Wrongful death lawyer Near Me Greenwood, SC

The South Carolina Supreme Court reprimanded Curtis G. Clark, a former foreclosure judge in Greenwood County, citing a Post and Courier Uncovered report that exposed how Clark allowed his wife and children to buy dozens of properties at the auctions he oversaw.

In an opinion issued March 18, the court said Clark and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel came to an agreement after an investigation: Clark admitted his misconduct and would never again seek judicial duties in South Carolina.

The court also issued a public reprimand, which it said was the maximum possible sanction the court could hand out since Clark has already left the bench.

Clark did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Clark had long held prominent judicial roles, serving as a special referee and master-in-equity in Abbeville County, and as a probate court judge and special referee in Greenwood County since 1987. In foreclosure cases, judges are given the power to force delinquent borrowers from their homes, and they are tasked with selling properties to cover as much of the debt as possible.

In 2022, The Post and Courier-led Uncovered report with The Index-Journal of Greenwood detailed how Clark’s oversight of these auctions benefited his family.

Using real estate records and other public documents, the newspapers showed how Clark sold more than three dozen properties during these auctions to his wife and their adult children.

In one case, family members later put land in his name, making Clark the owner of 33 acres he once ordered foreclosed.

In its opinion released March 18, the court cited the newspaper’s Uncovered report in 2022, along with then-Chief Justice Donald Beatty’s swift move a week later to bar Clark from running future foreclosure auctions.

But it would take four more years for the court to finish its investigation and release its findings.

The court said Clark’s actions created a clear appearance of impropriety. It noted that Clark had provided incomplete information years before to a judicial screening committee about his auctions.

In an affidavit to the court, Clark touted his 40 years of service as a probate judge, master-in-equity and special referee, as well as his role on the state’s Probate Judges Advisory Committee and as editor of the South Carolina Foreclosure Law Manual.

In the affidavit, Clark expressed remorse and that neither he nor his friends or family “ever acted upon any nonpublic information in connection with an auction.” He told the court he planned to retire soon.

In its initial Uncovered report, The Post and Courier quoted legal observers who said the Clark family’s participation in the sales threatened one of the judiciary’s central tenets. Judges are instructed to avoid any conduct that creates even the “appearance of impropriety” — an especially high standard intended to ensure that the public won’t doubt whether they’ll get a fair shake in court.

Jan Jacobowitz, past president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, told the newspapers then that, “having your wife buy the properties … if that isn’t at least the appearance of impropriety, I’m not sure how else you would characterize it.”

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A mother has filed a lawsuit against Greenwood School District 50 and an assistant teacher accused of forcefully pushing, pulling and dragging a nonverbal student with autism in a special needs class in 2024.

The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office said Julie Gilbert, at Lakeview Elementary School, was captured on video. A deputy who watched the video wrote the following in his report:

Deputies reviewed surveillance from the weeks prior to the incident and identified four different student victims during the investigation.

Gilbert was charged with four counts of unlawful conduct toward a child in May 2024.

A mom, in a lawsuit filed on Mar. 3, 2026, alleges that her child was subjected to inappropriate physical force by Gilbert on four separate occasions. She also believes that Greenwood School District 50 should have known about her actions.

The lawsuit accuses Gilbert of intentional infliction of emotional distress and the school district of gross negligence. The mom is seeking actual damages and consequential damages from both defendants and punitive damages from Gilbert.

She claims the following was suffered:

Greenwood School District 50 said it is aware of the pending litigation concerning special education services during the 2024 and 2025 school year. Due to this matter involving student information, the district said it will not comment further.

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Federal lawsuit alleges false imprisonment, malicious prosecution after traffic stop

GREENWOOD, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A federal civil lawsuit filed against Greenwood County, the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office and a number of deputies alleges a Florida man was wrongly arrested and jailed following a 2024 traffic stop. The complaint alleges gross negligence, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

The traffic stop

Body camera video from May 2024 shows Bryan Getchius being pulled over by Greenwood County deputies for allegedly swerving between lanes. Deputies learned Getchius had a suspended license and asked to search his vehicle. He consented to the search.

During the search, deputies found bottles containing medication. According to Getchius’ attorney, the bottles were prescription bottles with Getchius’ name on them.

Getchius can be heard on the body camera footage telling deputies the bottles contain his IBS medication, but deputies still ordered a field test on the pills.

Body camera video shows deputies conducting the field test, then showing the results to Getchius before placing him under arrest.

Months under supervision

Following his arrest, Getchius was placed under house arrest at his mother’s home in Greenwood. He wore an ankle monitor for a total of 16 months while waiting for test results to come back from the State Law Enforcement Division’s forensic lab.

That included seven months under house arrest and nine months with the ankle monitor.

The lengthy wait was attributed to an 18,000-case backlog at SLED’s forensic lab, according to the lawsuit.

SLED backlog shows signs of progress

Data presented by SLED at the statehouse earlier this year shows some progress on the backlog.

From 2017 to 2022, the number assignments taken in at the lab surpassed the number of tests completed.

In 2023, after SLED’s new lab opened and additional people were hired, the number of assignments received and completed almost even out: 16,013 received and 16,957 completed.

According to SLED’s presentation, 12 people now work in the lab.

FOX Carolina has requested a tour of the new facility multiple times but has been denied each time. The most recent denial came last month during reporting on SLED’s rape kit backlog.

Charges dropped after test results returned

All charges against Getchius were eventually dropped. Once testing was completed, results confirmed the pills were his IBS medication.

Getchius said he thinks about the deputies involved.

“Those deputies. I don’t know another word to describe it, but I pray for them every night because someone who’s happy doesn’t do that to people,” Getchius said.

Tyler Bailey, the attorney representing Getchius, said ensuring others do not face the same wait as his client is central to the case.

“We want to see SLED figure out a way to get rid of this thousands of case backlog where innocent people are out there fighting for their freedom right now,” Bailey said. “We want to see change, and that’s what we’re pushing for.”

The lawsuit was filed yesterday. Greenwood County, the Sheriff’s Office and the named deputies have not yet filed their replies.

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