State v. Hawkins

THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

The State, Respondent,

v.

Sonny S. Hawkins, Appellant.

Appeal From Pickens County
G. Edward Welmaker, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2011-UP-506  
Heard October 31, 2011 Filed November 15, 2011

AFFIRMED

Scott David Robinson, of Greenville, for Appellant.

Attorney General Alan Wilson, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Salley W. Elliott, and Assistant  Attorney General Mark Farthing, all of Columbia; and Solicitor William W. Wilkins, III, of Greenville, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  Sonny Hawkins appeals his conviction of unlawful conduct toward a child in violation of section 63-5-70 of the South Carolina Code (Supp. 2010), arguing the circuit court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict. We affirm pursuant to Rule 220(b)(1), SCACR, and the following authorities: State v. James, 362 S.C. 557, 562, 608 S.E.2d 455, 457 (Ct. App. 2004) (stating issues not raised to the circuit court in support of the directed verdict motion are not preserved for appellate review); State v. Lopez, 352 S.C. 373, 378, 574 S.E.2d 210, 213 (Ct. App. 2002) (finding an issue must be raised to and ruled upon by the circuit court to be considered on appeal); State v. Bailey, 298 S.C. 1, 5, 377 S.E.2d 581, 584 (1989) ("A party cannot argue one ground for a directed verdict in trial and then an alternative ground on appeal."); see also State v. Harry, 321 S.C. 273, 277, 468 S.E.2d 76, 79 (Ct. App. 1996) ("A motion for a directed verdict made at the close of the [State's] case is not sufficient to preserve error unless renewed at the close of all the evidence, because once the defense has come forward with its proof, the propriety of a directed verdict can only be tested in terms of all the evidence.") (citation omitted).

AFFIRMED.

SHORT, WILLIAMS, and GEATHERS, JJ., concur.