Lawsuit of CDV victim attacked at bond hearing can go forward
In Edwards v. Lexington County Sheriff's Office, the S.C. Supreme Court held that the Sheriff's Office owed a duty to protect the victim in a domestic violence case, where they knew that the defendant had threatened violence against her, the Sheriff's Office prosecutor scheduled a hearing to revoke the defendant's bond and then insisted that the victim appear with her evidence of the defendant's violation of the restraining order, and then did not provide any security or precautions to protect the victim.
The defendant attacked the prosecutor and the victim after he was sentenced to 30 days for violating his bond - he was subdued by a bondsman and maced by the judge, but not before he had caused injuries to the victim.
Ordinarily, under the public duty rule, statutory duties such as those in the Criminal Domestic Violence Act do not create a cause of action against public officials for failure to perform those duties, and there was no special relationship between the Sheriff's Office and the victim that gave rise to a duty to protect, but the "special circumstances" of this case gave rise to a duty, because the Sheriff's Office was on notice of the danger and because they created the risk of harm to the victim by not providing security for her.
This case highlights what can be a major problem in our magistrate courts - in most, there is no security. There are no guards, there are no metal detectors, there is nothing to protect judges, jurors, witnesses, victims, or attorneys. Some of the magistrates hold court or bond hearings in small enclosed spaces, and particularly in CDV cases, emotions can run high.
One thing that I am grateful for are the guards at the circuit court and the fact that they are checking people for weapons as they come into the courthouse. It may be an inconvenience but it does make me feel better knowing that the people around me in that emotionally charged atmosphere are not armed.
