South Carolina

EPISODE 8: 2020 GOLDEN GAVEL AWARDS

Summary / Introduction

In the 2020 season finale of the Direct Examination Podcast, co-hosts Amber Fulmer, Dane Phillips, and Joseph Bias gather to reflect on a turbulent year in the legal profession, mark Dane’s return following the birth of his daughter, and present the 2nd Annual Golden Gavel Awards. The hosts review the podcast’s top-performing episodes of 2020 and all-time listenership milestones before casting their votes for the year’s most significant legal developments, standout lawyer-politicians, social media personalities, bar employees, war stories, and guests of the year.

Key Topics Covered

• Year-End Reflections & Court Operations under COVID-19:

  • Dane’s Return: Celebrating the birth of Dane’s newborn daughter and balancing early fatherhood with a busy trial practice.

  • Systemic Court Delays: Discussing Chief Justice Donald Beatty’s orders suspending jury trials and grand jury empanelments across South Carolina, creating multi-year case backlogs in family and general sessions courts.

  • The Virtual Courtroom Shift: How video conferencing (Zoom, Webex, Microsoft Teams) revolutionized motion hearings, pre-trial conferences, and uncontested domestic proceedings.

• Podcast Listenership & All-Time Milestones:

  • Reaching nearly 25,000 total downloads across 77 episodes.

  • All-Time Top 5 Episodes:

    1. Decotti James (Most listened-to episode in podcast history).

    2. Judge Robert Hood.

    3. Todd Ellis (USC Football Preview).

    4. SC Bar COVID-19 Legal Webinar.

    5. Bob Coble.

  • 2020 Top 10 Episodes: Featuring Brad Willis (Murder, etc.), Justice Costa Pleicones, Adair Burroughs, April Sampson & Mark McLaughlin, and Susan Williams.

• The 2nd Annual Golden Gavel Award Winners (2020):

  • Law Development of the Year: COVID-19 Court Delays & Virtual Hearings (unanimous vote over Title IX updates).

  • Lawyer-Politician of the Year: Adair Burroughs (majority vote over Mandy Powers Norrell, Tamika Isaac Devine, Henry McMaster, and Rhodes Bailey).

  • Social Media Account of the Year: Professor Colin Miller (@EvidenceProf) (unanimous vote for his Fourth Amendment and Undisclosed analysis over Christian Stegmaier, Jeanmarie Tankersley, and Daniel Coble).

  • Bar Employee of the Year: Brooke Mixon (majority vote for her work coordinating statewide Bar e-blasts, over Nicole Davis, Callie Turner, and Mary Catherine Kraft).

  • War Story of the Year: Brad Willis (for his investigative narrative detailing Greenville’s historical police corruption and wrongful conviction case).

  • Podcast Guest of the Year: Brad Willis (host of the Murder, etc. podcast).

• Looking Ahead to 2021:

  • Hopes for live-audience podcast recordings post-pandemic.

  • Wishlist guests for 2021: Vincent Sheheen, John Delgado, former US Attorney Bill Nettles, Andy Savage, and former Chief Justice Jean Toal.

Transcript

An edited transcript of the episode is included below.

Amber Fulmer: Welcome y’all to the Direct Examination Podcast! I’m Amber Fulmer.

Dane Phillips: I’m Dane Phillips.

Joseph Bias: And I’m Joseph Bias! Welcome to the 2020 season finale of the Direct Examination Podcast! Today, we are recapping this wild year, looking at our top episodes, and handing out our 2nd Annual Golden Gavel Awards. Before we start, go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a five-star review! Dane, Amber, how are y’all doing?

Amber Fulmer: Tired! Very, very tired. (laughs)

Dane Phillips: I have to echo the tired sentiment. As y’all know, I have a brand-new baby girl at home who is about 20 days old, so sleep is a rare commodity right now!

Joseph Bias: Dane, welcome back! We are so glad to have you back, and we’re so happy that mom and baby are doing great.

Dane Phillips: Thank you! Everyone is healthy and doing well. I’m living the dream—just juggling work, a newborn, and trying to stay on top of court schedules.

Amber Fulmer: Speaking of court schedules, everything has been upended again with the Chief Justice’s latest orders.

Dane Phillips: That’s right. Chief Justice Beatty issued an order suspending jury trials indefinitely due to rising COVID-19 numbers, and another order preventing new grand juries from being empanelled. In criminal defense, that means no new indictments can move forward, which creates a massive backlog. People awaiting trial are having their cases pushed back by months or even a year.

Amber Fulmer: In family court, it’s the same story. In Richland County alone, there were over 30 multi-day family court trials backed up before the pandemic even hit. Now, judges are telling us that new contested custody cases filed today might not get a final trial date until 2022. The one silver lining has been virtual hearings on Zoom—being able to resolve uncontested divorces or simple motion hearings from your office desk without driving an hour to another county has been a massive efficiency boost.

Joseph Bias: Absolutely. I don’t think the legal profession will ever fully go back to the old way for routine administrative hearings. Zoom is here to stay. Now, let’s look back at 2020 on the podcast! We are closing in on 25,000 total downloads across 77 episodes.

Dane Phillips: That is incredible for a niche legal podcast in South Carolina!

Joseph Bias: Our top five all-time most listened-to episodes are: at number five, former Columbia Mayor Bob Coble; number four, the SC Bar COVID Legal Webinar; number three, Todd Ellis; number two, Judge Robert Hood; and sitting at number one overall is still Decotti James!

Amber Fulmer: Decotti James holding down the crown! (laughs)

Joseph Bias: In 2020 specifically, our top guest episodes were Brad Willis from the Murder, etc. podcast at number three, the SC Bar Webinar at number two, and Judge Robert Hood at number one!

Dane Phillips: Brad Willis was an absolute standout. If you haven’t listened to his episode or his podcast Murder, etc., you need to go back and listen to it immediately. He investigates a historical murder and police corruption case in Greenville, and his storytelling is incredible.

Joseph Bias: Now, let’s get into the main event: The 2nd Annual 2020 Golden Gavel Awards! Amber, explain the rules.

Amber Fulmer: There are no rules! We make up the categories and we vote on who we want because we don’t have sponsors and we do what we want! (laughs)

Joseph Bias: Exactly right! Category number one: Law Development of the Year. The nominees are:

1. COVID-19 Court Delays and Statewide Orders.

2. The Federal Title IX Rule Updates.

3. The Virtual Courtroom Shift (Zoom/Webex).

Amber, what is your vote?

Amber Fulmer: COVID Court Delays. The sheer disruption to everyday practice, from family court to general sessions, is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes.

Dane Phillips: I agree 100%. COVID Court Delays wins it. The backlog created by suspending jury trials and grand juries is going to impact our court system for years to come.

Joseph Bias: That’s a unanimous vote! COVID-19 Court Delays takes the Golden Gavel for Law Development of the Year.

Category number two: Lawyer-Politician of the Year. The nominees are:

1. Rhodes Bailey (Columbia City Council / House candidate).

2. Governor Henry McMaster.

3. Tamika Isaac Devine (Columbia City Council).

4. Representative Mandy Powers Norrell.

5. Congressional candidate Adair Burroughs.

Amber, who do you have?

Amber Fulmer: Mandy Powers Norrell. I love following her work, her advocacy for victims, and her presence at the State House.

Dane Phillips: I’m voting for Adair Burroughs. She ran an incredible, tireless campaign in the 5th Congressional District. When you watched her debate, she was the definition of genuine, prepared, and dedicated to public service.

Joseph Bias: I’m also voting for Adair Burroughs. Her campaign brought so much energy, and her presentation on our podcast showed how dedicated she is to serving others. By a 2-1 vote, Adair Burroughs wins Lawyer-Politician of the Year!

Category number three: Social Media Account of the Year. The nominees are:

1. Christian Stegmaier (@cstegmaier).

2. Jeanmarie Tankersley (@JeanMarieSC).

3. Marie-Louise Ramsdale (@RamsdaleLaw).

4. Ali MeneGakis (@SC4CJR).

5. Judge Daniel Coble (@DanielMCoble).

6. Professor Derek Black (@DerekWBlack).

7. Professor Colin Miller (@EvidenceProf).

Joseph’s vote goes to Colin Miller for his incredible Fourth Amendment research on the Breonna Taylor case and his work on Undisclosed. Amber?

Amber Fulmer: Colin Miller as well. His tweets breaking down complex evidence rules and high-profile criminal cases are unmatched.

Dane Phillips: Unanimous for Colin Miller (@EvidenceProf). His account isn’t just entertaining; it’s an actual educational resource for criminal defense attorneys. Professor Colin Miller wins Social Media Account of the Year!

Category number four: Bar Employee of the Year. The nominees are:

1. Brooke Mixon (SC Bar e-blasts/Communications).

2. Callie Turner (Government Relations).

3. Mary Catherine Kraft (Communications).

4. Nicole Davis (LRIS/Member Services).

Dane, who do you have?

Dane Phillips: Nicole Davis. She’s been a great friend to the podcast and does fantastic work for the Bar.

Amber Fulmer: Brooke Mixon! Those weekly SC Bar e-blasts are the only reason I remember half the CLE deadlines and bar announcements I need to pay attention to! (laughs)

Joseph Bias: I’m also voting for Brooke Mixon. Her work keeping the entire statewide Bar informed during rapid COVID policy changes was vital. By a 2-1 vote, Brooke Mixon wins Bar Employee of the Year!

Category number five: War Story of the Year. Amber votes for Adair Burroughs describing her first deposition. Joseph votes for Chris Adams describing a judge threatening him with contempt in a capital trial. Dane votes for Brad Willis describing his true crime investigation in Greenville. Brad Willis takes War Story of the Year!

Category number six: Podcast Guest of the Year. Amber and Dane both vote for Brad Willis (Murder, etc.), while Joseph votes for Justice Costa Pleicones. By a 2-1 majority, Brad Willis wins 2020 Podcast Guest of the Year!

Joseph Bias: Congratulations to all our 2020 Golden Gavel winners! Looking ahead to 2021, we want to thank all 25,000 of our listeners across South Carolina and beyond. We will be back in January with brand-new episodes, incredible guests, and hopefully a live podcast event once it’s safe to gather again!

Amber Fulmer: Thank you all so much for listening and supporting us through 2020!

Dane Phillips: Stay safe, everyone, and we’ll see y’all in 2021!

Joseph Bias: Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @SCLawPod, Dane @SCCrimLawyer, Amber @RedJudicata, and Joseph @JosephPBias. Happy New Year, everyone!