SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT REFUSES WRIT OF PROHIBITION
Yesterday, 31 March 2020, the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a two sentence decision:
"Petitioners seek a writ of prohibition to prevent the circuit court from clarifying this Court's decision in Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of S.C. v. Episcopal Church, 421 S.C. 211, 806 S.E. 2d 82 (2017). The petition is denied."
The four participating justices signed.
On February 21, 2020, lawyers for the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina petitioned the SCSC for a writ of prohibition to prevent Judge Edgar Dickson, of the circuit court, from re-litigating the property issues that were settled by majority agreement in the SCSC decision of August 2, 2017. That decision ruled by 3-2 that 29 of the 36 parishes in question, and Camp St. Christopher, were property of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina.
The SCSC sent a remittitur of its decision to the circuit court in November of 2017. Judge Dickson was assigned the matter in January of 2018. In the 26 months since, he has refused to implement the majority orders of the SCSC decision and instead has asked the lawyers of the two sides for information on the property issues that were resolved in the SCSC decision.
The SCSC decision is the final law of the land. The SCSC denied a rehearing. The U.S. Supreme Court denied cert. This means the decision is final, un-appealable, unchangeable.
Dickson has now held four hearings on the SCSC decision. In the last one, there was some indication that he may be moving toward implementation of the decision but nothing has happened toward that since the hearing.
The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina has promoted the public message that the SCSC decision was five different decisions, was fatally fractured, and could not be implemented. This is not true. Each of the five justices wrote a different explanation. The fact remains very clearly that, on the last page of the August 2 paper, a majority of justices listed three decisions in plain English. It remains Judge Dickson's only duty in this matter to implement the three majority decisions in the court judgment. In fact, he has implemented the first one. Now he has only to implement the second and third.
The secessionist leaders have a long record of misinforming and misguiding their followers. They told them the diocese was sovereign and self-governing. Not true per the federal court. They told them they could negate and ignore laws of the national church. Not true per the federal court. They told them they could leave the Episcopal Church with all old names, rights and properties in tact. Not true per the federal and state courts. Now they are leading their followers to believe they have a good chance of keeping the 29 parishes away from the Episcopal Church. Not true.
In their press release today, the diocesan authorities wrote that the SCSC affirmed that "the Circuit Court is the proper venue to resolve the many uncertain issues arising from the August 2, 2017 decision." Demonstably untrue, as shown in the decision itself. All the denial did was to deny the petition. It did not say anything else at all. It absolutely did not "affirm" anything. In fact, there are no unresolved issues in the SCSC decision. The truth is that the state supreme court has awarded the 29 parishes and the Camp to the Episcopal Church. No amount of spin and misinformation is going to change that. The truth will prevail as it has all along. It is just a matter of time. The 29 parishes and the Camp will return to the Episcopal Church.
The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina has promoted the public message that the SCSC decision was five different decisions, was fatally fractured, and could not be implemented. This is not true. Each of the five justices wrote a different explanation. The fact remains very clearly that, on the last page of the August 2 paper, a majority of justices listed three decisions in plain English. It remains Judge Dickson's only duty in this matter to implement the three majority decisions in the court judgment. In fact, he has implemented the first one. Now he has only to implement the second and third.
The secessionist leaders have a long record of misinforming and misguiding their followers. They told them the diocese was sovereign and self-governing. Not true per the federal court. They told them they could negate and ignore laws of the national church. Not true per the federal court. They told them they could leave the Episcopal Church with all old names, rights and properties in tact. Not true per the federal and state courts. Now they are leading their followers to believe they have a good chance of keeping the 29 parishes away from the Episcopal Church. Not true.
In their press release today, the diocesan authorities wrote that the SCSC affirmed that "the Circuit Court is the proper venue to resolve the many uncertain issues arising from the August 2, 2017 decision." Demonstably untrue, as shown in the decision itself. All the denial did was to deny the petition. It did not say anything else at all. It absolutely did not "affirm" anything. In fact, there are no unresolved issues in the SCSC decision. The truth is that the state supreme court has awarded the 29 parishes and the Camp to the Episcopal Church. No amount of spin and misinformation is going to change that. The truth will prevail as it has all along. It is just a matter of time. The 29 parishes and the Camp will return to the Episcopal Church.
