JUDGE DICKSON SCHEDULES HEARING
1:00 p.m. The Episcopal diocese has just released the news that Judge Edgar Dickson has scheduled a hearing on the church case, on Tuesday, November 26, at 10:00 a.m., in the Orangeburg County Courthouse, Orangeburg, SC.
Read the diocesan news release here . As of this moment, the Anglican diocese has not made an announcement of the hearing.
According to the announcement, the judge contacted the lawyers yesterday afternoon to inform them of the hearing "to hear the motion for reconsideration and any other pending motions that have not been heard."
The release goes on that the church lawyers sent an email to the judge this morning reminding him of the three motions/petitions they have before him: 1-implementation and special master, 2-accounting, 3-reconsideration of judge's denial of church's motion for dismissal of the Betterments suit.
The Anglican side also has three motions/petitions before Judge Dickson: 1-Betterments suit, 2-complex case, 3-clarification of jurisdiction. In the first, the Anglicans are asking for reimbursements on improvements made to the properties in question. In the last they are asking the judge to rule himself on ownership of the 29 parishes at stake.
One should recall that Judge Dickson has implemented the first of the three orders in the South Carolina Supreme Court decision. That one was to recognize that 7 parishes own their own property without trust. Since the judge has enacted the first part of the SCSC decision, there is no reason why he should not move on and enact the second (29 parishes are property of the Episcopal Church) and third (Camp St. Christopher is property of the Episcopal diocese). No doubt, the church lawyers will press this point in the hearing on the 26th.
I expect to attend the hearing and will file a report asap afterwards. Incidentally, I also plan to attend the Episcopal diocesan convention, in North Charleston, on Nov. 15-16.
I must say that I am a bit surprised that Judge Dickson is going to hold a hearing. I, for one, did not expect this. I assumed he would ignore Tisdale's second letter asking for a hearing as he had the first. I have no idea what changed the judge's mind. Could it be the church side made enough noise to catch the judge's attention? Whatever, it should be a good sign that the judge wants to move on with this. As Judge Gergel said in his order of 19 September 2019, in other words, it is time to get this mess over. I think everyone can say "Amen" to that.
I must say that I am a bit surprised that Judge Dickson is going to hold a hearing. I, for one, did not expect this. I assumed he would ignore Tisdale's second letter asking for a hearing as he had the first. I have no idea what changed the judge's mind. Could it be the church side made enough noise to catch the judge's attention? Whatever, it should be a good sign that the judge wants to move on with this. As Judge Gergel said in his order of 19 September 2019, in other words, it is time to get this mess over. I think everyone can say "Amen" to that.
