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I believe that these were allowed to be omitted by retired judges and justices or judges and justices applying for reelection and I know this is an interpretation question, but I think it would be helpful to Counsel, to the Committee, if we could have some knowledge of your previous trial experience even though you are a sitting judge going back to prior to 1983.
A. Yes, sir. I think you'll -- all I think I'll have to do on that is simply go get the first application and just submit -- would it be okay just to submit a copy of that?
Q. Yes, sir. I'd appreciate that.
A. Yes, sir, I think I can do that.
THE CHAIRMAN: Without objection.
Q. And finally, Judge Westbrook, on the issue of pledging. I'm sure you've heard the question as you sat here today. First of all, have you sought the pledge of any legislator prior to the completion of this screening process that you're --
A. No, sir. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. No, sir, I did not.
Q. And finally have you asked any third parties to solicit consideration of your candidacy --
A. No, sir.
Q. -- at this point?
A. I would note that I was interested yesterday I think when Judge Cottingham testified, I was interested in the Bar Resolution issue that he discussed and if you remember I think I discussed with two or three members of the Committee and with yourself on that issue and there -- as you noted, there is a division of opinion on that.

But I think in discussing with you, you were of the feeling that it would be safer not to have one and frankly, I was flattered that some folks in the Bar were willing to try to arrange a resolution and at your advice I asked them not to do that and, certainly, I indicated that if everything goes okay with screening and there is a report issued, that I may ask them to do that afterwards. But I have not and even on Bar Resolutions, I stayed away from that because as you know there is a feeling that that could be trying to indirectly what one cannot do directly.
Q. Thank you, Judge Westbrook.
A. Yes.
Q. Mr. Chairman?
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Couick. Any questions? Representive Hodges.

1. John H. Waller, Jr.
Home Address: Business Address:
202 Meadowview Lane P. O. Box 1059
Mullins, SC 29574 Marion, SC 29571

2. He was born in Marion County, South Carolina on October 31, 1937. He is presently 56 years old.

4. He was divorced in 1979. He was the moving party, and the ground was separation (South Carolina Family Court in Marion County, South Carolina).

5. Military Service: December, 1959 - June 1960; Active Duty; Army (Armor); Discharged as a Captain; 05308230; Discharged, Honorable

6. He attended Wofford College, 1955-1959, Psychology BA; and the University of South Carolina School of Law, 1960-1963, LLB (Juris Doctor).

8. Legal/Judicial education during the past five years:
Judicial College Reno (Spring, 1985); attended mandatory JCLE's as required and JCLE's that have not been required

9. Taught or Lectured: About two years ago he was on the panel at the Solicitor's Convention, "What is Expected of a Judges' Clerk"; various Judge Association meetings; South Carolina Bar mid-winter meeting; and instructor for new Circuit Judges

12. Legal experience since graduation from law school:
He went immediately into private practice as a sole practitioner in 1963. He practiced alone until 1976. Thereafter, he took in an associate and practiced until 1980, when he was elected to the Circuit Bench. His practice consisted of all types of work (criminal, civil, domestic and property) with over 60% of it being in criminal and civil trial work.

13. Rating in Martindale-Hubbell: He was not listed, as far as he knows. He has never tried to have himself listed. He never thought he would need it while he was practicing and never had the occasion where it was needed or desired. Presently, he is frequently requested to give his opinion as to how attorneys should be rated.

20. Judicial Office:
Elected to the Circuit Bench in 1980 until the present

22. Public Office: South Carolina House of Representatives, 1967-1976; South Carolina Senate, 1977-1980 - elected to these offices

24. Unsuccessful Candidate: He ran for South Carolina Supreme Court in 1991, and withdrew after screening and before the election.

25. Occupation, business or profession other than the practice of law: Not as an occupation, but he owns rental property and farming interest

26. Officer/director or management of business enterprise: He is an officer in a close corporation owned by him and one other person involving a farming operation. The business is Brownway Farms, Inc.

28. Financial Arrangements or Business Relationships (Conflict of Interest):
He knows of none, but if any existed, he would disqualify himself from hearing it.

29. Arrested or Charged: He was charged $50 for a game violation in approximately 1971.

32. Sued: He has only been sued as a member of the Marion Legislative Delegation while serving in that capacity, and he believes in one or more cases as a Judge which were all dismissed.

46. Civic, charitable, educational, social and fraternal organizations:
He has given up all organizations except Mason, Shriners and Wildlife Action. He is also a member of the Summit Club.

47. He has been a Circuit Judge for over ten years and feels that every circuit he has been in can attest to his judicial temperament, handling of the court, working with the jury and any other area. He is the Chairman of the Circuit Court Advisory Committee which considers and advises the Supreme Court on matters requested by the Supreme Court or as a conduit from the Circuit Bench and/or the Bar Association to the Supreme Court. This Committee has also been used to instruct new judges as they prepare to begin their work on the bench. He is also presently Chairman of the Judicial Standards Commission which accepts, acts upon and recommends action to the Supreme Court, if any is required, concerning any alleged violation of Judicial ethics against any Judge from and including City Recorders to the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. Before becoming Chairman of this Commission, he was a member and before that was a hearing officer for the Commission.

48. Five (5) letters of recommendation:
(a) W. Frank Jones, Chairman and President
Davis National Bank
P. O. Drawer 843, Mullins, SC 29574-0843
464-9567
(b) Haigh Porter
Office of the City Manager
Drawer AA, City-County Complex, Florence, SC 29501-
3456
665-3113
(c) Bernice B. Parker, Clerk of Court
Drawer E, City-County Complex
Florence, SC 29501
(d) James E. Brogdon, Jr., Esquire
P. O. Box 1041, Marion, SC 29571-1041
423-5122

2. Positions on the Bench:
He has been the Resident Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit since elected on March 18, 1980 and qualified on June 6, 1980.

10. Extra-Judicial Community Involvement:
He is a member of a local golf club. He has never used his judicial office to further this interest.

I note that the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline reports that no Formal Complaints of any kind have ever been filed against you. The Judicial Standards Commission has no records of reprimands against you.

The records of the applicable law enforcement agencies: the Marion County Sheriff's office, a negative; the Marion City Police Department, negative record; SLED and FBI records are negative.

The Judgment Rolls of Marion County are negative. Federal court records show no judgment or criminal actions against you.

There were four civil actions brought against you. One suit was a writ of habeas corpus, which was dismissed in 1985. The second suit was an alleged civil rights violation brought against you and others which was dismissed in 1992. The third and fourth suits were prisoner civil rights suits which were both dismissed in 1992.

The record shows that there are no complaints or statements that have been filed. And my best information is that no witnesses are present to testify, so with that I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Couick and please answer any questions that he might have.
JUDGE WALLER: Mr. Chairman, there is one thing that is in this report that it does show a Judgement Roll in Marion County whenever I was sued as a Member of the Marion County Delegation.
JUDGE WALLER - EXAMINATION BY MR. COUICK:
Q. Do you have a copy of your SLED report now, Judge Waller?
A. I'm sorry.
Q. What are you reviewing now?

It was kind of a political type thing this fellow was having. And I had -- I wasn't sure if I had a plug in my gun or not and they kept us on the outside of a fence, wouldn't even let us go into the place because they wanted to make sure everything was done right.

So I loaded my gun and rather than unloading my gun, I just put it up in the air and fired three times because I did have a plug. Well, they just jumped all over me. Said there is going to be no firing here. We're going to do everything straight. I said fine. So we're standing there behind the gate. We're watching this tractor go around the field. There's disking of the cornfield and, you know, just disking it up like the front of the -- so finally they let us in.

So when they let us in, I chose me a spot over on the far side of that cornfield where they had just disked up because I know doves like to put their feet in soft dirt, so I went over to that area. Shot for a while, got a little tired of shooting.

Walked from that area closer to a lake and was standing there talking. And by the way, two game wardens had already checked the fields and said it's fine, but we can't stay there to eat because we got other places to go.

So finally they gathered us all up and brought us over there to the shed where we had had lunch that day. And it's kind of unusual, the one conservation officer that I was able to get to talk to me was a fellow by the name of Driggers who is now a captain of the conservation and he said you're shooting over salt. I said huh-uh, this field has been checked out. I know we're not. He said yeah, you are. And I said, well, would you mind showing it to me. He said not at all.

Well, now, remember that they got me when I was over here at the lake. Well, we walked back to the same spot where I had been shooting and where the tractor with the disc had torn up the dirt and there on top of where the tractor had been going over and turning everything up was some salt laying on top and on the bottom, in the bottom of the burrow.

So you ask me was I setup, I believe I was. Anyway, it got to the point that they said, well, what are you going to do? You're a lawyer. What are you going to do about it? I said it's a $50 fine. I'm going to pay my fine.

And so three of them, well, will you represent us? I said, yeah, for $50 a piece. So I represented them for $50 a piece, I paid $50, got $150, ended up a $100 ahead, but we still lost the suit.
Q. Did you --
A. That's what it was.
Q. Did you get your limit that day, that's the question?
A. I got my limit that day. I got my limit.
Q. Thank you for sharing that with the Committee. That was something that had been discussed before at earlier screenings. Judge, we have talked a good bit about judicial temperament for the last two days and you have been on the bench now for sometime.

What is your approach to making sure that the litigants and the attorneys in your courtroom feel comfortable at the same time you get the business of a court accomplished?
A. What is my approach?
Q. Your approach, what is your philosophy, how do you treat people?
A. My philosophy is basically to be put in very simple terms, I haven't forgot what it's like to be in the courtroom and I didn't like for a judge

You know, we're ambassadors sitting up there on the bench. If we do something wrong, every judge in the state of South Carolina is condemned for it and I try to keep that in mind not only in the trial of a case while I'm having a trial, but while I'm dealing with the jury panels that we are ambassadors, so I guess that's the way I feel about it.
Q. Just there are two --
A. Did that answer your question?
Q. Yes, sir, it sure does. Two other aspects of the relationships with attorneys have been talked about a good deal as well and that's handling ex parte communication and also handling offers of luncheons, dinners, trips, gifts, et cetera that may come from time to time very innocently. How do you handle those how do you make sure that no one could ever think that a turkey sandwich can buy a result in your courtroom?
A. Well, you'd have to almost do it on a situation by situation basis. I make it a practice to eat my lunch and to eat whatever meal I have to eat while I'm working with my law clerk. I try to make it a practice not to have any other attorneys around me at that time.

Occasionally, I eat at the same places and I talk with them and I see them. Sometimes we move to the table, but never would I do something like this if there was a case that was going to appear before me not only that day, but that week, they had a case before me that week.

I live in a rather rural area of Marion County and Florence County and it's kind of hard to thumb your nose at a lawyer because there's not that many around, but you've got to be very careful how you handle that situation. You don't want some member of the public to say, well, I saw Judge Waller eating with so and so, giving some credence to that lawyer's ability or giving some credence to that lawyer's case that might appear before me, so I have to be very careful with that.

Now as far as being invited to a dove shoot, if a lawyer is having one and they invite me to hunting trip of some type, then I attend it and the reason I attend it is because the Advisory Committee of the Judicial Standards Commission has said that that's proper that you can do that and so I do it. Did I answer that?
Q. Yes, sir. Ex parte communication?
A. Ex parte communication.
Q. In some of those very situations you mentioned there, there is the likelihood that someone would walk up and may try to engage you in a conversation. What's your response? How do you ward that off?

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