In 2012, S.C. Supreme Court Justice Costa Pleicones received more than $125,000 in state retirement income in addition to his approximately $140,000 judicial salary for that year, according to financial records he voluntarily released over the weekend toThe Nerve.
He said he also received $29,209 in Social Security payments, federal military pension benefits of about $28,000 and approximately $20,000 in joint investment income in 2012.
In addition, Pleicones provided The Nerve with a a detailed breakdown of his stocks, mutual funds and government securities, which as of July 31 had a total listed value of more than $894,000. On top of that, he released records for a separate bond fund that listed a cash balance of nearly $74,000, plus said he contributes to separate 401K and 457 retirement plans.
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It's the first time in recent memory that a sitting S.C. judge has publicly released detailed financial records. The Nerve last week revealed that what judges are required to disclose is largely hidden from the public.
Not knowing the private sources of income and investments for judges and their spouses prevents the public from monitoring potential conflicts of interest. In April of last year, The Nerve’s parent organization – The South Carolina Policy Council – launched “Project Conflict Watch” to encourage state lawmakers and other elected officials to voluntarily disclose their private sources of income.
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The Nerve this month asked Chief Justice Jean Toal and Pleicones, who is running against Toal for her seat in next Wednesday’s judicial election in the General Assembly, to voluntarily release normally confidential financial information they provided to the state’s Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC), which nominates judicial candidates for election.
South Carolina and Virginia are the only states in which their legislatures play primary roles in electing judges.
“I’m 100 percent for disclosing any income any judge has and any investment any judge has,” Pleicones, who has been on the Supreme Court since 2000, said when interviewed by The Nerve.
The Nerve initially asked Pleicones to release only the sources of his private income and investments, not amounts, but he said he was willing to release amounts as well, adding, “I think everyone has a right to know.”
Contacted Tuesday, Toal said she didn’t have “any problem” with requiring state judges, including herself, to publicly disclose their private sources of income and assets. But she said she couldn’t immediately release financial records she provided to the JMSC, explaining that given the pending winter storm threatening to shut down the state's court system, she didn’t have time to contact her accountant to review her family’s financial records, which she noted include various assets belonging to her and her attorney-husband, William Toal.
“Income disclosure is very different from asset disclosure,” said Toal, a member of the Supreme Court since 1988 and chief justice since 2000. “I would have no difficulty with that (releasing information on her assets), but doing it right now is something I can’t waive my magic wand and get it done.”
The Nerve initially left voicemail messages for Pleicones and Toal on Jan. 17 at their Supreme Court offices. Pleicones agreed the same day to The Nerve’s request to voluntarily release records he provided to the JMSC, though he said given his work and campaign schedule for the judicial race, he couldn’t do it immediately.
The Nerve on Jan. 21 left a phone message with Toal’s assistant, informing her that Pleicones had agreed to The Nerve’s request and asking her to let Toal know about The Nerve’s request. Toal returned the call when aNerve reporter was unavailable, but she could not be reached for comment by publication of The Nerve’s initial story on Jan. 22.
On Saturday, Pleicones released financial records to The Nerve that he said he provided to the JMSC. The Nerve on Monday left another message with Toal’s assistant, informing her that Pleicones had released his records. The Nerve contacted Toal at her office on Tuesday morning after not hearing from her.