Sanford defends reserve duty before Supreme Court

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Sanford addressed the court during a hearing on whether the state Constitution's provision that a governor cannot hold two offices applies to him as governor and as a lieutenant in the reserves.

Chief Justice Jean Toal called it "highly unusual" for someone being sued to address the court directly, but allowed it.

Greenville resident Edward "Ned" Sloan, 74, filed suit against Sanford, saying the Constitution does not allow a governor to hold a commission in the nation's military.

Sanford, who is not a lawyer and said he had never been in a courtroom before, told the justices he would abide by their decision. He asked the court to look beyond the legal arguments.

The governor said his reserve duty makes him a better father to his four boys, each of whom he wants one day to serve in the military.

"I think it makes me a better governor," he added, explaining that it helps him understand the military better and look at leadership from a different perspective.

The governor said afterward he had no idea his request to talk to the justices was so unusual.

"If there was any breach in terms of protocol, I apologize," he told reporters. "I just had something on my mind."

Toal offered Sloan a similar opportunity. He declined.

Former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ernest Finney Jr. said it is rare for a client in a case to address the court, though he remembered one time when a death-penalty defendant was allowed to speak.

Even more rare, he said, are instances of a governor talking to the justices.

"To my knowledge, no governor has ever addressed the court," he said.

At issue is a clause in South Carolina's Constitution dealing with the qualifications for governor, which states that a governor "Shall not hold any other office or commission, except in militia, at the same time."

Jim Carpenter, Sloan's lawyer, told the justices that he believes the provisions originated during Colonial times, when royal governors commissioned by the king had divided loyalties.

He argued that Sanford has been in violation of the Constitution since taking office.

"I think it demands that the governor's sole loyalty is to the people of South Carolina,' he said of the provision.

Toal said the court must determine the meaning of the provision and why it was created.

"At the time, the standing armies of the United States were full-time jobs," she said. "There wasn't any such thing as reserves as the concept exists today, was there?"

Sanford's lawyers have argued that the term militia is equivalent to the reserves and the National Guard.

Toal also questioned why lawmakers would allow the provision to remain in recent decades if it prohibited reserve military service, when one of the state's most famous governors, the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, was active in the military. Thurmond served in the Army Reserves while governor from 1947-1951 and retired as a major general.

Carpenter argued that the provision is meant to require undivided attention as much as loyalty.

"In that context, a governor shouldn't be allowed to be married," quipped Justice E.C. Burnett.

Sanford's lawyers also argued that Sloan did not have legal standing to bring the suit because he is not damaged in any special way by Sanford's service.

But Carpenter argued that Sloan had sufficient standing because he is a taxpayer, a citizen and the matter is one of public importance.

"If I don't have standing, who does?" Sloan asked afterward.

Vance Bettis, one of Sanford's lawyers, told the justices that if they find the Constitution prohibits a governor from holding a commission, it would at most require Sanford to address the issue of his military service but not vacate his election as governor nor end his military commission, which is a federal post.

Sloan said afterward he is not trying to have Sanford disqualified as governor.

"I was defending the Constitution as it was written," he said.

Sanford said he first inquired about any problem with his commission soon after he was elected. He said a legal team told him they believed serving in the reserves was the same as serving in the militia. He said he would resign his commission if the court rules he cannot hold both offices.

"I'd like to do both," he said. "If I can do both, I will, period. If the court determines I can't do both, my primary responsibility to the people of South Carolina is as governor. And if they determine I can't do both, I would ask if I could resign my commission."

A decision is not expected for weeks or months, Sloan's lawyer said.