Judge's home erupts in flames, officials investigating cause
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Left: Crews battle a fire at the home Judge Diane Goodstein on Edisto Island, South Carolina (St. Paul”s Fire District). Right: Judge Diane Goodstein (South Carolina courts).

The home of a South Carolina judge erupted in flames Saturday, sending three people to the hospital including her husband, a former Democratic member of the state legislature, who reportedly had to jump from a window to safety, officials say.

Authorities from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are investigating the cause of the fire that destroyed Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein’s waterfront home and whether it was intentionally set.

Goodstein issued a temporary restraining order last month blocking the South Carolina Election Commission from releasing voter data to the Trump administration, FITS News reported. A Palmetto State voter filed the lawsuit in the Calhoun County Court of Pleas, arguing the data release would violate her privacy rights. From Goodstein’s TRO:

Upon due consideration of the Plaintiff’s verified Petition for a Temporary Restraining Order filed by Plaintiff herein, the Court finds that there is a likelihood that immediate and irreparable damage will result to Plaintiff if her personal information data is released in violation of her right to privacy, which is protected in South Carolina by the South Carolina Constitution, the United States Constitution, and applicable state privacy laws, election laws, and criminal laws.

But the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the order and the Election Division is slated to send the data to the U.S. Department of Justice after it signs a memorandum of understanding outlining how the information will be released. The state agency was responding to orders from the Trump administration seeking voter rolls from all 50 states.

According to the St. Paul’s Fire District, crews from several different agencies responded to a fire Saturday at a home on Edisto Beach, which is roughly 50 miles southwest of Charleston. Flames were shooting through the roof of the home when crews arrived and became fully engulfed, pictures showed.

“This area is located on a barrier island with significant challenges such as limited water supply and tight areas,” St. Paul’s Fire District wrote in a Facebook post. “The first arriving crews worked flawlessly together to ensure the safety of the occupants which escaped via jumping from and elevated first floor. “Due to the remoteness and layout of the lot, the occupants had to be rescued from the backyard via kayaks and brought to Colleton County EMS where they received medical aid.”

FITS News reports the judge’s husband, Arnold Goodstein, was the one who jumped from the elevated first floor while saving other family members. He is in the hospital with serious injuries. He served as Democratic member of the state Senate and House of Representatives as well as the Department of Transportation commissioner.

The judge herself was reportedly out walking her dogs when the house caught fire.

She was elected in 1998 by the South Carolina General Assembly as circuit judge for the First Judicial Circuit, her biography said.

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