FITSNews Exclusive – Another Judicial Election Scandal?

HARRELL’S ACTIONS ON BEHALF OF BROTHER’S LAW PARTNER STIR CONTROVERSY

FITSNews – February 22, 2008 – If there’s one thing the South Carolina Legislature has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, it’s that it can’t even think about holding a judicial election without somebody trying to trade favors or facilitate some backroom deal to enhance their own political power. Of course, with so many legislators standing to benefit financially from the judges they appoint, we probably shouldn’t be surprised that judicial elections at the State House are as crooked as the politicians who ultimately decide them.

While most of the mainstream media attention has focused on alleged indiscretions in two recent Supreme Court elections, sources are telling FITSNews that a much bigger scandal is brewing over a lower court election. We are also being told that those indiscretions directly implicate House Speaker Bobby Harrell, arguably the most powerful politician in the entire state.

As much as we criticize him for his record on spending, we’ve always liked the Speaker. He’s a decent guy who just happens to disagree with us philosophically on the size and scope of government. Specifically, Harrell tends to favor a big, bureaucratic government controlled exclusively by the legislature, whereas we tend to favor a leaner, more modern and efficient government that features more executive control. Oh, and less spending.

A big part of that fundamental dispute revolves around the appointment of judges, which we believe ought to be a governor’s responsibility – particularly given the rampant shadiness that seems to accompany anything the State Legislature gets its grubby paws on.

All of which leads us to the recent legislative election of Kristi Harrington to the Ninth Circuit Court seat …

A little-known secret behind the election of Judge Harrington is that her suprise victory came directly at the expense of Speaker Harrell, who mounted a furious behind-the-scenes effort to secure the position for his brother’s law partner.

Although officially recusing himself from endorsing a candidate for the hotly-contested seat, multiple sources have confirmed to FITSNews that Harrell lobbied vigorously (albeit belatedly) on behalf of Charleston attorney William J. Thrower, who is a partner at the Harrell Law Firm, which belongs to the Speaker’s brother, John D. Harrell.

From the beginning, this particular judicial race seemed like a done deal for Thrower. After all, the Speaker had recently appointed his own brother, John Harrell, to serve on the state’s Judicial Merit Selection Commission, which is responsible for determining which judicial candidates the legislature gets to vote on. According to a State House source, having the Speaker’s brother on the committee “guaranteed that Thrower’s name would be placed on the legislative ballot.”

Once nominated, Thrower gave every indication that the Speaker’s support of his candidacy – which Harrell is said to have expressed to dozens of legislators – meant that his election to the seat was a foregone conclusion. According to a source who spoke with FITSNews on the condition of anonymity, “Thrower had told a lot of people that he had the race in the bag.”

Of course after making the initial calls, our sources say both Speaker Harrell and Thrower stopped “working the race,” assuming that the message had been sent and the legislative commitments were lining up.

It turns out they weren’t, despite the fact that Thrower supporters such as Rep. Liston Barfield and others were reportedly telling their colleagues that his selection was a given owing to the Speaker’s support.

“In reality, I don’t think (Thrower) ever had more than about eight committments,” said one source.

While Thrower and the Speaker were taking their foot off the gas pedal, House Majority Leader Jimmy Merrill was stepping up his efforts on behalf of Harrington, then the Ninth Circuit’s deputy prosecutor.

Around the same time Merrill started his vote count, several Republican womens’ activists began to take a keen interest in the race, with rumors of a report being circulated among them alleging that Harrell’s record of supporting women for prominent positions in state government was far less distinguished than that of former House Speaker David Wilkins.

FITSNews attempted to obtain a copy of this report, but our efforts were unsuccessful. However, a quick review of the House of Representatives power structure reveals no women serving in positions of authority. Of the House’s eleven committee chairmen, none are women, and the House GOP Caucus currently has no women serving in leadership positions.

Armed with this data – and Merrill’s support – Harrington quickly began picking up commitments. In fact, she picked up so many of them that Thrower and another candidate were eventually forced to drop out of the race in late January. This reportedly led to a heated confrontation between the Speaker and the Majority Leader.

“Bobby was red-faced, furious, humiliated,” one source said. “He accused Jimmy (Merrill) of playing hardball on the women’s issue and demanded that he agree to support his brother’s partner for the next open seat.”

Reached this morning via e-mail, Merrill declined to comment for this report, although numerous legislators have confirmed our source’s account.

Harrington was elected unopposed to the Ninth Circuit seat two weeks ago.

Reached this morning via telephone, she also declined to comment for this report.

FITSNews has sent an e-mail to Speaker Harrell’s office requesting comment, which we’ll bring to you just as soon as we receive it.