Name Organization Speaking At
Adam Whitsett
Adam Whitsett is the General Counsel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. In that role, he advises SLED on all legal matters, including criminal investigations and civil litigation. He is a former Assistant Attorney General with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office where he worked in the civil division and represented the State of South Carolina, various state agencies, judges, and other entities on civil and regulatory litigation matters and appeals throughout the state. Adam has presented at numerous CLEs around the state on various topics, including expungements, FOIA, interrogations, sex offender registration, special searches, and gaming machine litigation. Before the Attorney General's Office, Adam was a litigator at The Finney Law Firm, Inc. Adam graduated from The Citadel and obtained his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
S.C. Law Enforcement Division
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Amie Clifford
Amie L. Clifford serves as General Counsel and
Director of Education Services for the South Carolina Commission on Prosecution
Coordination. Her responsibilities include providing legal advice and services
to the Commission and, upon request, the Solicitors and their staff; the
planning, implementation and management of educational programs for state and
local prosecutors; making presentations on various topics; monitoring and
analyzing appellate opinions and rule changes; monitoring, analyzing and, as needed,
drafting legislation; and special projects, including preparation of amicus
briefs.
Prior to joining the Commission in November 2007,
she was employed by the National District Attorneys Association as the Director
of the National Center for Prosecution Ethics and as an Assistant Director of
Programs for the National College of District Attorneys. Immediately prior to
joining NDAA/NCDA, she served as a Judicial Fellow (now called Supreme Court
Fellow) at the U.S. Sentencing Commission (1999 – 2000), and, before that, as
an Assistant Solicitor in the Charleston County Solicitor’s Office (1991 –
1999), Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Section of the South
Carolina Attorney General’s Office (1984 – 1991), and Staff Attorney with
Piedmont Legal Services, Inc. (1983 – 1984). As a volunteer, Ms. Clifford has
represented the State in criminal appeals as a Special Assistant Attorney
General (2006 – 2010; 2013 – 2018).
She has been involved in organized Bar activities
at both the state and national level. Her current service includes Chair of the
South Carolina Bar Ethics Advisory Committee, Immediate Past-Chair of the Trial
and Appellate Advocacy Section, Member of the South Caroling Bar House of
Delegates, Member of the Professional Responsibility Committee, Member of the
Practice and Procedure Committee, and Volunteer, Fee Dispute Board. Her past
Bar services includes service as President of the South Carolina Women Lawyers
Association (1999; 2019), President of the South Carolina Chapter of the Federal
Bar Association (2001 – 2002), President of the South Carolina Bar Young
Lawyers Division (1992 – 1993), Chair of the South Carolina Bar Criminal Law
Section (1991 – 1992), Chair of the South Carolina Bar Trial and Appellate
Advocacy Section (2003 – 2004; 2021 – 2022), and member of the ABA Standing
Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (2005 – 2008), and Council
member of the ABA Criminal Justice Section (1995 – 1998). She is also a Fellow
of the National Institute for the Teaching of Ethics and Professionalism
(Inaugural Group) (2005). Since 1985, she has participated in CLE trainings
conducted by the South Carolina Bar, the ABA, and other organizations. Ms.
Clifford has served as a contributing author for publications of the South Carolina
Bar (South Carolina Jurisprudence and South Carolina Criminal Trial Techniques
Handbook), the ABA (The Fourth Amendment Handbook: A Chronological Survey of
Supreme Court Decisions (2nd ed.) (published in October 2002 by the ABA, for
which she also served as co-editor), and the National District Attorneys
Association (Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Guide to Ethics and Civil Liability
(2nd ed. 2007 NDAA) (also served as editor) and Managing Prosecutors (2007
NDAA)).
Ms. Clifford received her Bachelor of Arts degree
(French) from Northwestern State University of Louisiana (at the age of 19) and
her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in May 1982
(at the age of 22). She was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in November of
that same year.
S.C. Commission on Prosecution Coordination
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April Sampson
April Sampson graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1995 and from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1998. She became a member of the South Carolina Bar in November of 1998. Mrs. Sampson began her legal career with Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities where she handled legal matters for those with physical and mental disabilities.
In the summer of 1999, Mrs. Sampson became an Assistant Public Defender with the Richland County Public Defender's Office. She worked there for 6 years and rose to Deputy Chief Public Defender before entering private practice. In private practice, Mrs. Sampson worked for Duff, White, & Turner handling special educations matters and civil litigation for school districts. While working for the Law Office of Richard Beinart, she handled both civil and criminal matters.
In 2003, Mrs. Sampson became an adjunct professor for University of South Carolina in the Department of Criminal Justice, and in 2007, she became an associate professor for South University in the Legal Studies Department.
In 2011, Mrs. Sampson joined the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's Office, where she worked as an Assistant Solicitor and Team Leader handling the prosecution of defendants charged with major felonies. In January of 2019, she was promoted to Circuit Deputy Solicitor, where, along with handling her own caseload, she assists the Solicitor with managing and overseeing the office and training new assistant solicitors.
During her career, Mrs. Sampson has been a presenter and faculty member for training seminars offered by the National Advocacy Center, the National Criminal Defense College, Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Summary Court Judges' Association, the South Carolina Black Lawyers' Association, the South Carolina Bar, the South Carolina Solicitor's Association, and the South Carolina Prosecution Commission.
She also participates in the South Carolina Bar's Mentoring Program as a mentor and helps coach mock trial teams at Dutch Fork High School and the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Ashby Jones and Associates LLC
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Barry Barnette
Mr. Barnette is the Solicitor for the Seventh Judicial Circuit
Solicitor Office, which consists of Spartanburg and Cherokee County since
February 2011. He was the Principal Deputy Solicitor for the Seventh Judicial
Circuit from January 2001 to February 2011. He was a Spartanburg County
Magistrate Court Judge from July 1996 to January 2001. He was an Assistant
Solicitor from January 1991 to July 1996. He was in private practice from June
1990 to January 1991 in Easley, South Carolina. He also taught Chemistry and Physical
Science at Travelers Rest High School from August 1988 to June 1990. He
graduated from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1988 with a J.D.
Degree. He graduated from Marshall University in 1985 and received a B.A.
Degree in Education with specializations in Chemistry and General Science. He received the 2006 Ernest F. Hollings Award for Excellence in
state prosecution that is his profession's top honor in the State of South
Carolina. He received an Outstanding Traffic Safety Prosecutor Award from the National
Association of Prosecutor Coordinators in 2006. He received the 2007 Prosecutor
of the Year Award from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety. He
received the 2010 Criminal Justice Award from the South Carolina Victim
Assistance Network (SCV AN) for his work with crime victims and their families.
He received the 2013 Solicitor of the Year Award from the South Carolina Victim
Advocate Association (SCLEV A). He has taught numerous classes, seminars, and
presentations through South Carolina and the Southeast. He has taught Evidence
Law and DUI Law at the South Carolina Magistrate Court Orientation School and
training seminars (1997-2011). He done presentations at the Death Penalty
sections and training (2004-2016) and Driving section (1991- 2016) at the South
Carolina Solicitor's Conferences and Training Sessions. He has made a presentation
at Southeast Law Enforcement Training at Lawrenceburg, Tennessee in 2005. He
received an award from MADD in 1996 for his traffic prosecution in the Seventh
Judicial Circuit. He received the Spartanburg Optimist Club Award for
Outstanding Prosecution in 2002. He was a contributing author in Handling
Traffic Cases in South Carolina, 4 th Edition (2005) and 5th Edition
(2012). He also has produced the Case Law on Driving Cases in South Carolina
booklet for several years for judges, attorneys, and law enforcement officers
through South Carolina. In his position of Spartanburg County Magistrate Court
Judge, he heard over a hundred jury trials including civil and criminal
matters. He also heard hundreds of non-jury trials including civil and criminal
matters. He was on the Commission of Judicial Conduct for the State of South
Carolina involving discipline matters involving judges of all levels from 1997
to 2001. He is also a member of the South Carolina Commission on Prosecution
Coordination (SCCPC). In his position of Assistant Solicitor, Principal Deputy
Solicitor, and Solicitor in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, he has prosecuted
hundreds of cases and handled over one hundred trials over all types ranging
from DUI to Death Penalty cases.
Seventh Circuit Solicitor's Office
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Christine Grefe
Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office
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Christopher Scalzo
Mr. Scalzo is an assistant attorney general working for the S.C. Attorney General's office in the Violent Crimes Case Reduction Unit. Before starting with the Attorney General's office, Mr. Scalzo was of-counsel with Tuner, Padget, Graham and Laney, PA, where he handled complex civil and criminal litigation matters. Mr. Scalzo was the Circuit Public Defender for the 13th Judicial Circuit, which includes Greenville and Pickens Counties from 2018 to 2022, and in August of 2011, was appointed by the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense to act as Interim Circuit Public Defender for the 10th Judicial, which includes Anderson and Oconee Counties.
S.C. Attorney General's Office
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Heath Taylor
Judge Taylor was born in Columbia, South Carolina and is a lifelong resident of Calhoun County. He resides in Sandy Run, South Carolina along with his wife and two sons.
Judge Taylor graduated from Calhoun Academy in Saint Matthews, South Carolina. He attended Newberry College and graduated in 1995, Summa Cum Laude, with a B.A. in History. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1998. At the time of his election to the bench, Judge Taylor was a partner in the Taylor Law Firm LLC located in West Columbia, South Carolina.
Judge Taylor formerly served as an Assistant Prosecutor for the Town of Irmo and as Associate Municipal Judge for the City of West Columbia. He is admitted to practice in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina and all state courts in South Carolina.
Judge Taylor is a member of the South Carolina Bar where he served as the Criminal Law Council section delegate to the House of Delegates and Chair of the Criminal Law Council. He is a former member of the South Carolina Association for Justice, where he served as the Criminal Section Chair, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where he served two terms as President and as chair of the Legislative Committee, National College for DUI Defense, DUI Defense Lawyers Association and served as the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman’s designee to the South Carolina Sentencing Reform Oversight Committee. In 2012, he was named to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for DUI and named to the South Carolina Super Lawyers list for DUI in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
He was elected by the South Carolina General Assembly on February 2, 2022 to fill the seat of the Honorable Edgar W. Dickson, resident judge for the First Judicial Circuit, Seat 1 upon his retirement.
S.C. Judicial Branch
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James Ryan
Admissions:
• SC Bar, 1998
Education:
• Wofford College BA in Political, Economy and Philosophy, 1993 (Magna Cum Laude)
• University of SC School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1998
Professional Experience: Hugh Ryan is currently a resident of the Irmo area. He is 1993 magna cum laude graduate of Wofford College and a 1998 graduate ofthe University ofSC School of Law. Upon graduation from law school Hugh clerked for the Honorable M. Duane Shuler before joining the Sumter law firm of Lee, Erter, Wilson, James, Holler and Smith. During his tenure there he also served as an Assistant Public Defender for Sumter County. He also served as an Assistant Solicitor for the Third Judicial Circuit. Hugh joined the staff of SCCID as Deputy Director and General Counsel in July 2007 later becoming the Executive Director in 2017. Hugh served as an officer in the US Army from 1993-2020, first serving as Field Artillery Officer then transferring to the JAG Corps upon completion of law school. Hugh retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with his final assignment the 12th Legal Support Detachment at Ft. Jackson, SC.
S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense
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Jocelyn Newman
2020
Honorable Jocelyn Newman
South Carolina Circuit Court, Columbia
Judge Jocelyn Newman was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1977 to fellow Circuit Court Judge, the Honorable Clifton Newman and Patricia Blanton Newman.
She attended public school in Columbia, where she graduated from Spring Valley High School. After beginning her college career at Duke University, she ultimately earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of South Carolina.
Judge Newman attended law school at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she was a Merit Scholar. While in law school, she completed a judicial internship for the Honorable Reggie B. Walton of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Newman received her Juris Doctor in 2004 and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar the same year. She is also admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Newman began her legal career as a judicial law clerk for now-retired Circuit Court Judge, the Honorable G. Thomas Cooper, Jr. She also served as an Assistant Solicitor for the Fifth Judicial Circuit before entering private practice with the law firm of Richardson Plowden & Robinson, P.A. in Columbia. Judge Newman left Richardson Plowden in late 2015 and was subsequently elected to the Circuit Court bench on February 3, 2016.
Judge Newman has been very active in the legal community. She has served on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Bar Foundation, as a Member of the Friends Advisory Board of the Ronald McDonald House, as an Associate Member of the South Carolina Board of Law Examiners, and as a member and treasurer for the John Belton O'Neall Inn of Court. She is a member of the Richland County Bar Association, S.C. Black Lawyers Association, S.C. Women Lawyers Association.
Judge Newman is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and American Mensa. She attends I. DeQuincey Newman United Methodist Church in Columbia.
S.C. Circuit Court
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Kimberly Jordan
Fourteenth Circuit Public Defender
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Laurel Hendrick
Mrs. Hendrick was born and raised in
Columbia, Soutl1 Carolina. She graduated from the University of Georgia, Honors
Program in 2002 and the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2005.
After graduating law school Mrs. Hendrick worked in the Fifth Circuit
Solicitor's Office until September 2010. She then worked as the Staff Attorney
for the Foster Care Review Board and as a SC Department of Social Services
County Attorney in Richland, Fairfield and Chester Counties. In January 2015,
she returned to the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's Office to manage the Richland
County Family Court Division. In May of2020, Mrs. Hendrick became at attorney
in the Office of General Counsel at the SC Department of Administration. On
September 22, 2021, she was named the Acting Director of the SC Department of Juvenile
Justice.
South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
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Lisa Catalanotto
EDUCATION:B.A. (International Studies and Music) and Music Performance Certificate, University of South Carolina Honors College, Columbia, South Carolina (1997). J.D., University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, South Carolina (2000). BAR ADMISSION: South Carolina (2000). PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Lawyer, Harvey, Casterline & Vallini, L.L.P. (2000 - 2007); Program Manager & Legal Counsel, S.C. Budget & Control Board (2007 - 2012); Senior Budget Analyst & General Counsel, S.C. Senate Finance Committee (2012 - 2018); and Executive Director, South Carolina Commission on Prosecution Coordination (2018 -Present). CURRENT PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Member, National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators; and Member, National Conference of State Legislatures.
S.C. Commission on Prosecution Coordination
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Mark Farthing
Mark was born in Statesville, North Carolina, moved
to Greer, South Carolina, when he was in elementary school, and has remained in
South Carolina ever since. Mark attended
Wofford College for his undergraduate degree and the Charleston School of Law
for his law degree. Following law
school, Mark clerked for the Honorable Ralph King Anderson, Jr. at the South
Carolina Court of Appeals, and he continued to do so when Judge Anderson
returned to the circuit court bench as a retired active judge. Mark then began working as an Assistant
Attorney General in the criminal appeals division of the South Carolina Office
of the Attorney General, where he continues to work today as a Senior Assistant
Attorney General. He has been admitted
to practice in all South Carolina state courts, the United States District
Court for the District of South Carolina, the United States Court of Appeals
for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. To date, Mark has argued over fifty times in
the South Carolina Supreme Court and over ninety times in the South Carolina
Court of Appeals. Additionally, Mark has
served as a member of the Chief Justice’s Committee to Review South Carolina
Appellate Court Rules and of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office’s
Appellate Review Committee, and he was the recipient of 2020 Trial and
Appellate Advocacy Award from the South Carolina Bar Trial and Appellate
Advocacy Council.
S.C. Attorney General's Office
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Robert Dudek
Robert Dudek is the Chief Appellate Defender for
the Office of Appellate Defense, a Division of the South Carolina Commission on
Indigent Defense. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School
of Journalism, and the University of South Carolina School of Law.
While an undergraduate Dudek at USC was a sports
writer for The Gamecock. He was a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) in
Alaska in 1980 after graduation from the College of Journalism. Dudek began his
career as an appellate lawyer as an Assistant Appellate Defender with the
Office of Appellate Defense in 1990. After a two person Death Penalty Appellate
Unit was formed, he was later promoted to Deputy Chief Appellate Defender for
Capital Appeals. Dudek became the Chief Appellate Defender in 2010, and he
presently leads an office of twelve Appellate Defenders. He has presented at
the Annual Public Defender’s Convention on the “Case Law Update” and “Pending
Appellate Cases” for many years. He also has presented on death penalty law at
that conference. In addition, Dudek presents on error preservation each year at
the Public Defense 101 CLE for newly hired Public Defenders, and he also teaches
error preservation during court room exercises at the Public Defense 103 yearly
three day seminar in Greenville. Dudek has also participated in various
criminal law CLE programs over the years, and he presented as part of Honorable
Ralph King Anderson’s “Appellate Practice” seminar years ago. Dudek has been a
panel member for several years on significant appellate cases at the February
Criminal Law CLE in Columbia.
S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense
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Stacey Coleman
Stacey Coleman , Senior Public Defender - Sixteenth Circuit Public Defender’s Office, Juvenile Division
Stacey Coleman graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and received her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in May 2000. During law school, she was an Associate Articles Editor for the South Carolina Law Review . Upon graduation from law school, she clerked for the Hon. Lee S. Alford (Retired). In April, 2001, she began working as a General Sessions attorney in the York County Public Defender’s office. For 6 years, she represented indigent adults in General Sessions Court and Magistrate’s Court. She attended the National Criminal Defense College (NCDC) Trial Practice Institute in 2006. Since May, 2007, she has worked exclusively in Family Court representing children in York County who have been charged with criminal and status offenses. Ms. Coleman is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association, the South Carolina Public Defender Association, the Gregory Hayes Inn of Court where she serves on the membership committee, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA), and is a member of the Juvenile Subcommittee for the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (SCACDL). She is also a current member and past President of the York County Bar Association (2006-07). Ms. Coleman has also been the Public Defender representative for the Children’s Justice Act Task Force and is a Member of the Board of Directors for South Carolina Legal Services where she serves as on the Nominating and Grievance Committees. She regularly speaks to middle and high school students about Juvenile Justice, including the Color of Justice panel, and has taught the topic of Juvenile Justice at several S.C. Bar sponsored Law School for Non-Lawyers programs.
In September 2011, Stacey Coleman was recognized by the South Carolina Public Defender Association as being its Juvenile Defender of the Year. Ms. Coleman is passionate about issues affecting juveniles and was pleased to have worked on the “Raise the Age” legislation that was implemented in July 2019. She is currently interested in efforts to create a minimum age to charge children in South Carolina.
Sixteenth Circuit Public Defender
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Whitney Payne
Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office
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