A South Carolina judge who ruled on the Charleston County sheriff’s violation of the state’s Freedom of Information Act says the sheriff must cover the incurred legal expenses, following a lawsuit by local media.
Former South Carolina Supreme Court Justice, Jean Toal, ordered that Sheriff Kristin Graziano must remit a sum of $33,175 to cover legal fees, Live 5 reports.
The order follows legal action initiated by Gray Television, the parent company of Live 5 News, after the sheriff’s office refused disclose the jail calls of 25-year-old Jamie Komoroski; she stands accused of reckless homicide in the death of newlywed, Samantha “Sam” Hutchinson, 34.
Initially, the sheriff’s office did not object to releasing the recordings, except for one containing legal information and two others that reportedly contained personal information, such as passwords. These exemptions were allowed under FOIA.
Gray Television subsequently sued Graziano in June after the department denied additional requests from other media outlets for the same recordings that were previously provided to the Post & Courier.
The lawsuit asserted that the sheriff’s office admitted its mistake in releasing the recordings but argued that further release of the tapes would jeopardize the defendant’s privacy, right to a fair trial, and physical safety.
Toal ultimately disagreed with the plaintiffs, adding that no attempts have been made to go through the calls to determine to provide “applicable exemptions for each recording it wanted to withhold,” according to the Courier.
“Nobody has made any attempt to go through these things,” Toal previously said.
Jail Calls from Accused Drunk Driver Who Killed Newlywed Sam Hutchinson to be Released: Report
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Hutchinson was pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m. on April 28, after Komoroski plowed into her and her husband, Aric Hutchinson, during a fatal crash in Folly Beach.
The couple had just gotten married and were leaving their wedding reception when the crash occurred.
According to an arrest affidavit, Komoroski became “uncooperative” with police and claimed she was not drunk and had a beer and one shot of tequila around an hour before the crash. A responding officer, however, noted that Komoroski had trouble standing and smelled of alcohol.
Komoroski also “strongly refused” a field sobriety test. Police arrested her and subsequently obtained a blood test, which indicated a blood alcohol level of over four times the legal limit in South Carolina.
Komoroski remains behind bars at the Charleston County jail. Along with reckless homicide, she’s also facing three counts of DUI involving great bodily injury.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Hutchinson Couple/GoFundMe]
