Public Interest / Government Watchdog

The Carpenter Law Firm is recognized throughout South Carolina for its successful representation of taxpayers in suits against state and local governments.

We have represented taxpayers in numerous suits against legislative, regulatory and executive bodies of South Carolina. These suits have helped to ensure that governmental bodies follow the Constitution and laws of the state.

The attorneys of The Carpenter Law Firm have won significant victories in cases related to government procurement, state boards and various provisions of the South Carolina Constitution. We have also been leaders in the fight to keep government records open through the use of the Freedom of Information Act. 

Representative Matters

• Obtained several South Carolina Supreme Court rulings establishing precedents for taxpayer standing to challenge the actions of state government as well as standing when a case is of great public importance. Sloan v. School Dist. of Greenville County, 342 S.C. 515. (Ct. App. 2000), Sloan v. Wilkins, 362 S.C. 430, 436, 608 S.E.2d 579, 582-83 (2005), Sloan v. Department of Transp., 365 S.C. 299, 304 (2005).

• Sloan v. Wilkins, 362 S.C. 430 (2005). Obtained South Carolina Supreme Court ruling that an Act of the General Assembly violated the South Carolina Constitution’s requirement that every law passed by the state legislature pertain to only one subject. This ruling put an end to the popular practice of “bobtailing,” tacking on multiple unrelated items to a popular bill, in the South Carolina legislature.

• Sloan v. Hardee, 604 S.E.2d 457 (2007). Obtained South Carolina Supreme Court ruling that Department of Transportation Commissioners could not be appointed to a second term in that office. The commissioners in question resigned following the Court’s ruling.

• Sloan v. Department of Transp., 379 S.C. 160, 666 S.E.2d 236 (2008). Obtained South Carolina Supreme Court ruling invalidating the declaration of the “emergency” nature of a road project in Charleston County.