Education

Judicial Reform in SC – The Appeal of Davis v. Leupp

Or “just the way it is” here in South Carolina.

Published

2 years ago

October 6, 2023

Lawrence is taking a well deserved day off this week … so we thought we would bring you another 21 minute, 44 second video which demonstrates the clear need for JUDICIAL REFORM here in South Carolina.

Judicial Reform is the talk of political circles now … and folks will be pushing it hard in 2024 from both the Right & the Left. (October 4th, 2023 – FITSNews – HERE)

FITSNews (10/04/2023): HERE

Where It Started

Where “judicial reform” started for us was in 2014 when the SC Department of Revenue (SCDOR) under then Director Rick Reames (HERE) and then Governor Nikki Haley “TARGETED” us personally and Palmetto Kids FIRST Scholarship Program, Inc. for a South Carolina tax “audit”.

We all know how Lois Lerner (HERE) and the Internal Revenue Service under the Obama administration targeted TEA Party Groups back in 2013 (HERE) … well guess what … it happened right here in South Carolina too, just in reverse … and it was conservative Republicans targeting other conservative Republicans.

Imagine, opening your mailbox one day in 2014 and you have three “NOTICE OF AUDIT” letters from the SCDOR against yourself, your wife (we are married but filed our taxes separately at the time) … and a children’s non-profit helping special needs kids. I’m a tax attorney / CPA and been waiting my whole life to be audited … but is was still disturbing given the obvious political targeting we were already suffering from powerful people we did not even know.

We did not understand it at the time … all we wanted to do was raise money and give scholarships to K-12 kids with “special needs” in our spare time … and live our “retirement” life at the Isle of Palms … but it was all “political” and all over MONEY & special interest … and this evil is why we are involved in this movement to this day.

School Choice is not fixed here in South Carolina yet and we are sticking at it until it is done … no matter what it takes … and no matter “who” needs to be EXPOSED!!! The kids deserve it, and South Carolinians deserve better as well. The corruption that is dragging down South Carolina and our children must be STOPPED!!!

FollowTheMONEY!!!

[NOTE: Spoiler alert, the ultimate outcome of the “audits” after a year and a half and tens of thousands of dollars in legal expenses … (#1) I personally did not have a tax return filing requirement in South Carolina at the time, (#2) my wife Olga was completely cleared as all she had was two W-2s and a standard deduction … and (#3) nothing was ultimately found wrong with the non-profit Palmetto Kids FIRST as the SCDOR published a huge “faux” report full of errors and then mysteriously dropped the audit without finalizing the matter or correcting their obvious errors. It was a complete political targeting by SC State Government and certain politicians.]

LEGISLATORS CALLING JUDGES: We had faith in the system back then, but to be safe we did hire one of the biggest law firms in South Carolina … and specifically the head tax partner to handle our case. He was a referral from another prominent family / attorney here in SC.

After the first meeting the attorney had with Director Reames and other top officials at the SCDOR … the attorney told us this:

(#1) You are definitely being “targeted” and there is something much bigger / higher-up going on here. YES, the lawyer seemed scared as you don’t want to cross the SCDOR as they will ruin your career and take it out on your other clients. And in follow-up he told us …

(#2) It is not uncommon for a legislator to call a Judge and tell him/her how they want the case to turn out.

Are you kidding me?!?!?

As a USC Law School graduate / attorney myself I was FLOORED as such communications are a HUGE breach of judicial & lawyer ethics … but what was most troubling was the attorney did not seem to have a problem with it. It was “just the way it is” here in South Carolina.

NO, it is not acceptable as “just the way it is” … and JUDICIAL REFORM, specifically lawyer legislators picking judges in South Carolina, became a hot button issue for us personally.

But, enough of that background, let’s get back to the Davis v. Leupp case appeal and video …

Rule 12(b)(8)

(Duplicative cases not allowed … unless “political”?)

OK, so know that there is a reason for everything … and there is a very important “Rule of Civil Procedure” (HERE) in court cases that says you can’t file a case in one jurisdiction and go file the same case in another court, and another court, and another court. If someone does that it is easy to have the case dismissed under SC Rules of Civil Procedure, 12(b)(8).

Defenses – Rule 12(b)(8): “another action is pending between the same parties for the same claim.”

But the cases have to be identical. Same parties and same claims / facts.

Operative word … “SAME”!!! It is right there in the Rule.

But my Greenville case against Nate Leupp, my predecessor as Chairman of the Greenville County Republican Party, was dismissed under Rule 12(b)(8) even though it involved DIFFERENT parties … and different FACTS. Some facts and events in the Greenville case happened AFTER (as Court of Appeals Judge Blake Hewitt noted in the video) the events in the Richland case. It’s crazy town to say the two cases are the same!!!

So … how can a Greenville case with different parties and different claims, for events that happened AFTER a Richland case, be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(8) as duplicative?

Welcome to a “Banana Republic”!!! (HERE)

Banana Republic (defined): A country (or state like SC) with an economy of state capitalism (like selling out the SC Citizens & Taxpayers to Volkswagen for $1.4 Billion in 2023), whereby the country is operated as a private commercial enterprise for the exclusive profit of the ruling class (like our “legislators” and their monied special interest).

Innocent Mistake?

(and purposeful delay & distraction)

Realize, this original case was filed on November 12th, 2019.

It is now October 6th, 2023 … almost FOUR YEARS later … and this case was dismissed under Rule 12(b)(8) so nothing has been done for FOUR YEARS … except for HUNDREDS & HUNDREDS of manhours spent fighting this one clear issue!!!

Do we think the trial court Judge in Greenville made a simple mistake? Rule 12(b)(8) is only TWELVE WORDS … it is about as simple and basic of a Law School 101 class as you can get.

Or, do we think some “lawyer legislators” may have made a call to the Judge and told him how they wanted the case to turn out? Like the Columbia big firm partner told us its “just the way it is” here in South Carolina.

Watch this appeal video … and YOU decide.

YouTube: HERE

TIMESTAMPS:

Start – 9:51: Appellant Davis’ Case

9:52 – 18:49: Respondent Leupp’s Attorney

18:50 – End (21:42): Appellant Davis’ Reply / Closing Argument

LEGAL FILINGS:

Record on Appeal (all the case filings): HERE

Appellant Davis’ Final Brief: HERE

Respondent Leupp’s Final Brief: HERE

Appellant Davis’ Final Reply: HERE

Dum spiro spero

###

ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Jeff Davis is co-founder of mySCGOP.com . Jeff is a ’89 graduate of The Citadel and in 1993 received his Law/MBA from USC. A tax attorney / CPA licensed in Georgia, Jeff is an uncompromised school choice advocate for K-12 children with special needs. Originally from Charleston, and having practiced in Atlanta, Jeff and his wife Olga now live in Greenville. Jeff completed his two year term as Greenville County Republican Party Chairman and is currently serving as GCRP State Executive Committeeman.

Related Topics:#SCTop10 CaptureSC Featured Grassroot GreenvilleSC mySCGOP Politics

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JOIN US every Friday (11am-1pm)

Published

1 day ago

August 29, 2025

mySCGOP.news

Coffee & Politics – August 29th, 2025 – YouTube (HERE), RUMBLE (HERE) & X (HERE)

Friends, we have been running a weekly Coffee & Politics Meeting out of our Greenville Headquarters for nearly 3 1/2 years now … and it has been a huge hit. It is how we communicate our vision and #Mission to or local Volunteers and Community … and it one way we RECRUIT more people to the MAGA America First movement.

WHEN: Every Friday from 11am – 1pm

JOIN US!!!

ON RUMBLE!!! (HERE)

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Subscribe to our YouTube Page:

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SUSTAINING & INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS:

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Coffee & Politics – Greenville Edition – August 22nd, 2025

JOIN US every Friday (11am-1pm)

Published

1 week ago

August 22, 2025

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Coffee & Politics – August 22nd, 2025 – YouTube (HERE), RUMBLE (HERE) & X (HERE)

WHEN: Every Friday from 11am – 1pm

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NOW ON RUMBLE!!! (HERE)

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Choosing the Right Candidate: A Thoughtful Approach

(#1) Electable & (#2) Collaborative

Published

2 weeks ago

August 20, 2025

Jeff Davis

by Jeff Davis

As we head into the 2026 South Carolina Primaries next June 9th, Republican (and Democrat) voters will be faced with picking which Republican (or Democrat) they want to represent them in the general election. It will be a choice we each have to make among the available options … the 2, 3 or 5 candidates that filed and are on the ballot … and there is no “None Of The Above” option. Sure, you don’t have to vote … but don’t complain later when you sat out the election.

We are seeing already … the jockeying by political consultants and their operatives to push their candidate (and tear down the opponents) … and the “PERFECTIONISTS” that complain about every candidate, but offer no solutions (and are not willing to run for office themselves).

A THOUGHTFUL APPROACH: Selection of a candidate to support is not easy. None of them are perfect, and how much can you really believe from what you hear on the campaign trail. What we like to encourage is that everyone think critically and logically about candidates and their campaigns, and steer clear as best you can of the emotional knee-jerk reactions that often dominate the discussions.

IT IS NOT JUST THE CANDIDATE – LOOK AT THEIR TEAM: While it’s tempting to focus solely on the candidate, it’s equally important to examine the people they surround themselves with. If you’re unaware of a candidate’s consultants (and their motivations), staff (and their roles), or the candidate’s supporters (who will inevitable have the ear of the candidate), it’s wise to hold off on offering your support. Ultimately, it’s not just about the candidate—it’s about their TEAM (or the “baggage” that comes with them).

We like to prioritize two key qualities when evaluating candidates:

(#1) Electability: A candidate (a) willing to run for office and (b) capable of winning. You may know the “perfect” person, but if they won’t run for office or are not capable of winning … what good are they?

(#2) Collaboration and Integrity: A candidate open to working with The People, with the grassroots, willing to listen, eager to include The People as part of their TEAM, and genuinely committed to doing what’s objectively right for the people—not just themselves (or their monied special interest backers). Here is where experience and judgment comes into consideration because you really don’t know what a candidate might do once elected. We have helped candidates get elected – and then never spoken with them again (not by our choice). Being lied to is a hard lesson to learn.

This process of selecting a candidate to back is both an art and a science, and while we may never find the “perfect” candidate, we can identify and support those who meet these two criteria and give us the best odds of promoting the conservative cause … at least until the next election when we will have another chance to try again.

THE TRUMP OF 2016: Reflecting on the field of “candidates” in 2016 … and the original “candidate” DONALD J. TRUMP … I believe that original candidate TRUMP, embodied these qualities, and that approach has proven effective in helping Save America.

STOP LOOKING FOR A “POLITICAL SAVIOR”: Most importantly, let’s remember, no candidate will save us. There is only one true “Savior”, and He is not running for office. Our work continues, so don’t think you are off the hook if your person gets elected. But having the right people – dedicated TEAM players – in elected positions from top to bottom can make all the difference.

Be smart … be logical … don’t be emotional … and don’t just complain, complain, complain.

Dum spiro spero
(“While I breathe, I hope”)

Best,

Jeff Davis, JD, MBA, CPA(GA)
Chairman & Co-Founder, mySCGOP.com
Chairman, Greenville County Republican Party
jeff@apogeetax.com
843-901-8036 (cell)

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TRUMP Shares Nancy MACE Polling Lead for Governor

Mace Leads with 25% over Wilson at 17%

Published

2 weeks ago

August 19, 2025

mySCGOP.news

TRUMP Truth Social Post (HERE)

The NANCY MACE campaign released polling numbers yesterday showing a commanding early lead in the South Carolina Governor’s Race … 25% MACE, 17% Alan Wilson, 10% Ralph Norman, 6% Pamela Evette, 3% Josh Kimbrell … with 38% Lean / Undecided. You can see the full reports HERE & below.

The polling results show MACE separating herself from the crowd since officially launching her candidacy last week and announcing AUSTIN MCCUBBIN (HERE), the 2024 TRUMP Team Statewide Director, has joined her team. This all seems to make MACE the early odds on favorite to win the Republican Primary next June 9th, 2026 … 294 days from today.

You can find more details on FITSNews (HERE & on X HERE) … but the real story broke when President TRUMP himself shared the MACE Polling Lead on his TRUTH Social (HERE) last night at 9:29pm. When the POTUS shares your leading polling data with the world … that is a not so subtle message.

Good news for NANCY MACE … but and incredibly bad sign for Lt. Governor Pamela Evette who is in a distant 4th with 6% of the vote. The Lt. Governor has led folks to believe she has TRUMP’s endorsement locked up. Well, that claim did not seem believable at the time … and really doesn’t appear believable now. When was the last time TRUMP endorsed someone in 4th place??? We can’t remember either.

Stay tuned … it is going to be a fun 2026 primary season!!!