it is? Here’s what you need to know. Aircraft not equipped with ADS-B Out If you need to fly into ADS-B rule airspace and your aircraft is not equipped with ADS-B Out, for whatever reason,… Read More »