South Carolina v. Morales
Annotate this CaseGuadalupe Guzman Morales was convicted in 2017 of criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the first and second degree. On appeal, he contended evidence he sexually assaulted the victim's sister should have been excluded under Rule 404(b) of the South Carolina Rules of Evidence. He argued the trial court erred in admitting the evidence pursuant to the "common scheme or plan" exception, both under the "substantial similarities" test from South Carolina v. Wallace, 683 S.E.2d 275 (2009), and under the "logical connection" standard later articulated in South Carolina v. Perry, 842 S.E.2d 654 (2020). The court of appeals agreed as to Perry and reversed. The South Carolina Supreme Court found both the Wallace and Perry issues were unpreserved for appellate review. The Court therefore reversed the court of appeals and reinstated Morales' convictions.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.