SUMTER — S.C. Senate candidate reprimanded

A Manning attorney running for a state Senate seat has been reprimanded by the S.C. Supreme Court.

The justices said Eleazer Carter failed to adequately represent a client in a vehicle wreck case. The court says Carter didn’t show up for hearings and depositions, and didn’t return the case file to the client so he might find another lawyer.

The justices ordered Carter to pay for court proceedings and take a legal ethics course within six months.

Carter is a Democrat running as a petition candidate for Senate District 36, where Democratic incumbent John Land is retiring. The other candidates in the race are Democratic state Rep. Kevin Johnson, petition candidate Shaun Kent and Republican Leon Witt.

Carter told The (Sumter) Item that he thinks he was targeted for harsher punishment because he is a public figure running for office.

The Supreme Court’s ruling noted this is the sixth time Carter has been reprimanded.

Wire and Staff Reports