\u201d\u201c On the 12th day of the trial of the Diocese of South Carolina vs. The Episcopal Church and its local subsidiary, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, TEC attorney David Beers attempted to introduce the concept of church hierarchy once again into the trial, ignoring Judge Diane S. Goodstein\u2019s repeated rulings that church hierarchy plays no role in this case.<\/p>\n
Beers asked the first provisional bishop of TECSC, Charles vonRosenberg, to tell the court why the Bishop of San Joaquin, Ca., the Rt. Rev. John David Schofield had been removed as bishop of that diocese.<\/p>\n
Judge Goodstein said, \u201cIt\u2019s not relevant. For this reason: I don\u2019t know what [that] state\u2019s position is regarding the analysis of church disputes. I don\u2019t really care. What I care about is the state of South Carolina. My Supreme Court tells me what I do when I analyze church disputes.\u2019<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cIn terms of whether or not the parishes in SC and the Diocese in SC were allowed to leave the national church \u201d\u201c I\u2019m going to make that determination on the basis of neutral principles of law under South Carolina law. I don\u2019t care what happened any where else.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n