Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal said Wednesday that questions have been raised about the bail set by a fellow judge for Mendelsohn after he was arrested Saturday on a charge of driving under the influence. Mendelsohn was freed from the county jail early Sunday after posting a $1,002 bond.

The main question is whether Magistrate James Gosnell, by signing a form that formally booked Mendelsohn into the county lockup and set his bail amount, constituted an unscheduled bond hearing.

Three years ago, Toal ordered South Carolina magistrates not to hold late-night bond hearings. Instead, she directed them to schedule two bond hearings daily, in the morning and in the evening, at specific times. If, under extraordinary circumstances "the on-call magistrate is requested to conduct a bond hearing at a time other than specified, hearings shall be held for the entire jail population eligible for release," Toal wrote at the time.

Toal issued the order after Richland County Chief Magistrate Samuel Peay ordered the immediate late-night release of Appeals Court Judge Jasper Cureton after he was arrested in a domestic dispute with his wife. After the incident, Toal replaced Peay.

Gosnell has said that he went to the Leeds Avenue jail to see about his friend, who was arrested a little after 9 p.m. in Mount Pleasant. Gosnell said he did not hold a bond hearing for Mendelsohn but did sign a form that set his bail at an amount dictated by state law.

Toal said Wednesday that her office had received a complaint about Mendelsohn's release, and she referred it to Henry Richardson with the Supreme Court's Office of the Disciplinary Counsel.

That action, she said, does not mean the high court has made a judgment on whether there should be an investigation.

Acting Charleston County Chief Magistrate Henry Guerard said he is "making inquiries as well to find out what happened.""We all are trying to figure out what happened and if further action would be appropriate and, if so, what action," he said.

Gosnell was not available for comment Wednesday.

In most South Carolina jurisdictions, people charged with DUI do not have to appear before a magistrate in bond court and can be released as soon as they post bonds set by state law, provided they are not a danger to the community or a flight risk. But that's not the case in Mount Pleasant.

Mount Pleasant Municipal Judge Lawrence Duffy asked the jail in an October 2002 letter to hold overnight anyone arrested on a charge of DUI or criminal domestic violence.

His concern, he said earlier this week, was to make sure that a magistrate, not a police officer, set the bail amount because bonds were changing so often that errors could occur.

After Gosnell signed the form Saturday night, Duffy and Gosnell spoke by telephone early Sunday, and Duffy told jailers it would be OK to release Mendelsohn after he posted bond.

Toal said the complaint her office received was not directed at Duffy. She declined to comment on whether Duffy's letter to the jail contradicts state law.

Mendelsohn was arrested Saturday night after Mount Pleasant Officer Jesse James saw a car swerving along U.S. Highway 17 South, according to a police report. James arrested Mendelsohn on charges of drunken driving and transporting alcohol with a broken seal.

The judge, who is also a Charleston attorney, has taken a voluntary unpaid leave of absence from his appointed city position that pays $24,937 annually, said city of Charleston spokeswoman Barbara Vaughan. Mendelsohn has been on the bench since January 1978.

While in police custody, Mendelsohn refused to take a Breathalyzer test. By refusing the test, he automatically lost his driver's license for a minimum of three months, said Beth Parks, a spokeswoman for the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.

Mendelsohn can apply for a temporary license pending an administrative hearing on the refusal to take the Breathalyzer exam, Parks said.

She declined to say whether Mendelsohn has applied, saying that information is not open to the public. The DMV hearing is not related to the DUI charge, she said.

Anyone convicted of first-offense DUI faces a penalty of two days to 30 days in jail. Instead of a two-day sentence, a judge can order an offender to complete 48 hours of public service.

Mendelsohn is scheduled to appear in Mount Pleasant city court Nov. 19 on the DUI charge.

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