[ Home ] [ Up ] [ The USS Keokuk ] [ Full Scale model ? ] [ BATTLE MAP ] [ Housatonic Sank ] [ ARTIFACTS ] [ USS HUNLEY ] [ THE CREW ] [ Torpedo Warfare Around The Civil War- Article ] [ Torpedo Part 2 ] [ SITE MAP ] [ ENGINEERING ] [ ARCHIVES ]

 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:    Fight over opening Hunley records stalls

COLUMBIA -The legal fight over whether the group safeguarding the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley should make its records open to the public has stalled over whether a single deposition should continue.
Both sides argued in front of a judge Monday over whether Friends of the Hunley, Inc. consultant John Hazzard should submit to further examination. His October deposition was halted after about seven hours when his lawyer said the questions being asked were more about causing embarrassment than in finding case facts. Hazzard's deposition was being collected as part of a legal suit filed months ago by Greenville construction contractor Edward Sloan Jr. Sloan, who has a history of filing open records lawsuits against governments, sued Friends of the Hunley, Inc, saying the nonprofit group is a wing of the state Hunley Commission and therefore all its records should be open to public scrutiny under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.

Hazzard was deposed because he has two roles in the project: as legal counsel for the state Hunley Commission and as a consultant to FOH. He is also a staff lawyer for Hunley Commission chairman and state Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, in the Legislature. "Mr. Hazzard ... seems to be the one most intimately involved in both organizations," said Sloan's attorney, James Carpenter of Greenville. Carpenter said he was not badgering Hazzard at the deposition; rather, he was being thorough. He said he needed about two more hours to finish his questions. Friends of the Hunley, Inc lawyer Biff Sowell stopped the deposition from proceeding.

Circuit Judge James R. Barber III said he would review transcripts of the deposition to see whether Carpenter's line of questioning was redundant, or whether he would have Hazzard submit to a second round of questions. He also ordered Hazzard to produce his tax returns for the judge's private review to see if Hazzard was correctly reporting all his income from FOH. Hazzard was not present in the courtroom in Richland County but in a later telephone interview declined comment, saying he had not heard from Sowell on the day's events.

When Sloan first filed his case, he said his suit should not be interpreted as "anti-salvage of the Hunley," but as an attempt to get a legal determination of who was overseeing its conservation and restoration, and what money was going into it. The Hunley project has received about $8 million in state and federal funding since the recovery effort began. The money has been overseen by Friends of the Hunley, Inc in an arrangement that has allowed the group to avoid state procurement codes.

Sloan wants a judge to determine that Friends of the Hunley, Inc is the alter-ego of the Hunley Commission, making it susceptible to public record laws, procurement codes and an audit by the General Assembly. FOH has voluntarily turned over to Sloan some documents he requested even though the group contends it is a private body. In its court response, Friends of the Hunley, Inc argued it should be considered a private nonprofit charity set up as caretaker and fund-raiser for the sub.

Barber did not give an indication on when he might issue a ruling on the future of Hazzard's deposition.

BY SCHUYLER KROPF
Of The Post and Courier Staff covers state and local politics. Contact him at 937-5551 or skropf@postandcourier.com.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ The USS Keokuk ] [ Full Scale model ? ] [ BATTLE MAP ] [ Housatonic Sank ] [ ARTIFACTS ] [ USS HUNLEY ] [ THE CREW ] [ Torpedo Warfare Around The Civil War- Article ] [ Torpedo Part 2 ] [ SITE MAP ] [ ENGINEERING ] [ ARCHIVES ]

Comments and questions may be directed to webmaster: mistergwp
Please sign guest book and thanks for visiting.