ATTORNEY ADMITS COCAINE USE TO SUPREME COURT

Spartanburg attorney Donald L. Smith has admitted to the state Supreme
Court that he was a cocaine user until his arrest on three felony drug
charges earlier this year.

Smith's admission is disclosed in a Supreme Court opinion accepting a
consent agreement to suspend his law license for six months, retroactive to
March 1.

The 33-year-old attorney, whose criminal charges were dismissed for lack of
conclusive evidence or probable cause for arrest, has been reinstated to
the South Carolina Bar.

March 1 was the date of Smith's temporary law license suspension following
his Jan. 10 arrest on charges of trafficking cocaine, trafficking
methamphetamine and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Smith after executing a search warrant at 4:45
a.m. Jan. 10 at the Pacolet-area home of Robert Floyd Parris. Deputies
found a pistol and two shotguns, 200 grams of marijuana, 30 grams of
cocaine, 24 grams of methamphetamine and other illegal painkillers.

Finding no probable cause for Smith's arrest on the cocaine and
methamphetamine charges, Magistrate Edward H. Overcash Jr. pointed out that
the residence was not Smith's, and that the drugs were not found near him.
Overcash also said there was no evidence that Smith knew the drugs were in
the house.

Smith's attorney against the criminal charges, Andy Johnston, said his
client was simply visiting Parris' home when deputies arrived.

When Assistant Solicitor Tommy Wall dropped the marijuana possession charge
against Smith five months after Overcash's ruling, he said it was strictly
a strategic decision.

"Anyone can draw conclusions about what (Smith) was doing there at that
time of night with drugs in the house, but drawing those conclusions and
proving it to a jury are two different things," Wall said.

The Supreme Court's opinion states that Smith "admits that while licensed
to practice law in South Carolina, he was a recreational user of cocaine."

Smith asserts that he hasn't used or possessed cocaine since his arrest in
January and will not from here on, the opinion states.

Smith could not be reached for comment. Though his law license has been
reinstated, the newest telephone number on file for him in State Bar
records has been disconnected.

Columbia attorney Desa Ballard, who represented Smith in the Supreme Court
agreement, said his admission of cocaine use was a general admission
stating no times or dates.

The admission was voluntary and was not solicited by the Supreme Court or
its disciplinary counsel, Ballard said. She said the court did not require
Smith to undergo any drug treatment as a condition of taking no further
disciplinary action against him.

"We're pleased with the result," Ballard said.

Solicitor Trey Gowdy said Smith's general admittance of past cocaine use
would not be enough to file new drug charges against him.

"A lot of people don't realize this, but in South Carolina you cannot
prosecute someone on the strength of a confession alone," Gowdy said.
"Without other evidence, corroborating evidence, it's not enough."