Bio

I have been practicing law in South Carolina continuously since November 1975. I was an assistant public defender for Richland County for two years after being admitted to the Bar 1975. In October 1977, I moved to Charleston and was an assistant public defender for Charleston County for three years. In 1980, I was appointed to become the Chief Public Defender for Charleston County, a post which I held for two years. In 1982, I went into private practice with my wife Ann M. Stirling in Charleston. I primarily practiced criminal defense in state and federal court. In 1988, I was asked to once again to become the Chief Public Defender for Charleston County by a member of Charleston County Counsel. I held that position until 1991 when I was offered a job by the Federal Public Defender for the District of South Carolina. The Federal Defender had not previously had an office in Charleston and I was asked to open an office in Charleston. I held that position until 1996 when I re-entered private practice. Since then, I have concentrated on criminal defense and family law.

I have been continuously listed in the publication “The Best Lawyers in American” in criminal defense since 1997. My listing in this publication is the result of positive reviews from peers. A new volume is published every year.

I have taught seminars in criminal law sponsored by the South Carolina Bar, the South Carolina Public Defender Association and The Defender Services Division of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. I have been a faculty member of the National College of Criminal Defense at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. I was also an adjunct professor of political science at the Citadel which is South Carolina's military college. For three years, I was a part-time administrative law judge for the OSHA Division of the South Carolina Department of Labor.

I have appeared on many occasions before the South Carolina Supreme Court, the South Carolina Court of Appeals and the Fourth United State Court of Appeals. I have tried more cases than I can count in South Carolina state and federal courts. I have represented people charged with murder including many cases in which the state or federal government was seeking the death penalty, sexual assault, armed bank robbery, financial frauds of all kinds including bank fraud, tax evasion, environmental offenses, health care fraud, and driving while impaired.

I have been qualified by trial courts as an expert witness in criminal defense on several occasions and my expert opinion about whether trial counsel provided effective assistance of counsel has been always been accepted.

I have an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell which is the highest possible rating for legal ability and ethical standards.

I graduated from Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina in 1968 with a B.A. in political science. I enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 1968 and entered active service in February 1969. After basic training, I was trained in counter-intelligence and the Vietnamese language. I went to Vietnam in October 1970 and spent a year there. I was honorably discharged in October 1971 with the rank of Sergeant E-5. I started law school at the University of South Carolina in 1972. I financed law school on the G.I. Bill. I received my Juris Doctor in May of 1975.

Michael P. O’Connell

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