A recent ad campaign launched in South Carolina by the Republican Governors Association has brought several legal organizations to the front lines of what they call an attack on the legal profession.
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The ads target Democratic governor hopeful Sen. Vincent Sheheen, calling his campaign speeches “rhetoric” and accusing him of making a living by defending those accused of child abuse and violence.
Professional groups including the American Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar, the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the North Carolina Bar Association interpret the ads as a blanket attack on lawyers everywhere.
The ads began airing two weeks ago and blast Sheheen, an attorney and business owner from Camden, S.C., for “getting a sex offender out of jail time,” and defending child abusers and violent criminals. He stands for criminals, they allege, not the people of South Carolina.
Sheheen will again seek to unseat incumbent Gov. Nikki Haley in November after losing the 2010 election by a 51-47 percent margin.
On its website, the RGA accuses Sheheen of attempting to win voters with “tough on crime” and “defender of women” stances it says aren’t supported by his track record.
“Actions speak louder than words, and the reality of Vincent Sheheen’s background as a trial lawyer tells a vastly different story than what he has offered up on the trail so far,” said Gail Gitcho, RGA communications director.
In response, James Silkenat, president of the 400,000-member American Bar Association, sent RGA chairman and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie a letter asking him to reject the “disturbing” message contained within the ads. So far, the RGA has shown no signs of rejecting the ads. An email seeking comment on the ABA letter was not immediately returned.
The S.C. Bar launched a website, www.sclawyerfacts.org, to, in its words, “refute the misinformation” and “provide education” about the legal profession and the services provided by local attorneys.
While vigorous debate is what democracy are about, the website reads, inaccurate and irrelevant smear tactics that attack an entire industry are not.
Bar president Alice Paylor believes there is no conflict of interest between representing criminal defendants and representing South Carolina as its governor and said that a defense attorney’s job is not to condone crime, it’s to make sure his or her client has a fair trial. She called the ads “attacks seeking to evoke a gut response.”
“Irrespective of party lines, candidates and those supporting them should present their own credentials and experience and allow intelligent voters to make informed decisions … based on those facts,” Paylor said.
Executive director Kitty Sutton this week released a statement on behalf of SCACDL in which she said the country’s founding fathers knew that the strongest check on tyranny is the “right to counsel in defending ourselves when we stand accused by the Government.”
“To attack someone for their defense of a person charged with a crime is not only shameful, it is un-American,” she wrote. “Those who perform this patriotic duty for our country deserve our thanks, not scorn.”
Colin Miller, associate professor of law at the University of South Carolina School of Law, said the campaign ads are fundamentally unfair and inflammatory. He added that they are potentially persuasive, though they shouldn’t be. Miller said Sheheen provided a vigorous defense for his clients as is appropriate under the law.
“Mr. Sheheen was not a lawmaker who drafted or supported laws that were soft on domestic violence or other criminal acts,” Miller said. “He simply defended individuals of contravening criminal laws making such acts illegal. Just as a doctor owes the Hippocratic Oath to his patient, a criminal defense attorney owes a duty of loyalty to his client.”
The North Carolina Bar Association released the most recent statement, saying Wednesday that it respects and defends the right to free speech but does not condone unfair attacks on “those seeking elective office based on the performance of their duties as officers of the court.”
“Justices, judges, district attorneys and private practitioners execute their duties according to the rule of law under the strictest codes of ethics and professionalism,” the statement reads. “It is imperative that we respect the positions they hold within this priceless system of justice upon which our democracy rests.”
Follow Heath Hamacher on Twitter @SCLWHamacher