Episcopal membership should prompt justice to recuse on church split

The Sept. 25 article on the Episcopal Church split (“Law meets religion as court takes on Episcopal split”) contains several quotes by Associate Justice Kaye Hearn. In the interest of journalistic accuracy and fairness, the article omitted an important fact about the quoted justice’s personal connection to the case before the court.

Justice Hearn, prior to the split, was a member of Saint.Paul’s in Conway, one of the churches that remained part of The Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of South Carolina, headed by Bishop Mark Lawrence, and which is now separated from the national Episcopal Church.

Justice Hearn now is a member of Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church in Conway, which is part of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina and remains part of the national Episcopal Church.

Surely, this raises questions about impartiality and perceived conflict of interest on the part of the Associate Justice, neither of which the story indicates.

It is the writer’s opinion, that in the interest of fairness and justice that Associate Justice Hearn promptly recuse herself from the case to remove any taint of bias, should the case go to appeal.

The writer lives in Conway.

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Episcopal membership should prompt justice to recuse on church split."