THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA In The Supreme Court Mohsen A. Baddourah, as a member of the City Council of the City of Columbia, Appellant, v. Henry McMaster, in his capacity as Governor for the State of South Carolina, Respondent. Appellate Case No. 2017-002576 Appeal from Richland County G. Thomas Cooper Jr., Circuit Court Judge Opinion No. 28013 Heard October 14, 2020 – Filed March 10, 2021 AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED Tobias G. Ward Jr. and J. Derrick Jackson, of Tobias G. Ward, Jr., PA, Joseph M. McCulloch Jr., and Kathy R. Schillaci, all of Columbia, for Appellant. Thomas A. Limehouse Jr., of Office of the Governor, of Columbia, for Respondent. CHIEF JUSTICE BEATTY: Governor Henry McMaster issued an order suspending Mohsen Baddourah from his position as a member of the Columbia City Council after Baddourah was indicted for second-degree domestic violence. Baddourah initiated this declaratory judgment action in the circuit court, seeking a determination that (1) he is a member of the Legislative Branch and is, therefore, excepted from the Governor's suspension power under the South Carolina Constitution; and (2) second-degree domestic violence is not a crime involving moral turpitude, so it is not an act that is within the scope of the Governor's suspension power. The circuit court dismissed Baddourah's complaint on the ground the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and, alternatively, for failure to state a cause of action. We affirm as modified. I. FACTS Baddourah was elected to his second term representing District 3 on the Columbia City Council, for the period of January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019. On July 2, 2016, Baddourah was in the midst of a divorce and custody battle when he was arrested for an alleged altercation involving his estranged wife. He was subsequently indicted on a charge of second-degree domestic violence. On March 13, 2017, the Governor issued Executive Order 2017-05, finding second-degree domestic violence is a crime of moral turpitude1 and suspending Baddourah from his position as a member of the Columbia City Council pursuant to article VI, section 8 of the South Carolina Constitution "until . . . the above- referenced charge is resolved, at which time further appropriate action will be taken by the undersigned." After this Court declined to hear Baddourah's challenge to the Executive Order in our original jurisdiction, Baddourah filed a declaratory judgment action in the circuit court in July 2017. Baddourah asserted that, while the Governor may suspend any officer of the state or its political subdivisions who has been indicted for a crime involving moral turpitude, South Carolina's Constitution includes an exception for "members and officers of the Legislative and Judicial Branches," citing S.C. Const. art. VI, § 8. Baddourah sought a determination that (1) he is excepted from the Governor's suspension power under article VI, section 8 because he is a member of the Legislative Branch in his position on the Columbia City Council, and (2) the Executive Order is not enforceable because second-degree domestic violence is not a crime involving …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals