Here it is.
However, by the time the Court Reporter finally produced the transcript, my appeal was dismissed, so now I have to try to re-open it.
Sam Sloan
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS/NON JURY
COUNTY OF AIKEN
CREIGHTON SLOAN,
PLAINTIFF,
V.
SAMUEL SLOAN,
DEFENDANT.
03-CP-02-1681
FEBRUARY 4, 2004
(THE FOLLOWING IS A TYPED PORTION OF THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN JUDGE WILLIAM P. KEESLEY AND MR. SAMUEL SLOAN. THE FOLLOWING IS NOT AN OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT OF RECORD; IT IS FROM THE BACKUP TAPE ONLY.)
THE COURT: SIR?
MR. SLOAN: ONE OF THE THINGS I'M CONCERNED ABOUT -- I'M NOT ADDRESSING THE MERITS OF THE CASE AT ALL.
I JUST WANT TO SAY ONE THING: JUDGE HOCKER (PHONETIC) DID SOMETHING VERY STRANGE -- AT LEAST I THOUGHT IT WAS STRANGE. HE SAID THAT I COULDN'T FILE ANY -- ANY DOCUMENTS IN COURT. I COULDN'T - HE WOULDN'T RECEIVE ANY LETTERS; HE WOULDN'T RECEIVE ANY MOTIONS; HE WOULDN'T RECEIVE ANY AFFIDAVITS. I ALWAYS I -- I WAS USED TO SENDING TWO COPIES. ONE TO THE AIKEN PROBATE COURT DIRECTLY AND THE OTHER TO JUDGE HOCKER. WHEN I APPEARED IN COURT HE ACTUALLY GAVE THE ENVELOPE BACK, THE UNOPENED ENVELOPE, WHICH HE SAID I'M NOT GONNA OPEN THIS ENVELOPE; I'M NOT RECEIVING ANYTHING FROM YOU, AND HE JUST GAVE IT BACK TO ME. AND I SAID BUT I WANT TO ESTABLISH A RECORD FOR THIS APPEAL, AND HOW CAN I ESTABLISH A RECORD IF I'M NOT -- I'VE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING THAT THE JUDGE SAID YOU CAN'T FILE ANYTHING. BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED.
SO THAT - THAT LEFT ME IN A LITTLE BIT OF A QUANDARY AS TO I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT -- EXACTLY WHAT HE SAW AND WHAT HE DIDN'T SEE. SO I'M GLAD YOU APPARENTLY MADE A RULING THAT EVERYTHING HAS TO COME HERE SO WE CAN SEE IT. THAT WAS MY FEAR TODAY THAT SOMETHING MIGHT HAPPEN WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO SEE THE RECORD OR TO THE EXTENT IT EXISTS.
SECONDLY, THERE WAS A GUARDIANSHIP CASE DOWNSTAIRS IN 1991. THE RECORD IN THAT CASE IS ABOUT THAT BIG. THERE'S ABOUT 500 PAGES OF DOCUMENTS IN THERE AND THE JUDGE SAID I'M NOT EVEN GONNA LOOK AT THAT FILE BECAUSE HE WAS IN LAURENS ANYWAY. I'M NOT EVEN GONNA LOOK AT THAT FILE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S IRRELEVANT NOW. SHE'S DECEASED.
THE REASON WHY I HAVE THIS HUGE PILE, THESE TWO BOXES OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO THIS CASE WITH ME IS THERE'S ABOUT FIVE CASES PENDING IN LYNCHBURG CIRCUIT COURT BETWEEN MY MOTHER AGAINST MY BROTHER AND MY BROTHER AGAINST MY MOTHER. THOSE CASES ARE STILL THERE. THEY'RE STILL SITTING THERE AND SOMEBODY IS GONNA HAVE TO GO SOMEDAY TO LYNCHBURG AND RESOLVE ALL THOSE CASES. SO THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL COMPLICATION WHICH I JUST WANTED YOU TO BE AWARE OF. THAT'S REALLY ALL I WANTED TO SAY. I JUST WANT TO -- I'M NOT TALKIN' ABOUT THE MERITS; I'M JUST TALKIN' ABOUT THE RECORD OF THE CASE AS -- AS IT STANDS. YOU KNOW, IT'S A VERY INVOLVED PROCEEDING. BECAUSE THE UNDERLYING CASE BEFORE MY MOTHER DIED STARTED IN 1986 AND WENT ON FOR 18 YEARS. AND THEN NOW WE'RE IN THIS SITUATION RIGHT NOW. SO THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY.
THE COURT: ALRIGHT, SIR.
MR. SLOAN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THE OTHER THING WAS I CAME I DOWN FROM NEW YORK CITY TODAY FOR THIS HEARING. I HOPE IN THE FUTURE THAT I'M INFORMED IN ADVANCE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A LONG TRIP AND, YOU KNOW, BRING THE BABY AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT. SO-
THE COURT: WELL, IF YOU -- THEY ACTUALLY HAVE THE ROSTERS ON THE INTERNET, AND IF YOU CHECK THE INTERNET AND I'M SURE THEY'D BE HAPPY TO CONFIRM WHETHER THE HEARING IS ON OR OFF. I LEARNED THAT MS. KENNEDY WAS NOT GOING TO BE IN TOWN UNTIL FEBRUARY 9th, BUT I DIDN'T LEARN THAT MYSELF TILL YESTERDAY. SEE, I'M NOT THE CHIEF JUDGE HERE. I'M NOT A RESIDENT JUDGE HERE.
MR. SLOAN: I SEE.
THE COURT: IN SOUTH CAROLINA JUDGES TRAVEL AT THIS LEVEL.
MR. SLOAN: OH, I UNDERSTAND. OKAY.
THE COURT: SO ALL THIS STUFF YOU'RE TELLING ME, FIRST OF ALL, SOME OF IT DOES GO TO THE MERITS, BUT SECONDLY, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE I WON'T BE THE JUDGE WHEN IT COMES BACK AROUND.
MR. SLOAN: I SEE. ONE THING: THIS CASE WAS HEARD BY JUDGE PEEPLES IN 1991. AND HE HAD -- HE TOLD -- HE SAID IN COURT THAT HE HAD LISTENED TO THE TAPES OF THE HEARING BELOW AND IT WAS SEVERAL HOURS OF TAPES AND HE HAD LISTENED TO ALL THOSE TAPES. NOW SINCE THEN I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THOSE TAPES, AND OF COURSE WE CAN'T FIND THEM. MAYBE THEY' VE BEEN ERASED; MAYBE THEY'VE BEEN WRITTEN OVER. I WAS THINKING MAYBE JUDGE PEEPLES OR HIS CLERK STILL MIGHT HAVE THEM. I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF JUDGE PEEPLES IS STILL AROUND. I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT I'M NOT FROM HERE, BUT THERE WERE EXTENSIVE TAPES MADE BACK IN 1991, AND I THINK THEY WOULD BE VERY USEFUL TO UNDERSTAND THE BACKGROUND OF HOW THIS CASE CAME BEFORE THE COURT.
THE COURT: WELL, IF JUDGE PEEPLES SAT AND LISTENED TO TAPES, HE'S UNUSUAL BECAUSE I DON'T THINK MOST OF THE CIRCUIT JUDGES TODAY ARE GONNA SIT AROUND AND LISTEN TO HOURS OF TAPES. YOU HAVE TO CONTACT - JUDGE PEEPLES IS STILL WORKING. HE IS RETIRING. AND IF YOU WANT TO CONTACT HIS OFFICE IT'S IN THE DIRECTORY. IF YOU GO ON THAT SAME INTERNET SITE IT'LL HAVE HIS ADDRESS ON IT.
MR. SLOAN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M SORRY -- I'M SORRY TO--THE COURT: NO PROBLEM AT ALL. YOU JUST - YOU HAVE TO CONTACT HIM, BUT I CAN TELL YOU EVEN AT THIS LEVEL OF COURT
MR. SLOAN: UH-HUH.
THE COURT: AND PROBATE COURT IS NOT A COURT OF RECORD AND THIS IS. THE COURT REPORTERS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO KEEP TAPES MORE THAN 3 YEARS.
MR. SLOAN: I SEE.
THE COURT: SO, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT 1991 TAPES WOULD NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE. THEY MAY BE AVAILABLE IN THE OFFICE WHERE THEY WERE RECORDED. I DON'T KNOW. YOU'D HAVE TO CHECK WITH EITHER JUDGE PEEPLES OR THAT OFFICE OR BOTH.
MR. SLOAN: WELL, I DID. I ASKED IN THE PROBATE COURT DOWNSTAIRS. THEY SAY WE CAN'T FIND IT. THEY LOOKED. THEY APPARENTLY SEARCHED EXTENSIVELY. I ASKED ALSO IN THIS COURT. THEY CAN'T FIND THEM EITHER SO I'VE DONE ALL THAT. THE ONLY THING I HAVEN'T DONE IS I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY CONTACTED JUDGE PEEPLES DIRECTLY. BUT I'VE DONE EVERYTHING ELSE BESIDES THAT.
THE COURT: YOU UNDERSTAND NOW THAT THIS APPEAL IS GONNA BE PRETTY MUCH LIMITED TO THE RECORD THAT'S MADE IN THE PROBATE COURT ON THIS MATTER.
MR. SLOAN: OH, I UNDERSTAND THAT, AND I'M READY FOR THAT, AND I THINK THE RECORD IS VERY MUCH IN MY FAVOR. I THINK ITS WONDERFUL. THAT' S EXACTLY WHAT I WANT.
THE COURT: ALRIGHT. THANK YOU, SIR. AND YOU'VE GOT THIS MOTION WHICH SOME JUDGE IS GOING TO HAVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR APPEAL BEING TOO LATE. BUT I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO THAT WITH YOU.
MR. SLOAN: WELL, OKAY. I WON'T GET INTO THAT EITHER SINCE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO.
THE COURT: THANK YOU.
MR. SLOAN: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THE COURT: THANK YOU, SIR. YOU WANT THE WEB SITE ADDRESS?
MR. SLOAN: YES, PLEASE, SIR
THE COURT: SOUTH CAROLINA COURTS.ORG. SCCOURTS.ORG.
MR. SLOAN: CAN SHE WRITE IT DOWN FOR ME?
THE COURT: SURE.
MR. SLOAN: I'M VERY ACTIVE ON THE INTERNET BY THE WAY.
THE COURT: OKAY. THERE ARE LINKS ON THERE. THE ONE WITH THE ROSTERS ON IT I THINK YOU HAVE TO GO INTO CIRCUIT COURTS FIRST AND THEN YOU CLICK ON CLERKS DOWN AT THE BOTTOM AND IT GOES TO COUNTIES AND YOU CLICK ON AIKEN COUNTY, AND IT'LL HAVE ALL THE ROSTERS ON THERE. MR. SLOAN: OKAY. I'LL WORK ON IT.
THE COURT: ITS A LITTLE CONFUSING THE WAY THEY SET THAT UP BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GO INTO THE CIRCUIT COURT THING FIRST.
MR. SLOAN: I SEE. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THE COURT: GOOD LUCK TO YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. MR. SLOAN: THANK YOU AGAIN, YOUR HONOR.
THE COURT: YES, SIR. I'M SORRY YOU HAD TO COME FOR NOTHING.
MR. SLOAN: WELL, THIS CASE HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR 18 YEARS SINCE 1986, YOUR HONOR
THE COURT: OKAY.
MR. SLOAN: I'M USED TO IT. THE COURT: ALRIGHT.
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