Profanity-laced ‘ear wax’ outburst by SC magistrate lands him in Supreme Court hot seat

South Carolina Supreme Court cases where ear wax gets cited are few and far between.

But the high court on Wednesday issued a four-page opinion with a public reprimand to a magistrate judge who crossed the line when he told a lawyer with whom he was having “a heated exchange” in court to “get the f------ ear wax out of his ears.”

The state Supreme Court’s five justices could have given Greenwood County Magistrate Judge Walter Martin a private censure but chose to make the matter public — apparently to send a message to warn others that angry outbursts in court concerning ear wax or other matters will not be tolerated.

Two months after the September 2021 “ear wax” incident, Martin got upset and “yelled” at a scheduling clerk for not giving him more notice to prepare for an upcoming jury trial, the high court noted.

In both cases, Martin quickly apologized to the targets of his wrath, the opinion said. He later explained to court disciplinary officials that he was under great pressure from serious health care situations involving his wife and teenage son.

The Supreme Court also noted in a footnote that Martin had received a public reprimand in 2012 for “losing his temper and cursing at a defendant during bond court.”

In that incident, the high court said, Martin told a defendant, “I’ll beat your a-- if you call me a liar.”

Martin, who told the court he was voluntarily taking sessions of anger management training, was ordered by the justices to take 20 additional hours to learn how to control himself.

Martin has been a lawyer since 1994 and a magistrate judge since 2007.

South Carolina magistrates are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the state Senate. Normally, senators from a given county will recommend candidates for magistrates’ posts.

Magistrates are low-level court officials who set bail and sign off on arrest and search warrants. They also try minor civil and criminal cases.