McMaster got new attorney general opinion to suspend Baddourah

Before suspending Columbia City Councilman Moe Baddourah on Monday, Gov. Henry McMaster received an opinion from the S.C. attorney general that the governor had the authority to suspend the councilman.

The opinion concludes that second-degree criminal domestic violence – the crime with which Baddourah is charged – is a “crime of moral turpitude.” That legal conclusion allowed the governor to suspend Baddourah from council, according to the five-page opinion.

Baddourah, who has been in office nearly eight years, was indicted Jan. 18 on that charge, which is a misdemeanor. His District 3 seat covers Shandon, Rosewood and, generally, the neighborhoods around the University of South Carolina.

Although South Carolina courts have not previously ruled on whether second-degree domestic violence is a crime of moral turpitude, a federal court of appeals and a California court of appeals have issued opinions that support defining that offense as a crime of moral turpitude, the attorney general’s opinion said.

It is, apparently, the first time a South Carolina governor has suspended a public official who is charged with the offense of second-degree domestic violence. The council member was charged last year after a confrontation with his estranged wife with their two children present. If found guilty, Baddourah is subject to a fine between $2,500 and $5,000 as well as a prison term of up to three years.

The incident Baddourah is charged with stems from an argument he and his wife had last summer, when he is accused of slamming her leg in a car door in the parking lot of Rockaway Athletic Club restaurant and bar on Rosewood Drive, according to a report by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

Baddourah spokesman RJ Shealy said Tuesday the councilman will challenge the suspension legally.

“His attorneys feel pretty strongly that ‘moral turpitude’ doesn’t fit here,” Shealy said. “After all, the accusation involves a door closing on someone’s leg. He doesn’t want to leave his district without representation – especially now, at budget time.”

Shealy continued, “It’s pretty clear that the governor asked for, and conveniently received, an opinion of ‘moral turpitude’ from the attorney general, which was specifically aimed at removing Moe from council. We don’t know what their actual reasoning or motives were, or if there were political calculations, but no one we’ve spoken with believes that there’s a constitutional or rational basis for suspension.”

Baddourah has for months been saying that he is in “the middle of an unpleasant divorce and custody battle.” He and his wife have children, ages 4 and 6.

McMaster’s office asked for the attorney general’s opinion March 8. The opinion was dated March 9. McMaster’s office formally issued the suspension Monday.

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 11:30 AM with the headline "McMaster got new attorney general opinion to suspend Baddourah."