Lexington County, SC (Paul Kirby) - South Carolina's first/best podcast about law and lawyers, "Direct Examination," features State Representative Micah Caskey about the recent legislative session, including the Uber bill, the state teacher walkout, and the Panthers' move to Rock Hill.
Regarding the Uber bill that he and Rep. Seth Rose wrote in response to the Samantha Josephson tragedy, Caskey commented on how his bill originally included a requirement for lighted display signs, a requirement that was dropped by the Senate (9:15). Caskey told co-hosts Dayne Phillips, Joseph Bias, and Amber Fulmer the "best argument that the Senate was able to muster, with the help of Uber's lobbyists," was that "the lighted signs could convey a false sense of security to people...I'm not particularly persuaded by that."
Caskey also addressed listener questions regarding his vote against the $115 million in tax breaks for the Carolina Panthers ("I think it was fundamentally unfair...I didn't find it compelling...additionally it worried me that there are other things being promised without it being fully disclosed. We're not just talking about $115 million dollars, we're also promised, as I understand it...promised an interchanged off of I-77, I've heard talk of runway upgrades and such things that are real-world current fiscal outlays." 18:15), South Carolina's prison health issues (24:30), the prospect of the legalization of marijuana in the State, offshore drilling (29:00), what he would say to a new teacher weighing teaching in South Carolina vs. another state, and an update on the VC Summer issue.
Hosted by three of Columbia Business Monthly Magazine's "Legal Elite for 2018," Amber Fulmer, a family law practitioner with Moore Taylor, Dayne Phillips, a criminal law practitioner with Price Benowitz, and Joseph Bias, a civil defense litigation attorney with Vernis & Bowling, started the podcast with the goal of providing a lighter look at the law, aiming to reach both lawyers and non-lawyers alike. The Podcast has had over seven thousand listens, with 53% of those listens in Columbia, South Carolina and the rest scattered throughout the State (listeners have also tuned in from Sweden, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and Canada). "Direct Examination" was recognized as a "must listen" by the South Carolina Bar and the podcast and hosts were profiled by South Carolina Lawyer Weekly in 2018. Former guests have included State Supreme Court Justice Few, Netflix's "The Staircase" attorney David Rudolf, SC Bar Executive Director David Ross, State Senator Dick Harpootlian, Richland County Solicitor Byron Gipson, various panels on different facets of the law (family law, criminal law, etc.), and their most popular episode, internet rapper sensation/South Carolina lawyer Eric "Ducati James" Poston.
The Podcast has a "Five Star" rating on iTunes and is also available on Stitcher and Spotify. The Podcast can also be found on Instagram and Twitter (@SCLawPod) as well as Facebook.
