Orangeburg DUI attorney still under pressure
One unwarranted side effect of the recent focus on the South Carolina Highway Patrol has been the harassment of Senator Brad Hutto by the news media and others. The Greenville News in particular was pushing for an investigation into the revelation that 12 of 17 DUI tickets written by the same trooper to Senator Hutto's clients resulted in dismissals.
The only reason this even became an issue is because Hutto is a senator, and the media is playing "gotcha." The bottom line is that Brad Hutto is a decent defense attorney as well as a state legislator, and he is doing what all good defense attorneys do - winning cases. When there are viable defenses in a DUI case, the case can be dismissed. If the ticket is not outright dismissed for lack of evidence, it can be dismissed and then re-written as reckless driving or some other traffic violation, so as to avoid a trial. The only time a DUI should go to trial is when the State has a solid case.
Richard Walker, of the Times and Democrat, gives the first unbiased report on the issue that I've seen. Orangeburg Solicitor David Pascoe is not investigating the matter because there is no evidence of any criminal conduct. There is no evidence that Senator Hutto did anything inappropriate. Like any good DUI lawyer, it sounds like he is fighting for his clients and obtaining dismissals when he can. Give us a break.
