Journal of the House of Representatives
of the Second Session of the 110th General Assembly
of the State of South Carolina
being the Regular Session Beginning Tuesday, January 11, 1994

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Printed Page 1980 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
look at something along this same line. If it's something I feel could be done fairly quickly I may do it myself. Of course, I did have staff attorneys, which these state agencies use, and they should be more qualified and have a better background in working in something in that area than I do, so I probably will call upon them as a resource.
Q. What standard of deference do you give or will you give to the agencies' interpretations of law, of the statutes?
A. I will give them the same deference as I will give individuals, and I envision most of the individuals being represented -- of course, individual by statute includes groups, associations, corporations, I'm using that term in that general sense. I would envision most of them being represented by counsel who hopefully has done his or her homework, and so I think they would deserve equal bearing or weight if they've done that. You can read briefs, you can tell who's spent the time and this type of thing --
Q. Have you ever been held in contempt or sanctioned by a court for any reason?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. Have you ever been the subject of a disciplinary action arising out of your public employment?
A. I had two complaints that were filed, they are both in the materials and they both were dismissed immediately after being filed.
Q. I didn't really mean that. Have you sought directly the pledge of any legislator --
A. No.
Q. How have you gone about introducing yourself ...
A. I have sent out a letter to all the legislators, senators and representatives, and that's pretty much where I'm at at this point in time.
Q. Are you aware of any solicitation without your authorization?
A. No, I'm not aware of any.
Q. That's all I have.
THE CHAIRMAN: Questions from the Members? Senator McConnell.
SENATOR MCCONNELL: Thank you.
EXAMINATION BY SENATOR MCCONNELL:
Q. Have you sought the endorsement of any group of members of the General Assembly or of a caucus of the General Assembly?
A. No, sir, I have not.
Q. Have you participated in a formalized interview process other than the South Carolina Bar Association's or this committee?
A. No, sir.
Printed Page 1981 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
Q. Have you directly or indirectly had any meetings or conversations pertaining to your candidacy with members of the Bar Screening Committee, the Bar's employees or lobbyists representing the Bar either before you were screened or after you were screened but prior to the Bar's screening report being made public?
A. No, sir.
Q. Thank you.
SENATOR MOORE: Mr. Chairman?
THE CHAIRMAN: Senator Moore.
EXAMINATION BY SENATOR MOORE:
Q. Mr. Clark, do you recall the date you were first contacted by the Bar as to scheduling your interview?
A. Yes, sir. My office was called on the afternoon of January the 4th.
Q. What date did the interview take place?
A. January the 5th, here in Columbia.
Q. In Columbia?
A. Yes, sir, at the Bar Building.
Q. How many interviewers participated in your interview?
A. Three.
Q. Do you know what sections of the state they reside?
A. Yes, sir. One was from Greenwood, Attorney Roc Wise. One, I believe, was from Beaufort; Battey was the last name, I don't remember the first name. And there was a young lady, Gwen Fuller, and since her office called I presume she's here in Columbia, but I could not swear to that.
Q. And I assume you obviously had some prior acquaintance or knowledge of Mr. Wise. But the other two, did you know them prior to the interview?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you furnish a list of references?
A. Yes, sir, five independent of the ones furnished to the committee.
Q. Do you have any knowledge if they were contacted?
A. No, sir.
Q. When and how were you notified of the results?
A. I received, or my office received a Federal Express letter Monday, I believe. I was out with a bug, so ...
Q. Monday being January the 10th?
A. Yes, sir.
SENATOR MOORE: That's all I have, Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, sir. Other questions? Thank you very much.
Printed Page 1982 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
MR. CLARK: Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Come forward, please, Mr. Geathers.
JOHN D. GEATHERS, having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
THE CHAIRMAN: Have you had a chance to review the Personal Data Questionnaire Summary?
MR. GEATHERS: Yes, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is it correct?
MR. GEATHERS: Yes, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: Any changes, clarifications need to be made?
MR. GEATHERS: Other than my daughter is now six months old, if that's important to you to change that.
THE CHAIRMAN: All right. That's significant, we'll make that change. Is there any objection to making this summary a part of the record of your sworn testimony?
MR. GEATHERS: No, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: All right, we'll do that at this point.

PERSONAL DATA QUESTIONNAIRE SUMMARY

1. John D. Geathers
Home Address: Business Address:
P. O. Box 3221 Office of Senate Research
Columbia, SC 29230 P. O. Box 142
Columbia, SC 29202

2. He was born in Georgetown, South Carolina on April 10, 1961. He is presently 32 years old.

4. He was married to Doris Williams on September 12, 1987. He has one child: Lydia Kaden, age 6 months.

5. Military Service: N/A

6. He attended the University of South Carolina, B.A. Degree in Political Science, 1979-1983; and the University of South Carolina School of Law, 1983-1986, J.D. Degree.

8. Legal/Judicial education during the past five years:
He has complied with the requisite CLE hours as prescribed by the South Carolina Bar Association.

Printed Page 1983 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
9. Taught or Lectured: He has had the opportunity to prepare materials and give an update on the 1991 Solid Waste Management Act to the government section at the 1991 Annual Bar Meeting.

12. Legal experience since graduation from law school:

Attorney for the Department of Labor; September, 1986 - January, 1987
Responsibilities: Resolved cases involving large and small corporations and businesses in violation of Occupational Safety and Health standards.

Attorney for the Office of Senate Research; 1987 - present
Responsibilities: Researching and writing memoranda of law; drafting legislation; staffing committee meetings; advising Senators; supervising law clerks; serving as Senate Staff appointee to the Southern Legislative Conference on Environmental Quality and Natural Resources Committee; experience with federal environmental laws.

13. Rating in Martindale-Hubbell:Inapplicable

14. Frequency of appearances in court:
Federal -
State -
Other -

None.

15. Percentage of litigation:
Civil -
Criminal -
Domestic -

Inapplicable. However, during his experience with the Senate, he has had an opportunity to work on projects involving each of these subject areas.

16. Percentage of cases in trial courts:
Jury -
Non-jury -

Printed Page 1984 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
Inapplicable.

17. Five (5) of the most significant litigated matters in either trial or appellate court:

Inapplicable.

18. Five (5) civil appeals:

Inapplicable.

40. Expenditures Relating to Candidacy:
Long Distance Phone Calls: $145.00
Postage: $ 66.00
Stationery: $105.29

45. Bar Associations and Professional Organizations:
South Carolina Bar Association; North Carolina Bar Association

46. Civic, charitable, educational, social and fraternal organizations:
United Way Big Brothers Volunteer

47. STATEMENT BY JOHN D. GEATHERS: "As a candidate for a position as an Administrative Law Judge, I want the Committee to know a few of the following things about me. My wife Doris and I have been married just over six years and are the proud parents of Lydia Kaden who is nearly four months old.
I graduated with honors from a defacto segregated public high school in Georgetown County. My parents do not have a formal education, but they have always been people who have worked hard and have understood the importance of an education in today's society. They have put three children through the University of South Carolina and now have a fourth in college. They instilled within me a work ethic. As a teenager, I worked in the tobacco fields of Georgetown and the surrounding counties. I also worked in Myrtle Beach restaurants washing dishes and busing tables to earn money for upcoming school terms. I was told and taught that people may often help you but rarely do they give you anything. My parents instilled Christian values in me and taught me to live by certain virtues including integrity (which meant doing the right thing even when no one else was looking or no one would find out) and

Printed Page 1985 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
striving for honesty in all my dealings. They taught me to respect other people regardless of the status or station those people had in life.
These virtues carried me through the University of South Carolina undergraduate program and the School of Law and they continue to direct me in my professional career. I entered the University of South Carolina in 1979 and graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. During my studies at the University of South Carolina, I made the Dean's List many of the semesters of my attendance. I was inducted into the Phi Sigma Alpha Honorary Political Science Society. I was selected through competitive application process as a governmental intern to serve in Lieutenant Governor Nancy Stevenson's office where I had occasion to meet my current employer Frank Caggiano, Clerk of the South Carolina Senate.
I entered law school in 1983 and graduated in 1986 with a Juris Doctor degree and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar that same year. During that year I became employed with the South Carolina Department of Labor as a staff attorney. My responsibilities involved contested case resolution concerning large and small corporations and businesses alleged to be in violation of Occupational, Safety, and Health Standards.
My tenure at the Department of Labor was short lived as Frank Caggiano of the Senate invited me to work as a full time staff attorney for the Office of Senate Research, where I had previously clerked during law school.
I currently serve as Senior Staff Counsel for the Office of Senate Research. I have served continuously in this position since 1987. My responsibilities include, among other things, researching and writing memoranda of law, drafting legislation, staffing committee meetings, advising Senators, supervising law clerks, and serving as Senate staff appointee to the Southern Legislative Conference on Environmental Quality and Natural Resource Committee. I have had the opportunity to serve as Senate point person on a number of pivotal issues confronting the General Assembly. Chief among these issues were the following:
Infectious Waste Management Act of 1989, Act No. 134. Prior to the passage of this act, the Senate sent Senator Peden McLeod, myself, and another staff person to a seminar in Boston, Massachusetts, to familiarize ourselves with all of the issues concerning the management of infectious waste. As you will recall,
Printed Page 1986 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
there was public concern over infectious waste as many hypodermic needles were found floating on beaches across the country. This act promoted the proper handling, treatment and disposal of infectious waste.
Hazardous Waste Landfill Restrictions Act of 1990, Act No. 590, in which the General Assembly attempted to reduce the amount of hazardous waste landfilled in South Carolina.
The Solid Waste Management Act of 1991, Act No. 63, which established a coordinated statewide solid waste program in order to protect public health and safety, protect and preserve the quality of the environment, conserve and recycle natural resources, and to promote reduction and recycling goals for solid waste being received at municipal solid waste landfills and solid waste incinerators in the State of South Carolina.
The Offender Management System Act of 1992, Act No. 461. This act sought to identify qualified non-violent offenders and place them in communities in controlled settings in order to alleviate prison overcrowding.
Barnwell Low-Level Radioactive Waste Site Act of 1992. This act extended the operation of the Barnwell Low Level Radioactive Waste site for the Southeast Interstate Compact until January 1, 1996, subject to a number of conditions.
And most recently, the Restructuring Act of 1993, Act No. 181 in which state government was restructured by the consolidation of numerous agencies, boards, and commissions into 19 departments within the executive branch of state government. I was one of two Senate staff persons appointed to study and draft the changes necessary for the consolidation of the environmental agencies.
On all of these legislative enactments, I worked closely with the sponsors of the legislation and with various interest groups and state agencies in reaching compromises and composing amendments. I also served as staff to the Conference Committees in forging compromises between the House and Senate.
These tasks required long and arduous work hours on many occasions. I am accustomed to working at a job until it is done right and I am very aware of the need to give due consideration to all sides of an issue. I feel these are important qualities for a judge, particularly in the administrative law area where so many interests are affected. On some occasions these tasks required that I work independently and on other occasions that I provide supervision of support staff.
Printed Page 1987 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
I chronicle or detail my work at the Senate to merely indicate that I have gained the respect and admiration, if not of all, of many of the Senators for competence, diligence, and devotion to excellence. This is evidenced by Senator Moore in the Senate Journal on Tuesday, May 14, 1991, who commended me for my work on the Solid Waste Bill: "Senator Moore asked that the record reflect that he paid special tribute to the efforts and support of Mr. John Geathers, Senior Staff Counsel, with the Office of Senate Research." Most recently, with the Restructuring Bill, along with other members of the Senate staff, I was commended for my efforts in working very diligent and long hours and in a short period of time producing a quality work product. This bill was over 1200 pages. Again, Senator Marshall Williams, Senate President Pro Tempore, appointed me to serve as Senate staff appointee to the Southern Legislative Conference on Environmental Quality and Natural Resources Committee.
I would also like the Committee to know that on my own initiative, I became a member of the North Carolina Bar Association in 1992. I ordered the study materials and studied during the evening after work. And I should mention this was during the Barnwell debate, so many nights I was studying until midnight for the bar exam. This was not always a pleasant experience but I wanted to achieve my goal. North Carolina currently has jurisdictional reciprocity with 23 other states and I saw this as an avenue to broaden my career options given the interstate nature of many legal questions.
The last seven years as Senior Staff Counsel for the Office of Senate Research and my tenure as an attorney for the OSHA Division of the South Carolina Department of Labor have prepared me, for all of the various reasons I have indicated, to serve as an Administrative Law Judge, along with my familiarity with the Administrative Procedures Act. Recently, I have further prepared myself by studying and outlining the most current and comprehensive materials on South Carolina administrative law.
I have prided myself on being able and committed to working hard and presenting myself as a person of integrity and as a person qualified on his merits. I look to the perseverance, determination and achievement of my predecessors and forefathers as inspiration and incentive to advance myself and build upon my heritage. In offering for the position as Administrative Law Judge, I respectfully request that the Committee consider my entire record and background. I offer myself as a qualified candidate, regardless of race, gender,
Printed Page 1988 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
political philosophy or affiliation, who will do a job that the General Assembly, the State and my family can be proud of."

48. Five (5) letters of recommendation:
(a) Joseph H. Stone, Assistant Vice President
Nationsbank
2095 Beltline Boulevard, Columbia, SC 29204
765-4940
(b) Frank Caggiano
Clerk of the Senate
P. O. Box 142, Columbia, SC 29202
734-2806
(c) Carl E. Lancaster
Northeast Church of Christ
3506 Edwards Road, Taylors, SC 29687
244-7622
(d) Christopher G. Isgett, Esquire
P. O. Box 1505, Columbia, SC 29202
799-9811
(e) Joseph Henry, Esquire
140 Little Hampton Drive, Irmo, SC 29063
781-5742

The Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline reports that no formal complaints or charges of any kind have ever been filed against you. Records of the applicable law enforcement agencies, Richland County Sheriff's Office, Columbia City Police, SLED and FBI, are all negative. Judgement Rolls of Richland County are negative. Federal court records are negative. No complaints or statements have been received about you. No witnesses are present to testify against you. Prior to turning you over to Mr. Elliott for questioning, I would offer you the same opportunity we have offered the other candidates, and that is to make a brief opening statement.
MR. GEATHERS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I do have a brief statement. The role of the judge is special, whether it be at the lowest level of adjudication or in the highest court of our state deciding issues of great moment. It is special because a public trust has been imparted to the one holding the office of judge. What society and this committee and the General Assembly expect and at a minimum deserve from one who holds the office is integrity, competence and diligence. Not only do I humbly submit that I am qualified on these points, but I would call the

Printed Page 1989 . . . . . Thursday, February 10, 1994
committee's attention to my specific work experiences which indicate the aforementioned qualities.

I have worked in the Office of Senate Research for over seven years as senior staff counsel and daily researching and writing memoranda of law on a multiplicity of issues. I'm responsible for researching and drafting legislation, staffing standing committee and conference committee meetings and supervising certain support staff.

I have been the Senate point person on a number of pivotal issues which have come before the General Assembly. Chief among these were the Infectious Waste Management Act of 1989, the Hazardous Waste Landfill Act of 1990, the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991, the Offender Management Act of 1992, the Barnwell Low Level Radioactive Waste Site Act of 1992, and natural resources and environmental components of the Restructuring Act of 1993. And more specifically, to prepare myself to assume the position of administrative law judge, I have reviewed and outlined Professor Shipley's treatise on administrative law. I have revisited an outline of Professor Reizer's fifth edition on Rules of Evidence in South Carolina.

I have reviewed CLE materials on administrative law and I have reviewed and briefed case law covering the last five years on both administrative law and the Canons of Judicial Ethics. I have great confidence that the committee will find my experience and background compelling as to the fact that I possess the qualities and attributes necessary to hold the office and exercise the duties and responsibilities of an administrative law judge.

I have previously submitted a statement, which I think is part of my Personal Data Questionnaire, and I would invite the committee to review it as well. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Geathers. Mr. Elliott, questions?
MR. ELLIOTT: Yes, sir. Thank you.
MR. GEATHERS- EXAMINATION BY MR. ELLIOTT:
Q. Speaking of the statement in your Personal Data Questionnaire, I can't speak for the committee, but I consider that well written. Is that your work entirely?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On your Personal Data Questionnaire, it shows that you were an attorney for the Department of Labor, and I guess that was the South Carolina Department of Labor, when you first got out of law school?
A. That's correct.
Q. For a brief period of time?
A. That's correct.

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