Case hits legal snag already

The biggest issue in the upcoming death penalty trial of Colin James Broughton might not be what happened in a Cainhoy mobile home three years ago but what unfolded behind the scenes just a few weeks ago.

Specifically, defense attorney Bill McGuire said two judges and his boss at the S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense worked together to encourage him to drop a legal issue in the case, specifically whether public defender Beattie Butler could speak out in court on Broughton's behalf.

McGuire subpoenaed both S.C. Supreme Court Justice Jean Toal and Patton Adams, the director of the S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense, and both appeared Thursday morning in a Charleston County courtroom.

Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson Jr. dismissed them before they took the stand, ruling that he already had dealt with the issue they had been summoned to talk about -- namely whether Adams, Toal and Circuit Judge Deadre Jefferson tried to get defense lawyer Bill McGuire to drop a legal issue in the case and whether that tainted McGuire's involvement to the point where he should step down or that the death penalty should be thrown out as an option.

The defense team is seeking a writ from the high court to overrule the lower court rulings that Butler may not speak and that McGuire must remain as a defense lawyer on the case, which is set to begin Monday with jury selection in Moncks Corner.

McGuire told Nicholson that his decision to resist Adams' call to back off on the issue of Butler speaking represented an actual conflict of interest.

McGuire's sworn pleading said Adams indicated that his refusal to go along would anger Judge Jefferson, Toal and the rest of the Supreme Court.

"They have put their thumbs on the scale of justice, and that's a line that should not be crossed," McGuire said.

Nicholson disagreed. "Your client ought to put you on a pedestal because you took on the establishment. That is not a conflict."

The Commission on Indigent Defense met Wednesday to discuss what happened. Commission chairman Harry Dest said Thursday that he was limited in how much he could discuss the matter but added, "The commission is aware of the situation, and we are taking the appropriate steps to investigate."

Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said she wasn't aware of the conversations but said, "What's fascinating about all this is how Mr. McGuire is willing to presume the absolute worst about members of this court, members of the Supreme Court and my office."

Nicholson said he would listen to talk of personalities for a while, "and that's going to be the end of it. I don't care what's happened in the past. We're going to trial Monday. The name-calling is going to stop."

Broughton, 25, is accused of using a claw hammer to beat and kill his aunt, Shirley Mae Birch, in September 2006. Her daughter also was assaulted. Pre-trial pleadings show Broughton repeatedly has offered to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life in prison.

If Broughton is found guilty, then a second phase of the trial will begin to decide if he should be put to death by lethal injection or electrocution.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.