Attorney General Alan Wilson Files Additional Appeal Documents In Harrell Matter

Attorney General Alan Wilson Files Additional Appeal Documents In Harrell Matter

(Columbia, S.C.) Attorney General Alan Wilson announced his Office has filed three appeal documents with the state Supreme Court in connection with the Speaker Bobby Harrell matter.

The documents include:

1) Notice of Appeal in the Matter of State Grand Jury Investigation #M2014-237

The notice is to advise the Court that a full appeal will be forthcoming.  The appeal briefs will present the merits of this Office’s appeal.

Attorney General Wilson writes in the notice of appeal: “The Attorney General, in his official capacity as the Chief Prosecuting Officer of the State of South Carolina and as legal adviser to the State Grand Jury, hereby appeals the Order in this matter issued by the Honorable L. Casey Manning on May 12, 2014…”   

2) Motion to Expedite

Due to the importance of the matter, the motion requests the Court to expedite the briefing schedule and the submission or calling for oral argument of the appeal.

Attorney General Wilson writes in the motion: “This motion is made because of the weighty public interest at stake from the unprecedented and expansive nature of [Judge Manning’s] order…”  Also, “The order… flatly treads upon the Attorney General’s constitutionally protected role as the prosecutor of crime.”

3) Petition for Supersedeas (i.e. Reversal) and Interim Relief

The petition sets forth in detail the reasons which the Attorney General believes warrant the Supreme Court’s reversal of Judge Manning’s order, pending the appeal.  

Attorney General Wilson writes in the petition:  “The rule of law should apply equally to everyone, without privilege or immunity for anyone.”  Also, “The lower court’s order is unprecedented in American law and unsupported by any known legal authority. The order interferes with, impedes, and stops dead in its tracks an ongoing criminal investigation of public corruption by a State Grand Jury properly impaneled….” Also, “The General Assembly did not intend for the fox to guard the henhouse.”

The documents are available to the public on the Office’s website, www.scag.gov.

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