State Supreme Court brings a case a month online

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The state Supreme Court is bringing one case a month online in an effort to educate students and others on how South Carolina's highest court works.

The feature on the state court system's Web site is called "Case of the Month." Each pending case selected will include streaming video of the arguments before the five justices and the legal briefs filed from both sides.

"I think getting a basic understanding of the court system is very beneficial," said Betsy Goodale, chief staff attorney for the Supreme Court. "The one thing I found about this is how little students know about the court system."

The first case was posted in September. It involved Jonathan Kyle Binney, a Cherokee County man sent to death row in November 2002 for shooting a woman in her own house when she came home from work.

In court papers, Binney's lawyer said his confession should not have been allowed into evidence because it was given after he asked for an attorney.

Other cases involve a York County father who sued the Public Safety Department after his daughter died in a collision with a car being chased by state troopers and the estate of a Midlands man suing South Carolina Electric & Gas after he died while swimming at Lake Murray on land owned by the utility.

"We try to choose cases that have interesting facts," Goodale said.

The "Case of the Month" supplements the Supreme Court's "Class Action Program," which allows students to watch oral arguments at the court in downtown Columbia, Goodale said.

The feature can be found at the South Carolina Judicial Department's Web Site at www.judicial.state.sc.us. Click on the "What's New" link on the left side. Several "Case of the Month" summaries can be found among other news items.

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Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com/