He has not personally handled any appeals.
22. Public Office: Administrator, County of Charleston, 1979-1983, appointed
25. Occupation, business or profession other than the practice of law:
County Administrator; Charleston County, South Carolina; November, 1979 to August, 1983
Special Assistant to the Secretary; U. S. Department of Commerce; May, 1979 to November, 1979
Director of Congressional Relations; U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; April, 1977 to May, 1979
Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of Urban Studies; College of Charleston; Charleston, South Carolina, 1972 to 1977
Special Assistant to the Mayor; City of Charleston, January-June, 1976
Research Specialist, Atlanta Model Cities Program, 1969-1970
Urban Intern, U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1969
Page, U. S. House of Representatives, 1961-1963; Overseer of Pages, 1963
28. Financial Arrangements or Business Relationships (Conflict of
Interest):
He is aware of no such arrangement or relationships. If there were to be
such a conflict, he would immediately disclose the conflict and disqualify
himself from any further involvement on the matter.
32. Sued: He was sued for legal malpractice. Case was dismissed for Plaintiff's failure to prosecute.
46. Civic, charitable, educational, social and fraternal organizations:
Former: President, Charleston Trident Chamber of Commerce, 1991;
President, Synagogue Emanu-El, 1991 and 1992; Board of Directors, Amazing
Stage; Chairman, Citizens Task Force on Governmental Reform, 1988; Leadership
South Carolina, 1987; Trustee, Charleston Memorial Hospital; Commissioner,
Charleston Parks, Recreation and Tourism Commission; Board of Directors,
National Association of County Administrators; Board of Directors, Jewish
Community Center; Land Use Policy Steering Committee, National Association of
Counties; South Carolina Association of Counties; International City Managers
Association; American Society for Public Administration; American Political
Science Association; Southern Political Science Association; Pi Sigma Alpha;
Board of Directors, Charleston Museum; Co-Chairman, Citizens Advisory
Committee on Land Use; Board of Directors, United Way Planning Board; Board
of Directors, Charleston Opera Company
Awards: Charleston Trident Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Person
of the Quarter, 1988; National Association of Counties Achievement Awards
- 1980, 1981 and 1982; South Carolina Association of Counties Achievement
Award, 1980; Fellowship and Graduate Assistantships, Emory University,
University of South Carolina; National Science Foundation Award, Emory
University
48. Five (5) letters of recommendation:
(a) John M. Jordan, Jr., Executive Vice President
National Bank of South Carolina
P. O. Box 1299, Charleston, SC 29402-1299
724-7023
(b) James D. Bradley, Chief Executive Officer
Charleston Trident Chamber of Commerce
P. O. Box 975, Charleston, SC 29402-0975
577-2510
We've checked with the applicable law enforcement agencies: Charleston County Sheriff's Office records are negative. Charleston City Police Department records, negative; SLED and FBI records as well are negative. The Judgement Rolls of Charleston County are negative. Federal Courts are negative as well. We have received no complaints. We do have a witness who is here to testify in your case. I think there may be several people who are here to testify in your review.
Prior to turning you over to Ms. McNamee for questioning, I would give you
the opportunity that we have given the other candidates, and that is to make a
brief opening statement.
MR. STEINERT: I would only -- thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate the
opportunity. Human nature being what it is from time to time in this process,
I've asked myself why I've subjected myself to it and it really occurred to me
when I was in Spartanburg the other night at a meeting that Mr. Beatty and Mr.
Russell were both at where the issue of -- belabored issue of day-care regs came
up that had been put out by DSS. And I listened long and hard to what people
were saying and it just struck me that if there had been an administrative law
section in place and a judge said to DSS, you know, these regs are important
that I don't understand them. They don't make sense. If I don't understand
them in the context of this hearing, you're not going to be able to implement
them around the state without a great deal of controversy and a great deal of
confusion. Go back, write them in English and then let's have our hearing.
It struck me that there really is a wonderful opportunity to move forward in this state and to avoid so many of the problems that we now have as a result of not having an Administrative Law section and it also
I would tell you that I have studied, taught and written about government. I have served in government at the state, federal, county and city levels. I have litigated against government in my years of private practice and I think I bring a fairly balanced view to the court.
I certainly am not antigovernment, but I'm not a captive of the agencies and while I certainly give deference to agency work, I understand the frustration of individuals trying to access the system and the need for individuals to access the system. You have asked questions about regionalism, for example. I think down the road this court should be regionalized. I think it should be made available to the people of this state. And for that reason I offer myself to you.
I would also simply comment on my services as County Administrator and both
Executive Assistant to the Mayor of the City of Charleston. I ran a payroll of
well over a thousand people, over forty million dollars, ran hospitals, police
departments, libraries. At the College of Charleston, I started the Urban
Studies program. I believe that the Administrative Law, the chief judge's
position is going to be largely administrative. It's going to take somebody who
understands how to run it and manage and get things done and I believe I can do
that. I hope you give me the opportunity.
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Steinert. Ms. McNamee.
MR. STEINERT - EXAMINATION BY MS. MCNAMEE:
Q. Thank you. Going into that, Mr. Steinert, what is your management
style? What do you foresee being the way you will get this agency going?
A. Well, a court by it's very nature is collegial and I think that we would
have to all function in terms of running the court, managing the court. I do
think, though, that the major responsibility will be on the chief judge, both
the case assignment, case rotation, lobbying, if that's the appropriate term, to
get resources from the Legislature and I would take responsibility for those
things.
Q. How would being the chief judge then effect your case load personally?
A. That, of course, remains to be seen, but I would expect that a substantial
part of my time really would be administration and management at least early on.
I don't think anybody really knows the answer to that question.
Q. Mr. Steinert, since you've graduated from law school, I believe it was
1987?
The cases that I have litigated that I've listed are substantial cases and the cases that I listed for you, I listed because I believed they indicate the administrative nature of the litigation practice. They are all cases that involve the government on one side or the other.
I represented the City Council of the Isle of Palms and it was a very
peculiar case. It was the Isle of Palms versus the Isle of Palms in which the
City Council was suing the mayor because the mayor refused to recognize the
outcome of an election which changed the form of government.
I think you perhaps evolve over time based on what your own personal history
is. I think you have to be open. You have to have a certain degree of caring.
A lot of what we're going to do is going to be fairly boring, so you have to be
very patient, but to rank things that comprise judicial temperament to me makes
no sense. I don't mean to disparage the question.
Q. That's fine. Is any one of those qualities your strongest suit?
A. I've got to work on --
Q. Which of them are?
A. I've got to work on patience, but I am certainly open-minded and fair.
Q. Your experience as a county administrator, your teaching on the college
level and your experience in Washington, how do they bring you skills for this
job?
A. Well, the -- if you know anything at all about being a county
administrator, particularly in a county like Charleston, you learn a tremendous
amount. If you lived to tell the story, I think that in itself is an
accomplishment. Seriously, it does give you the breadth of management,
budgeting, personnel skills and, you know, the thing that I like so much about
being county manager which is what I like about practicing the law is the
intellectual requirement of learning new things all the time.
Same way with entrenched bureaucracies that you inherit even though people work with them, how you manage people, how you budget, how you budget with scarce resources, so I think that's important.
I was in Washington, I had two positions. One, I was special assistant to the Secretary of Commerce and the other, I was Director of Congressional Relations, Department of Housing and Urban Development.
At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, I managed a staff of about 50 political appointees, all of whom had their own agenda, all of whom felt that they were better than I and should have been director of the office or even Secretary of the department and again I think you learn those people skills that are going to be extremely important in this job.
One of the things that I believe this court should correct is the feeling
amongst the general public that they don't have a chance when they come up
against a state agency. It's a perception that may not be correct, but the
perception is real and I think that having the skills of dealing with people who
come to this court and being open and responsive to their needs within a
structure is to be extremely important.
Q. Having been in the political arena this long, and I think we're talking
about 20 years, at least or so, and with all the numerous friendships and the
contacts that you have with all kinds of elected officials whether they are
local, state or even federal, how will you handle the transition from this kind
of environment to the ivory tower of a judgeship?
A. Well, I would certainly welcome it, but each man in his time plays many
parts and I think it's the mark of success to be able to move and to adopt to
the environment that you're in. I was a very different person as county
administrator than I am now as a lawyer suing Charleston County. I don't see
that as a problem and I think people who know me really respect me for that. I
believe I'm evenhanded and fair in whatever context I operate in.
Q. You've lived most of your life in Charleston and you are a very active
member of that community --
A. That's correct.
I mean I could not be in Columbia doing this job and be of service in
Charleston.
Q. Does having the ALJ Division's principal office here in Columbia and you
being a resident living in Charleston, does that pose any problem for you?
A. No, ma'am. Not really.
Q. How do you deal with that?
A. My children are both in school. One is 20 and one is 18. They're both away
at school, so I don't have parental obligations. My wife and I, because of the
nature of what she does and the nature of what I've done, we've been married 27
years and have lived in different cities separate and apart at various stages in
our marriage and that's just not an issue.
Q. Can I ask you what is the Calhoun Corridor project?
A. We're trying to figure that out. It is -- in Washington, if you're
familiar with the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation, Calhoun Street is
the major east west street in Charleston. A new bridge is just come in at one
end, the aquarium is going at the other and the city is very concerned about how
it develops and the city has put a board together to try and structure
development along that corridor. It has really not made a great deal of
progress and I plan to resign from that regardless of what happens.
Q. On your Statement of Economic Interest, you list a contingent liability in
a Carolina Conference?
A. That's correct.
Q. Would you tell us about that?
A. It's -- it was a bad investment that I made. We, a group of us, required
the principal to take out keyman insurance. He subsequently committed suicide.
The insurance proceeds have been paid into the court in an intermediate
(phonetic) action and we're waiting to see whether
If we can staff the court appropriately so that we have the resources, I would certainly prefer to do my own. I enjoy writing. I enjoy that exercise. I think it's going to be probably in the early days of the court much more important to move cases along and move them quickly and we're probably going to have to make some compromises.
I would certainly not give carte blanche to attorneys to prepare orders. I
would require that they distribute them amongst themselves before giving it to
me and reserve the right to add an amendment or change my mind.
Q. And how would you go about learning the substantive law of all these
different areas that you need to know about?
A. You know, I think that the thing that I enjoy about practicing law the most
is that every time a new client comes in the door, you need to learn something
that you didn't know before. I spent my entire academic life avoiding science
courses. Anything that -- in fact, I didn't want to major in political science
because it sounded like science.
One of the first big cases I had came out of the medical university and it related to the synthesis of protein and the bonding of the molecules. I can tell you that I don't believe there will be any issue that I will ever no less about that will come before the ALJ than that and what do you do? You read. You talk to the parties. You get the facts and you go forward. And to me, I don't see any difference.
Here, you know, someone asked a question about whether we -- asked one of the
candidates whether I thought that -- or whether they thought that there should
be specialization amongst ALJ judges, I do not believe that. I think that it
would be frankly a very, very, very boring job if one only heard cases arising
out of a certain agency. I think you need to have good people who are flexible
enough and bright enough to move across the range.
Q. Mr. Steinert, have you ever been held in contempt or sanctioned by a court
for any reason?
A. I have not.