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A federal district judge in Columbia has ruled that lawsuits filed against Gov. Mark Sanford over his refusal to accept federal stimulus money should be heard in South Carolina’s highest court instead of federal court.
Staff Report
Published June 1, 2009
A federal district judge in Columbia has ordered that two lawsuits filed against Gov. Mark Sanford over his refusal to accept federal stimulus money should be heard in South Carolina’s highest court instead of federal court.
Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. issued the order this morning after hearing from Sanford’s attorneys — who made a motion to move the lawsuits to federal court — and attorneys for the S.C. Association of School Administrators and two students. S.C. State Superintendent Jim Rex was also named as a defendant in the administrators’ suit.
“After reviewing the record, the memoranda of counsel, the law and hearing the arguments of counsel, the court finds that remand of both cases is appropriate,” Anderson wrote in his order.
The order made no mention of a third lawsuit, which Sanford filed against Attorney General Henry McMaster after the House and Senate overrode many of his budget vetoes, including a veto on the use of the stimulus money. The governor’s counsel had requested that the federal court consolidate all three cases in one court.
The judge said a more detailed order would be forthcoming.
In their lawsuit, Chapin High School student Casey Edwards and University of South Carolina law student Justin Williams say the governor must accept the stimulus money to help public schools and universities create budgets and provide an adequate education to students, according to court documents.
The suit filed by the administrators association seeks to have the court rule that the governor must accept and use the money as outlined in the state budget, which this year would equate to about $185 million, court documents said.
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