TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Hoisington Fires Lead Drug Prosecutor, Implements Drug Testing

On the day the federal government raised the nation's terrorism alert level
to amber, 9th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Ralph Hoisington raised red flags
all over the Lowcountry when he released the following four-sentence press
release:

"Last week I met with members of the (S.C.) Attorney General's Office.
After conferring with them, I terminated the employment of an assistant
solicitor and administrative assistant. I will have no further comments at
this time. Please direct further inquiries regarding this matter to the
Attorney General's Office."

The controversy that became public knowledge with the press release had
already been the talk of the courthouse for nearly a week, especially among
defense lawyers who would no longer have to face the assistant solicitor,
Damon Cook.

Cook, 29, had worked in the solicitor's office since February of 2001, when
he was hired not long after graduating from law school in Ohio. In that
time Cook, who could not be reached for comment for this story, became one
of Hoisington's lead and more senior drug case prosecutors.

Fired on Wednesday, April 15, Cook was allowed to clean out his desk the
following Sunday under the supervision of solicitor's office personnel,
according to Hoisington, who was reached for comment after his terse press
release.

Asst. Solicitor Mark Bourdon, who already has oversight over all of the
office's drug prosecution teams, will supervise Cook's caseload until a
replacement is hired. Cook's annual salary had been $51,459, according to a
Charleston County spokesperson.

Hoisington also confirmed that since Cook's dismissal, he has instituted a
department-wide random urine drug screening policy. "A random drug testing
policy had always been in effect, so far as a potential, but I implemented
it last week." He went on to categorize his decision as "reactively" to the
dismissal of Cook, but declined to comment on the substance of the firing.

Hoisington said that every member of his office has since been drug tested
and that no one has tested positive for drugs. He said Cook, as an
ex-employee, had not been tested, and added that all of his employees upon
hiring must submit to and pass a urine drug screening.

Cook is apparently the third employee Hoisington has fired since taking
office, not including his mild housecleaning shortly after taking office
from predecessor David Schwacke in 2001. "I have encouraged some to move
on," Hoisington said last week. "The majority who have left, moved on for
more money."

Hoisington also confirmed that he had been doing an in-court "spot check"
that week on Cook. He had been concerned about the resolution of a drug
case Cook was prosecuting. He went on to say that the spot check was
unrelated to the firing, as far as he knew, referring further questions on
the matter to the Attorney General's office.

According to Hoisington, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which
works closely with a solicitor's office on certain cases, can investigate a
pro-secutor. SLED spokesperson Catherine Richardson has denied there was
any ongoing state investigation of anyone in Hoisington's office. Her
statements seemed to contradict information learned from the Attorney
General's office.

When asked if Cook was being investigated, Trey Walker, a spokesman for the
Attorney General Henry McMaster's office, declined to comment on the
matter. But Walker's statement may have tipped his office's hand, as he
twice stated he could not comment on "ongoing criminal investigations."

Whether or not Cook will be arrested remains to be seen, but so far he has
not been booked on any charges in Charleston County by the time this story
went to press, nearly two weeks after his firing.

The identity of the fired administrative assistant, who was reported to
have been dating Cook, has not been released by either Hoisington or the
County's personnel office.