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S.C. legislators to elect 11th Circuit Court judge
Today’s vote follows harsh campaigns by supporters of the two candidates
By RICK BRUNDRETT
Staff Writer
A bitterly contested election today pits a family court judge against a veteran former prosecutor for an open 11th Circuit Court seat.
Family Court Judge Kellum Allen faces Knox McMahon, a former prosecutor in Richland and Lexington counties, for the seat once held by Marc Westbrook, who died in a car wreck last year.
Some criminal defense attorneys lined up behind Allen; a group of solicitors and sheriffs supports McMahon.
McMahon’s camp claims he has enough votes to win.
In a joint session at noon, the 170-member General Assembly will vote to fill the circuit court seat that covers Lexington, Saluda, Edgefield and McCormick counties.
Allen’s and McMahon’s supporters have accused each other of playing unfairly.
The allegations focus on:
• Negative survey responses from lawyers about McMahon’s court behavior and a low score on his written test
• The judicial screening committee’s decision Jan. 17 to reverse an earlier decision not to nominate McMahon
• The role of outside groups campaigning for each candidate
Allen, 54, was a public defender in Greenville County and served 20 years in a private law firm in West Columbia, concentrating on family and civil cases. He has been a family court judge since 1998.
McMahon, 58, spent 10 years as a police officer and 20 years as a prosecutor in Lexington and Richland counties. He earned the state’s highest award for a prosecutor before entering private practice in Columbia in 2003.
Both men declined to comment about the race.
The trouble started Dec. 6 when the 10-member state Judicial Merit Selection Commission didn’t nominate McMahon, though it did find him qualified. Allen and another candidate, Lexington attorney Lisa Lee Smith, both were found to be qualified and were nominated.
McMahon’s supporters protested the commission’s decision. In a rare move, the commission reversed its position after another hearing Jan. 17.
NEGATIVE REVIEWS
The survey responses from some lawyers questioned McMahon’s “open-mindedness” and his “willingness to timely share evidence with opposing counsel” when he was a prosecutor, according to hearing transcripts.
During the hearing, Merit Selection Commission member John Freeman, a USC law professor, said the surveys accused McMahon of “being mean and being a bully.”
“Temperament is a very important thing to this committee,” Freeman said. “It’s a major reason why we find judges getting into trouble.”
McMahon denied the allegations.
State Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, a McMahon supporter, dismissed the surveys. He said they reflected the views of “anti-death penalty, liberal lawyers.”
State Rep. Greg Delleney, R-Chester, the screening commission chairman, also downplayed the surveys, contending they were “anonymous concerns.”
Several criminal defense lawyers tried to speak at McMahon’s Dec. 6 hearing. But the commission wouldn’t allow it.
Besides the surveys, McMahon’s screening report said his test score “fell below the level of expectation generally met by applicants.”
“People I’ve talked to — judges — say that test is a piece of cake,” said longtime West Columbia lawyer Jake Moore, an Allen supporter. “It is like asking a medical doctor what aspirin is used for.”
But Delleney, an attorney, said McMahon’s tests results are being overblown. He said the test — a combination of multiple choice and essay questions — was developed by commission staff lawyers “who don’t practice law in the courtroom.”
Knotts said he was told McMahon and Smith, who withdrew from the race Feb. 2, missed the same question. He said the question was weighted more heavily than the others.
Smith said her test results had nothing to do with her decision.
FAIRNESS OR FAVORITISM?
Allen’s supporters said the screening commission gave McMahon special considerationwhen it reversed its initial decision not to nominate him.
Delleney said the commission decided to hold another hearing after attorney Thad Myers, who represented McMahon in the screening process, wrote a letter.
Myers said that under state law, the commission was required to nominate every candidate it found qualified if there were three or fewer candidates.
“We made a mistake, and we took another vote,” Delleney said.
Delleney said the commission wasn’t under political pressure.
However, Knotts said he contacted commission member Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, and former commission member Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, before the second hearing.
Knotts said some defense lawyers contacted contributors or supporters of legislators to try to pressure legislators to vote for Allen.
Allen’s camp counters that solicitors and sheriffs statewide have campaigned for McMahon. A Jan. 24 letter from the office of 11th Circuit Solicitor Donnie Myers endorsed McMahon. The letter was signed by Myers and the four sheriffs within the circuit.
Earlier in his career, McMahon worked for Myers and Lexington County Sheriff James Metts.
Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.
