Lots of folks are questioning the integrity of the state legislature’s process of electing judges after a clear case of legislative nepotism this week.
On Wednesday by a 87-50 vote, lawmakers ousted S.C. Administrative Law Judge Carolyn C. Matthews, a 16-year incumbent, in favor of Harold W. “Bill” Funderburk, the 65-year-old husband of S.C. Rep. Laurie Funderburk, D-Camden.
Matthews, viewed by many in the legal community as an extremely capable judge, may have fallen victim to the legislature’s tussle over ethics reform with Gov. Nikki Haley, who has been pushing for major changes in ethical rules of conduct for legislators.
Haley made the issue personal Jan. 30 on Facebook: “It is a major conflict of interest when a legislator’s spouse is allowed to run. If Funderburk (husband of Rep. Laurie Funderburk) is elected a judge next week, it will be one more example of cronyism in the Statehouse. Enough of the old guard way of doing things. Contact your legislators and tell them NO this is wrong. We will definitely be showing the votes on this race.”
On Wednesday during a joint session of the House and Senate to elect judges, lawmakers first voted against throwing out the slate of candidates by an 88-73 vote, which led to an up-or-down vote between Funderburk and Matthews.
In that vote, the Senate favored Matthews by a 19-17 margin but House members — both Republicans and Democrats — sided with Funderburk by a 70-31 margin. Thirty-three legislators did not vote. (You can see the vote toward the bottom of the House journal here.)
Funderburk, a retired general counsel for the former S.C. Employment Security Commission, has served as a city judge in Camden since last year. He was found qualified by the state Judicial Merit Selection Commission. (See this report, pp. 157-163.)
Matthews, who the commission also found to be qualified (pp. 163-171) served as an assistant state attorney general and an attorney in private practice before becoming an administrative law judge in 1999.
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