Mary Lou Seymour is a long-time libertarian activist and author. She lives in South Carolina. CLICK HERE FOR RATIONAL REVIEW NEWS DIGEST SUPPORT OUR
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of the Week I've been told that I have a "high Righteous indignation quotient" (by an acquaintance of mine addicted to psycho-babble, who seems to think it's a bad thing to have). Be that as it may, a story this week in my home state of South Carolina's major newspaper, appropriately called "The State," really made my blood boil. This story hasn't made it out of SC -- except in Rational Review News Digest -- to my knowledge, and, for this week's action, I'd like to ask your help in getting it the national attention it deserves. Frank Cooper bought a lot in Richland County, SC back in 1995. He planned to build a house on his lot. Last summer, he had moved onto his property to begin construction, and pitched a tent to live in while building. That's when the trouble began. The neighborhood association president, James Whitmire, first complained to county officials on July 2. In August, county officials ordered Cooper to stop construction of the foundation until he had a building permit. Cooper ignored the order and erected framing for four 8-foot-high walls. The county posted another stop work order on Aug. 19. The county then mowed the overgrown yard, and tore down the framing, leaving the 4-by-4s and trusses on the property. discuss this
article on Undaunted, Cooper began rebuilding the foundation. In April this year, the county issued another stop work order, which was ignored by Cooper. The Sheriff's Department, at county officials' request, asked the probate court to order Cooper to appear for a mental evaluation May 8. Cooper didn't show. And on May 19, the deputies spotted Cooper at a bus stop, picked him up, and took him in for a mental evaluation, which supposedly revealed Cooper should be treated at Bryan Mental Hospital. He is currently at Palmetto Health Richland, awaiting a room at G. Werber Bryan Psychiatric Hospital. It is not reported what the evaluation "revealed" or how long he will be hospitalized, though there are no reports that Cooper has ever threatened or tried to hurt any of his neighbors. Stories: Tent Dweller Worries
Neighbors (5/09/03) There are no county or state laws prohibiting Cooper or anyone from living in a tent on his or her property. Of course, if the county had left Cooper alone, he'd probably have finished building his house by now, and the tent would no longer be an issue. So why didn't he just get the dang permit? If he had $9500 to buy the land, what's another $164.00? I don't know what you would have done, I'm not sure what I would have done, but for Frank Cooper, that was his "line in the sand." He owned the land. He was building a house. And he wasn't going to buy any "steenking permit." "If you're building something on your own property, you don't have to have a building permit if it's not for public use," Cooper reportedly said to the planning commission. Well, a look at the Richland County ordinance shows there is indeed a county ordinance requiring a building permit, even for land owners. So Cooper was "in violation" of that ordinance. But he wasn't arrested for violating the building permit ordinance. Nope. He was "probated," and committed to a mental hospital. The legal standard required to pick up a person for a "protective proceeding" mental evaluation and commit them to a state mental hospital is the person must be "incapacitated" to the extent that he "lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to make or communicate responsible decisions concerning his person or property." Why the county chose to "probate" Cooper (as it's called in SC) instead of imprisoning him under the "permit" ordinance is unclear. Could it be that with a "protective proceeding," you have no right to a jury trial? "We had no choice," the Asst. County Administrator is reported to have said. It's unclear from the news stories whether the proper process was followed for a "protective proceeding" as outlined in SC Code. There is no mention of who filed the complaint (county officials, perhaps?), there is no mention of who was appointed as Cooper's attorney, or whether Cooper requested a "closed hearing." But the bottom line is: apparently, if you make a decision regarding your property that is not "responsible," according to the state, you can be committed to a mental hospital. For "your own good." To "protect you." It makes me angry enough that the government claims the "right" to imprison someone for refusing to get "permission" to build a house on their own property, but that the governmentt can commit you to a mental hospital for this heinous "crime" is unconscionable. The "protective proceedings" in probate court have concerned me for many years. The process seems so open to abuse. Anyone can "file a complaint" saying you "appear incapacitated" and you can be forced to prove your sanity to the Probate Judge. No jury. Just you, a court appointed lawyer (unless you have the means to hire your own), a state appointed doctor and another examiner. We have all heard horror stories about elderly folks being hustled out of their property by unscrupulous family members, using the "protective proceedings" in probate court to prove Mama Minnie is "incapacitated." But this is the first time I have EVER heard of probate proceedings being used to get rid of someone who has refused to get a building permit and wants to live in a tent. Who is next? How many other stories like this are happening throughout our country? For this week's action, let's bring Frank Cooper's story to national attention. To start, LTEs to The State paper, the local media in Columbia SC, other media in SC, and surrounding states; (use the Media Guide tool) and also forward this article to lists interested in freedom issues. I'd also suggest alerting the SC ACLU (to check into any violation of civil procedures) and the Institute for Justice (which does look into property rights issues) to the situation. Let's also write the Richland County SC officials, Sheriff Leon Lott, the County Council, County Administrator and Planning Board and Probate Judge Amy W. McCullochand and tell them exactly what we think of their Jack Booted Thug tactics (click here for contact info). I keep thinking of Frank Cooper, sitting in the state mental hospital. He wasn't homeless, he had a home, he was trying to build himself a better one. It doesn't say in the news reports, but I'm sure he was upset when he was accosted at the bus stop by the deputies. I know I would have been. By this time, I'm sure he's been given medication to "keep him quiet." For his own good. To "protect him." And I wonder, if this happened to me, or any one of us, would anyone know, or do anything? Who is next? Til next week Mary Lou PS: Thanks to all who responded to my plea for help in replacing my dead computer! I was really touched by your response. I now am "back in business" again (unless, of course, the great state of SC decides I need to be "protected" for my own good:-) PPS: Stay tuned for a new activist resource I am working on with the folks at Rational Review! I hope to have it ready for y'all by next week's column. And do check on the new feature now being offered at Rational Review, Rational Review Premium. We at RR are trying our best to bring you the features you've been requesting, at as low a cost as possible. We all are working "dirt cheap", for "tips" as it were, so any donations are always greatly appreciated and put to good use. RICHLAND COUNTY SC
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