South Carolina

Joseph Bias: Welcome, y’all, to the Direct Examination podcast. My name is Joseph Bias.

Dayne Phillips: I’m Dayne Phillips.

Joseph Bias: We are without our third co-host today. Amber is feeling a little bit under the weather, non-COVID division. But we do have a fill-in third host today, because on this Zoom call, Dayne is holding baby Phillips.

Dayne Phillips: Yeah, little AK Phillips here. Mommy had to go to the store, but we got business to do. She said she would fill in, all going on seven weeks old.

Joseph Bias: I am thrilled that we’re going to start talking about some law stuff. If you’re listening to this, we really appreciate it. If you liked our previous episode with Mandy Powers Norell, give us a five-star review and a nice comment. That helps spur us on and inspires us to do more episodes.

Dayne Phillips: Absolutely. This is a labor of love. We do it for $0. We enjoy getting together, putting out this information, and having open discussions. Podcasting is a big thing now, and we appreciate everyone taking time to listen. Like, share, and subscribe.

Joseph Bias: There’s no guest today. Dayne and I wanted to do a re-intro and set the table for the new year. For new listeners, Dayne, tell them who you are, what you do, where you work, and what type of law you practice.

Dayne Phillips: I’m a criminal defense attorney out of Columbia, South Carolina. That’s my primary practice area. I have appellate experience, handle post-conviction relief (PCR), and professional licensing. The cornerstone of my practice is criminal defense. I’m on Taylor Street in Columbia with Price Benowitz. It’s a mid-sized firm headquartered in D.C. with regional offices in Virginia, D.C., and Maryland. I have dedicated my career purely to criminal defense—I’ve never been a prosecutor.

Joseph Bias: Our other co-host is Amber Fulmer. Amber practices out of Lexington with the Jewett Dooley Law Group. She is a family law practitioner and one of the best in the state.

Dayne Phillips: She is a pit bull in court and a zealous advocate. An incredible lawyer.

Joseph Bias: As for me, I’m General Counsel for Midlands Technical College. I have the privilege of working for the people of South Carolina. If you want a great education without paying a lot of money, go to Midlands Tech for your first two years before transferring to a four-year school.

We are recording this on January 13th, the day of the presidential impeachment. This isn’t a political podcast, but national events tie into the law. I wanted to discuss the COVID updates for South Carolina first. The Supreme Court put out an order recently—how has that impacted your practice and clients, Dayne?

Dayne Phillips: It has a massive ripple effect on backlogs. Chief Justice Beatty made the right call to cancel in-person hearings because summary, magistrate, and municipal courts are small, making social distancing impossible.

There are emergency exceptions—bond hearings required within 24 hours of arrest, restraining orders, orders of protection, and vacating bench warrants still move forward. But overall, canceling in-person hearings has increased caseloads because fewer cases can be resolved.

Joseph Bias: What about the prison population and vaccine distribution in correctional facilities?

Dayne Phillips: In the Department of Corrections, individuals are in close quarters, making outbreaks spread like wildfire. For elderly clients or those over 65 in prison, contracting COVID can effectively turn a sentence into a life sentence. The Department of Corrections is understaffed and underfunded, creating an extremely difficult situation.

Joseph Bias: Shout out to all the public defenders working across the state and nation. Public defenders don’t do the job for money or fame; they do it because they believe in justice and civil liberties.

Dayne Phillips: Absolutely. Public defenders fight for constitutional rights regardless of who the client is, putting themselves in harm’s way during COVID. We love you and have your back.

Joseph Bias: Looking ahead to 2021, what are you looking forward to, Dayne?

Dayne Phillips: Sleep! And I want to try a case this year. Last year I didn’t get to try a case due to court suspensions. I’m a trial lawyer at heart, so I’m looking forward to getting back into court once vaccines roll out.

Joseph Bias: We have an exciting 2021 planned for the podcast. For Black History Month, we will host a panel of Black attorneys discussing key legal and cultural issues in South Carolina. For Women’s History Month in March, we are dedicating an episode to tributes for female mentors and legal pioneers in South Carolina. If you are a woman attorney in SC and want to submit a tribute for a mentor who paved the way, email us at directexaminationpodcast@gmail.com.

Follow us at @SCLawPod on Twitter and Facebook, Dayne at @SCCrimLawyer, Amber at @actredjudicata, and email us your feedback or topic suggestions!