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As far as research, I enjoy research and I think that for all the administrative law judges during the first year and the first two years that there will be a steep learning curve for all of us and I think that research among other things is the one thing that we'll all have to take on to get to the point where we can all become familiar with these different types of cases.
Q. I believe you have a scientific background.
A. I'm also a chemical engineer.
Q. How will you go about preparing yourself for the substantive law that you will face in these different hearings, and it's a wide variety?
A. When I have cases come before me, I intend to prepare thoroughly for it if I'm actually hearing the case and research. And as far as during the interim, between the time that I receive the appointment and actually go to work, I also would avail myself of any educational opportunity I could find to bring myself up to speed on administrative substantive law.
Q. You do not list any significant cases or appeals in your PDQ and --
A. I haven't --
Q. -- I just wonder if you would explain that.
A. I haven't handled any appeals other than Magistrate Court appeals and I couldn't think of any particular case that was outstanding in my mind at the time that I was answering the questionnaire.
Q. Well, how -- if you would help the Committee then, how can they best evaluate your qualifications for this job?
A. I have eight years of experience in civil practice, a good bit of that is in single judge, nonjury situations which is similar to the ALJ hearing environment. I've had experience in Family Court, in Common Pleas

However, I do think I have the administrative and managerial ability as well as the experience as an attorney in a litigation practice to serve as an administrative law judge.
Q. When the Administrative Law judge presides over the rule-making hearings, would you describe how you plan to handle one of those? How do you see this reasonableness standard being applied?
A. I think that both sides are going to, you know, bring the issues -- are to frame the issues and I would just listen to the issues as they're framed by the parties and --
Q. What is your role in the regulatory process? What would your role be?

Would you care to respond, Mr. Longtin, to the Bar's findings in your situation?
A. I didn't quite understand. I know what you're talking about, but I didn't quite understand. I mean, you know, I read what they stated, but it wasn't what we discussed at our interview and so I don't have any additional comment to it. No, I don't.
Q. And then they found you not qualified for the office of chief ALJ?
A. That's correct.
Q. Finally, have you ever been held in contempt or sanctioned by any court?
A. No. Never formally.
Q. Never formally? Would you like to expand on that?
A. I was -- Judge Howell, a circuit judge in the criminal court took my name off the appointment list for indigent appointments.
Q. And could you explain that? Why?
A. That was -- he said that I didn't have an adequate understanding of the federal law.
Q. That was just something orally said?
A. Right.
Q. Have you ever been the subject of a disciplinary action arising out of any employment?
A. No.
Q. And have you sought directly or indirectly the pledge of a legislator, a legislator's vote for this judgeship?
A. No.
Q. Have you spent any money on this?
A. None.
Q. Okay. I didn't --
A. Travel here.
Q. Excuse me?
A. Travel here.
Q. Are you aware of any solicitation that has been made without your authorization and without your request of any legislator or legislative vote?
A. No.

I called him back and he was not in. We didn't get together until noon on Wednesday because I was in Family Court all day in trial, so we met Thursday morning at his office at 9:00 o'clock.
Q. That being what day?
MS. MCNAMEE: The 6th.
Q. And the interview took place at his office?
A. His office.
Q. In Charleston, is that what you said?
A. Right.

And, of course, I counted kind of quick. I guess I counted too quick. They said 31 of 41. I count 27 signatures, but in any event 27 folks, fellow lawyers in Colleton County where you're from have signed the resolution stating that you are qualified and have all the necessary training and education, judicial temperament, experience and you have an interview with one person from the State Bar and furnish no references and they merely state that concerns were expressed about his legal

And we say we want to improve the system. We want merit selection. We want candidates who come before us to, you know, any and everybody who wants to participate in it, tell us more about it, but if we get a candidate such as yourself, and I'm not trying to use you as the guinea pig, but you're the only one out of 20 some odd candidates who received a not qualified, so I'm sorry, you're it.

How do we balance this or tell me how to make it settle in my mind that here's a resolution from a county bar, the people you deal with and live with, saying you're qualified, 27 signatures or whatever is on there; you have an interview by one person at the State Bar; you give no references, so therefore they don't contact any references you've given; they obviously contacted someone and say you're not qualified. Does that make any sense to someone sitting on a screening committee trying to apply any kind of balance to what I'm receiving?
A. I see where it could be extremely confusing.
Q. It's a little bit more than confusing. I'm very skeptical of either your county bar's resolution or the state bar or both, to tell you the truth. I mean I fail to see how a county bar that lives with you can say you're qualified, fully qualified, the necessary education, training, experience and temperament to effectively serve as an administrative law judge. People

Is it a result of the one person you interviewed? Is it the result of something else? We have no way of knowing why they say you're not qualified because they have a closed process where we're here in an open process trying to give you that. I'm not on my soap box on you, but for the life of me, I don't understand that.
THE CHAIRMAN: Questions? Senator McConnell.
EXAMINATION BY SENATOR MCCONNELL:
Q. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple more questions were you notified that more than one person was going to interview you from the Bar?
A. No, I just got a phone call at 4:00 o'clock on Tuesday asking me to return the phone call. That it was from the Bar Screening committee.
Q. Do you know of anybody in your hometown that was interviewed regarding your qualifications?
A. No, I do not.
Q. So you have no way of defending yourself against this finding of being unqualified?
A. No. Like I said, it -- what's on that disqualification paper is not what we discussed -- what Wade Logan and I discussed.
Q. What did -- if you don't mind, what were the questions? I mean, what were they interested in discussion with you about?
A. The only -- Wade said his only concern was what we brought up earlier that informal -- I don't know if you want to call it a sanction or whatever it was by Judge Howell when he removed me from the criminal indigent appointment list.
Q. And that's all he talked with you about? I mean that's the only concern he expressed?
A. He said -- I said, "Do you have any other concerns?" And he said, "No."
Q. How long did your discussion with the Bar committee last?
A. With Wade Logan, approximately a half hour.
Q. What else did he go over then with you?
A. We discussed my education, my legal experience, what types of cases I handled. He -- and maybe this is what they're addressing, I put on my PDQ that I had appeared in court over the years approximately 25 times a year and I'm not sure if they're saying that that's too many times or not enough times or what, but that's the only -- I was trying to read between the lines and I can't --

Tell me. I've got to admit, I'm troubled by that. Tell me a little bit about when that happened, how long you had been practicing, whether you had appeared in Judge Howell's court prior to that time. Can you give me a little background on that?
A. I appeared before Judge Howell a number of times in Common Pleas Court, I believe, and possibly on some pleadings in General Sessions. I think this was my first trial in front of him in General Sessions.
THE CHAIRMAN: And did he -- was there an incident that occurred during the course of the trial that caused --
A. There --
THE CHAIRMAN: -- this to happen or --
A. There was a witness that was not available at the time that he needed to be available.

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