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Super CLE, February 7, 2022

The information herein is provided for attendees of the Hilton Head Bar Association CLEs and is NOT intended as legal advice from this association or any of its speakers.  Should you need legal advice, please consult with a licensed attorney.

Sam Bauer, Esquire   Bauer & Metro

bauer_character_evidence_2022.pdf
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The Honorable James E. Lockemy, former Chief Judge, South Carolina Court of Appeals
Honor, Death and Swiss Cheese: A History of Dueling in South Carolina

The Honorable James E. Lockemy will discuss the origins of dueling from its European roots and how it evolved in American society through the nineteenth century.  He will then focus on the legal aspects surrounding the criminalization of dueling in South Carolina, including the Cash‑Shannon Duel, in Shannon Hill, South Carolina.  Judge Lockemy will conclude his remarks by discussing mutual combat in the present day.
 
By no means was dueling new to society or limited to the United States of America's Wild West.  Albeit without guns, dueling existed for hundreds of years in Europe and was a form of resolving disputes between men during the Middle Ages.  Dueling allowed one individual to redress how he had been wronged and to defend his honor against his opponent's affronts.  Some viewed dueling as a lesser evil compared to all-out war because it allowed two individuals to resolve their conflict without involving others—save their seconds.
 
Like many of the mores and legal frameworks from Europe, the United States of America carried over and adopted dueling as a social norm in part.  According to some sources, the first recorded duel in the United States occurred at Plymouth in 1621.  Dueling remained a common place in the United States through the eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries with duels occurring between well-known political elites such as Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton in 1804.  Even Andrew Jackson's mother reportedly told him, "Never . . . sue anybody for slander or assault and battery.  Always settle them cases yourself!"  Although duels occurred during this time period, the legal system attempted to prevent them and to ensure a legal means of redress.  However, society pushed back, and duels continued—albeit in a more private fashion.
 
Turning to South Carolina, dueling was present here too.  John Lyde Wilson, a former governor of South Carolina, even authored The Code of Honor: Or, Rules for the Government of Principals and Seconds in Dueling (1838).  Like many other parts of the United States, South Carolina attempted to outlaw dueling even as early as 1812 without much success in actually prohibiting duels.  South Carolina saw a major push to prohibit dueling after the Cash-Shannon Duel in 1880, which was reportedly the last fatal duel in South Carolina.  The conflict arose after William M. Shannon raised an allegation of fraud against E.B.C. Cash's wife.  Cash and Shannon dueled, and Shannon was killed.  Cash was tried for murder and dueling, but the court granted a mistrial.  Thereafter, Cash was acquitted at a second trial.  South Carolina's current prohibition on dueling can be found in section 16-3-410 of South Carolina Code (2015), and it prohibits a person from challenging or accepting a challenge to fight another with a deadly weapon.  The statute also prohibits a person convicted of this offense from voting and serving in any "office of honor or trust in this State."  Additionally, public officers were required until the 1950s to affirm that they had not been in a duel.
 
Although society does not currently see individuals squaring off in the traditional sense of a duel, individuals continue to engage in shootouts with one another.  For example, the South Carolina legal system has had to address the implications of mutual combat when innocent third parties are killed.  See, e.g., State v. Young, 429 S.C. 155, 838 S.E.2d 516, 522 (2020).
 
Suggested Reading Materials:
  • S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-4110 (2015).
  • State v. Young, 429 S.C. 155, 838 S.E.2d 516 (2020).
  • State v. Bowers, 428 S.C. 21, 832 S.E.2d 623 (2019).
  • State v. Dupont, 13 S.C.L. 334, 335 (S.C. Const. App. 1823).
  • State v. Strickland, 11 S.C.L. 181 (S.C. Const. App. 1819).
  • John Lyde Wilson, The Code of Honor: Or, Rules for the Government of Principals and Seconds in Dueling (1838).
  • Brandon Inabinet, Southern Honor and the Politics of Civility, 5 Charleston L. Rev. 359 (2011).
  • Nathan B. Oman, The Honor of Private Law, 80 Fordham L. Rev. 31 (2011).
  • Alison L. LaCroix, To Gain the Whole World and Lose His Own Soul: Nineteenth-Century American Dueling as Public law and Private Code, 33 Hofstra L. Rev. Ass'n 501 (2004).
  • C.A. Harwell Wells, Note, The End of the Affair? Anti-Dueling Laws and Social Norms in Antebellum America, 54 Vand. L. Rev. 1805 (2001)

The Honorable Garrison Hill, Judge, S.C. Court of Appeals

Twenty One Trends in South Carolina Law in the 21st Century as of 2022
  1. Jury charges
  2. Error Preservation
  3. Harmless error
  4. Arbitration- binding non-parties
  5. State constitutional rights
  6. Workers compensation-credibility findings
  7. Rule 404(b)- Prior bad act evidence
  8. CSC cases-bolstering
  9. Stand Your Ground Law
  10. 4th amendment & digital evidence
  11. Family court- alienation & estrangement experts
  12. Family court-Attorneys’ fees
  13. Family court- de novo standard of review
  14. Expert Witnesses- hearsay conduits
  15. Lay witness opinions
  16. Family court- GAL role & testimony
  17. Probate- no contest clauses
  18. Probate- Family Agreements
  19. TIAs
  20. Scope of Review of Administrative Agency actions
  21. Construction Law- Indemnity agreements

The Honorable Costa Pleicones, former Chief Justice, South Carolina Supreme Court

judicial_independence_in_a_fractious_land_costa_pleicones.pdf
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Kathleen Barnes, Esquire  Barnes Law Firm

barnes_2022_appellate_update.pdf
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The Honorable Shiva Hodges, Federal Court Judge

effective_writing__hilton_head_bar_feb_2022__hodges.pdf
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Joey R. Floyd, Esquire

supplemental_proceedings_-_super_cle__10.6.21_floyd.pptx
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Michael J. Virzi, Esquire, University of South Carolina School of Law

ethics_2021_year_in_review_-_hhi_cle_virzi.pdf
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The Honorable Jacqueline D. Belton, Associate Probate Judge, Richland County

intersection_between_civil_commitments_and_guardianship_and_conservatorship.pdf
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galvin_heather_cle_presentation_2022.pptx
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