County of Greenville v. Mann

TOAL, Chief Justice:

The Greenville County Clerk of Court, Fletcher C. Mann, Jr. (“Mann”), appeals the circuit court’s order holding him in criminal contempt for failing to destroy certain firearms as required by an earlier court order.

FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1996, Greenville County began construction of a new courthouse and renovation of its old courthouse. During the construction, numerous civil and criminal court exhibits were discovered which had been stored for long periods of time.1 Mann, as Clerk of Court, hired Shawn Knox (“Knox”) to inventory the exhibits. Knox researched the…