Anything that computes down less than four to five percent of income, we
don't include it or categorize it. 10 percent or better, I've got a listing
where we go back on our records and come up with the areas of work I generate
income from.
Q. Well --
A. I do -- I'm sorry. I do a lot of pro bono work also for the South Carolina
Bar Association that I did not, I don't believe, indicate in this cover sheet
and that's not included in any of the -- encompassed on that.
Q. And I got the impression, and I don't remember if it was from this question
and other questions, too, that you actually went back and pulled your
records?
A. Yes.
Q. The firm's records and made some calculations about the percent of time
--
A. Yes, sir.
Q. -- you spent in different areas?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You were reported being in court about 200 times as an attorney and as a
judge on your Personal Data Questionnaire, so it's a combination of the two?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How much of that would have been as an attorney?
A. At least 50 percent of it.
Q. At least 50 percent. How much of that 50 percent -- a hundred times, so
that's 50 times, would have been in Family Court?
Special referee, I have heard cases -- the majority of the cases heard as special referee primarily dealt with foreclosures, but I have heard land line disputes, I have heard corporations, partnership divisions. I have heard just any numbers of cases that would go before the Circuit Court.
As one of the earlier gentlemen indicated, the special referee usually takes what the Circuit Court does not have time to do or don't want to do. And I don't mean that in a disparaging manner.
And I think the last of the question, what would all of that do to help me as a Family Court judge, sitting as a judge has taught me patience and I think everyone that I've watched testify before ya'll has indicated that is tremendously important for a judge to have patience.
I heard ya'll ask one person what his weakness was, and I will leave it with that, I won't admit that I have a weakness, but one of them may be impatience. Sitting on the bench, getting aggravated with the attorneys when they're driving a point that you think is just totally away from the issues before you and you want to jump up and set him straight and you have to let the lawyers do it their way even though you may not agree with them at the time.
That's their right, their responsibility and obligation to their client to practice law and advocate their client's position in the manner in which they feel is appropriate, not necessarily the manner which I think should be appropriate.
Sitting has taught me a lot of patience. I certainly understand basically
how to attempt to control the courtroom and deal with witnesses, deal with
attorneys who sometimes vary a great deal out of line. I am sensible and aware
as to how to handle objections and motions. I've dealt with them from time and
time again. Just, I should feel more comfortable than someone who has not sat
as a judge for a while. It's something -- if you're a practicing lawyer and
become a judge, that's one area that you'll have to get used to and I'm
basically used to that and I think that would be an advantage.
Q. One of the things you touched on relates to judicial temperament. If we
brought in people who had appeared before you, litigants and attorneys who
appeared before you as a City judge, how would they characterize your
temperament?
A. I had a horror that some of them would come. And then on the other hand, I
really would like to hear because sometimes when you sit as a
I would like to think, and I've had no reason to indicate otherwise, that the
majority feel that I am fair and I am courteous and I am understanding. I am
sure that there are those few that would have a difference of opinion in that
regard.
Q. You listed three business relationships that you're involved in and all of
them relate to your practice of law, your partners?
A. Yes.
Q. And you indicate that you would divest yourself of those interests if you're
elected to the Family Court; is that correct?
A. That's correct.
Q. After you divest yourself of those interests, will you hear cases involving
your former partners?
A. Not for a long time, I hope if I can get out of it. And I say that -- the
record will indicate we've been in partnership 17 years together and I'm closer
to my partners than I am my brother.
Our families are tied together, our monies are tied together, our livelihood is tied together and has been for 17 years and I won't hesitate one bit to tell you, you know, I'm close to them. I can't back out of that tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.
I would like to think that I am man enough to sit down and hear a case and
not be biased and leaning to one of my partners, but there is nobody in the
world going to believe that. That appearance of impropriety is going to be
there and it will take awhile for that to work itself down to Lexington County,
I believe, and I'm very conscious and aware of that appearance question and
everybody is greatly concerned over that. I must try very hard.
Q. Well, how will you handle that when one of their cases does come before you
if you're elected Family Court judge?
A. Dealing with them or any other situation that I feel that I can recuse myself
-- if I've got a question about it, I'm going to bring it up and I'm going to
discuss it openly with the attorneys and the parties present. Not only am I
going to have to satisfy myself that the other parties and the attorneys are not
bothered with it, I'm going to have to satisfy myself finally that even I am not
going to be bothered with it. And then I'll make the decision and proceed on.
I perceive that there would be a time that I could do it in regards to my partners. But in any situation, if an attorney or a client has a valid reason, even though I don't think that it would effect me, if there is any
I enjoy talking to them. I want the parents present and I just cannot remember the numbers of groups of people I've spoke to and I like to do young people. I've just done it for years. I think there are more parents that are unaware of laws that affect them, that affect their children, that they're not conscious and aware of, and to me, it's promoting the law in all. These are not ignorant people.
We're just so busy in our society. Our laws change and our paths so rapidly
during the day that we're not aware and conscious of it and I do an effort to
help these people understand what they and their children are walking through
tomorrow and the next day, driving or running around with friends who were doing
certain things, I enjoy doing it.
Q. I appreciate your interest in children. How would you assess your interest
in a domestic practice in Family law?
A. To me probably one of the worst things that can happen in a family is a
separation or a divorce. By nature, I like helping people. In my practice of
law, I was going to have a difficult time answering, and even providing
information, and we alluded to it a while ago and you were
As an attorney, I believe in advocating my client's position, but I'm also one of apparently the fewer attorneys that are left that have the idea of helping these people to solve their problem and understand their problems and accept their problems and deal with them without going before a court. And I do that.
I have had some cases and clients that if I let it go or any other attorney
handled it, it would have spent weeks in a Family Court, but I work very hard
trying them
-- trying to get them to accept the facts by seeing if there is some way we can
work it out and leave apart with the other side working out an agreement. And
if you can't, the only other places to go are before a court and have an
unbiased judge who is patient, who is knowledgeable of the law, who is
consistent with his rulings, so the attorneys will know and can tell their
clients, this judge is always lenient and went this way and interprets this law
this way and doesn't vary from it unless we've got unusual circumstances.
It should help lawyers reduce litigation in court and I can take facts and I
can take the law and I can apply it fairly. And I would look forward to doing
it. It's a challenge.
Q. What would your workday be like on the bench? When would it begin, when
would it end?
A. According to the deputies who unlock the courthouse, I'll stay in bed longer
than I normally do now. I'm an early morning person. I'll get up at 4:00 or
5:00 o'clock. I'll be in the office. I love to be there at 6:00. If I'm there
at 7:00 o'clock, I'm nervous because I'm behind for the day, but I'm just that
type of person. And I will work to 5:00, 6:00 or 7:00 o'clock easily. I enjoy
my work.
My wife calls me and tells me to come home. I enjoy going home, too, but -- and I hope in Family Court, the other gentlemen said he'd start at 9:30 or 10:00, I cannot tell you what I can or can't do because seriously in checking with the deputies the other day -- I would love to be able to tell attorneys, if you've got an uncontested divorce, I'm sitting up here at 7:00 o'clock reading the newspaper, bring your client on over, we'll do it. But now we have the problems of security whether the deputies are going to be available. We have security -- problems for the court reporters and their time and as to whether we can have a transcript or not.
I really don't know how I can utilize my time, but I look forward to hopefully being able to give the practicing Bar maybe an opportunity to dispose of some easy matters real quickly, real timely, in the morning
My law partners and secretaries laugh when they call the office, when I say "they," people who are charged, and I'll say, "Lady, I'm not going to try it on the telephone. I cannot listen to you any more. Don't tell me anything else." I don't like to be rude and hang up, but it's hard to get some good honest people to understand, don't tell me all of this.
I want to hear it all at one time and everybody is together. And it is a
problem particularly for City Court judge and I imagine as a magistrate. That's
something we fight off all the time. Just -- I use different doors. I don't
want to go through the hallway where they're all waiting to come. I'll circle
around and go in the front door one day or something. You know, just to keep
from being rude. It's a hard thing to do and not be rude about it.
Q. How do you plan to produce your orders? Will you also ask attorneys to
submit those to you?
A. I have not thought of that until I heard you ask the question to the
gentleman prior to me. Right now, I would have to say, my first thought is yes,
I would have the attorneys produce or I would like to draft orders, particularly
orders that dealt with a complicated matter or an unusual twist in the law, so
to speak. I would like personally to do it myself.
I think that's a lost art is drafting an order. I'd really like to think that I'd have an opportunity to maybe improve my skills there a great deal.
Again, not knowing how the Family Court really works internally, the burdens
of the numbers the Supreme Court has on them to dispose of cases, whether that
has an influence or not, but I still like the concept of juveniles being
disposed of in a juvenile -- the Family Court.
Q. Do you feel that our present procedure of waiving juveniles up to General
Sessions Court inhibits the prosecution of juveniles for serious crimes?
A. It inhibits it? No, sir.
Q. That's all. Thank you.
REPRESENTATIVE ALEXANDER: Any other questions? Thank you so much.
A. Thank you, sir.
REPRESENTATIVE ALEXANDER: It's taking about 30 minutes per candidate, we have
two to go. Would ya'll like to take a break for no more than ten minutes to
stand up or you want to continue on? Stand up time.
(A short break was taken)
REPRESENTATIVE ALEXANDER: I see our vice chairman --
SENATOR MCCONNELL: That's okay.
REPRESENTATIVE ALEXANDER: -- has just appeared. We have one more candidate to
screen. I'll be --
SENATOR MCCONNELL: Mr. Chairman, I apologize for -- I had to chair a
subcommittee over there and I couldn't let it go and they were hot at it.
Mr. Douglas K. Kotti.
MR. KOTTI: Kotti.
SENATOR MCCONNELL: Kotti. We were up here debating whether to call it Kotti or
Kotti and so --
MR. KOTTI: It's an Albanian name. It's a little rare in South Carolina.
SENATOR MCCONNELL: And you offer for the judge of the Family Court of the
Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Seat Number 3; is that correct, sir?