News & Commentary

February 5, 2014. Columbia. Free Times. By Porter Barron, Jr. -- Last month, thanks to the S.C House of Representatives, the Palmetto State joined more than 40 states trying to restrict the use of drones by state and local law enforcement agencies, arguing drone technology has outpaced laws governing their use and threatens basic privacy rights.

January 18, 2014. Associated Press. By Meg Kinnard. Civil liberties and mental health advocates say the South Carolina Department of Corrections shouldn't challenge a court order that the agency come up with a plan to better deal with its mentally ill inmates, agreeing with the judge that more proceedings just mean more taxpayer dollars spent in court and not on inmate care.

Black students make up 79 percent of Charleston County discipline cases referred to police

October 30, 2013. Free Times. Columbia. By Eva Moore. City leaders continue to tweak their ideas for cracking down on crime as fears mount about gangs in Five Points and citywide. But a plan to ban suspected gang members from certain parts of the city raises some concerns among civil liberties groups.

October 20, 2013. Columbia, SC. The State Newspaper. By John Monk. Although Five Points businesses seem to have rejected out-of-hand closing off streets to make the area a pedestrian locale on weekend nights, others say there are practical reasons for doing so.

October 10, 2013. Rock Hill Herald. By Anna Douglas. Residents who want to vote in Tuesday’s Rock Hill city election will be asked to show a photo ID at the polls, but York County’s director of elections says no registered voter without the identification will be turned away.

October 5, 2013. Island Packet - Beaufort. By Tom Barton. Fifty years after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark right-to-counsel decision, poor residents in many places in South Carolina -- including Beaufort County -- still are tried without a lawyer.

The city plans to forcibly segregate them in the same year it celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement.

August 17, 2013. Columbia, SC. The State Newspaper. By Clif LeBlanc. Tempers are flaring as groups prepare to contest Columbia’s plan to remove homeless people from the city center, arguing it violates their constitutional rights.