South Carolina Supreme Court Decisions 2023
Date: October 5, 2023
Docket Number: 28182
Justia Opinion Summary: James Heyward was convicted of multiple crimes arising from the armed robbery, brutal beating, and murder of Alice Tollison during the burglary of her home. The South Carolina Supreme Court granted Heyward's petition for…
Date: September 29, 2023
Docket Number: 28179
Justia Opinion Summary: Corey Brown was convicted by jury of conspiracy to commit grand larceny, armed robbery, and kidnapping. In a post-trial motion, Brown moved for a new trial on several grounds, including the State's failure to disclose…
Date: September 29, 2023
Docket Number: 28180
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from a defense verdict in a case alleging law enforcement officers and the City of North Charleston violated the civil rights of Jane Doe, a vulnerable adult. During its deliberations, the jury…
Date: September 13, 2023
Docket Number: 28178
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Robert Miller, III was convicted of murdering eighty-six-year-old Willie Johnson. Following the murder, Petitioner—who was fifteen years old at the time—confessed four times: twice to his close friends and…
Date: September 6, 2023
Docket Number: 28177
Justia Opinion Summary: The South Carolina Supreme Court issued a common-law writ of certiorari to review a "sealed" order of the circuit court reducing the prison sentence of Jeroid Price and releasing him from prison after he served only…
Date: August 30, 2023
Docket Number: 28175
Justia Opinion Summary: Tyrone Wallace Jr. appealed his convictions for murder and kidnapping, challenging the trial court's ruling that a witness who placed Wallace's phone near the two crime scenes based on cell site location information…
Date: August 30, 2023
Docket Number: 28176
Justia Opinion Summary: Daufuskie Island Utility Company (DIUC) again appealed decisions by the Public Service Commission (PSC) regarding DIUC's 2015 application for ratemaking. In the PSC's first two decisions, it granted only part of the 109%…
Date: August 23, 2023
Docket Number: 28173
Justia Opinion Summary: The Kitchen Planners, LLC, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to review the court of appeals' decision in Kitchen Planners, LLC v. Friedman, 851 S.E.2d 724 (Ct. App. 2020).…
Date: August 23, 2023
Docket Number: 28174
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2023, a majority of the South Carolina Supreme Court found unconstitutional the 2021 version of the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act (the 2021 Act). In response to its decision, the South Carolina…
Date: August 16, 2023
Docket Number: 28172
Justia Opinion Summary: Charles Dent was convicted and sentenced on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) with a minor and two counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor. Dent appealed, and a divided court of appeals'…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 28170
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina certified a question of law to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Plaintiff John Doe was a convicted sex offender who moved from South Carolina to…
Date: August 9, 2023
Docket Number: 28171
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Petitioner Carmie Nelson ("Carmie") guilty of murdering her roommate, and the trial court sentenced her to life imprisonment. Carmie appealed, arguing, among other things, that the trial court erred in…
Date: August 2, 2023
Docket Number: 2023-MO-012
Date: July 26, 2023
Docket Number: 28167
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent John Perry, Jr. was convicted by jury of the attempted murder of a police officer. During deliberations, the jury requested a recharge on intent. Over the defense's objection, the trial court instructed, "When…
Date: July 26, 2023
Docket Number: 28168
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Rick Hendrick Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram (Rick Hendrick Dodge) and Isiah White argued an arbitrator had to decide whether they could enforce an arbitration provision in a contract even after that contract had…
Date: June 28, 2023
Docket Number: 28165
Justia Opinion Summary: The South Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed Petitioner Tappia Green's convictions for kidnapping, armed robbery, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. During an in camera hearing, the…
Date: June 21, 2023
Docket Number: 28160
Justia Opinion Summary: In a matter of first impression, the South Carolina Supreme Court considered a Sexually Violent Predator Act case arising under subsection 44-48-100(B) of the South Carolina Code (2018). The circuit court in this case…
Date: June 21, 2023
Docket Number: 28161
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Jon Smart and his co-defendant, Stephen Hutto, were in custody at a Department of Juvenile Justice detention facility near Rimini in Clarendon County in August 1999 when they brutally murdered a citizen…
Date: June 21, 2023
Docket Number: 28162
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Richard Passio Jr. was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment. Passio appealed, arguing the trial court erred in: (1) denying his motion for a directed verdict; and…
Date: June 21, 2023
Docket Number: 28163
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit certified a question of South Carolina Supreme Court to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Metal Recycling Services, LLC, hired an independent contractor - Norris…
Date: June 21, 2023
Docket Number: 28164
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Anthony Jones pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary and armed robbery, crimes he committed at the ages of sixteen and seventeen, respectively. Pursuant to subsection 63-19-20(1), South Carolina's…
Date: June 14, 2023
Docket Number: 28158
Justia Opinion Summary: Hicks Unlimited, Inc. contracted to rent uniforms for its employees from UniFirst Corporation. The contract contained an arbitration provision stating all disputes between them would be decided by binding arbitration to…
Date: June 14, 2023
Docket Number: 28159
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Justin Lewis represented himself at trial and was convicted of distribution of heroin. Lewis timely filed an application for post- conviction relief (PCR), alleging pretrial counsel was ineffective in several…
Date: June 7, 2023
Docket Number: 28156
Justia Opinion Summary: Travis Lawrence was convicted by jury of attempted murder following a brawl at the home of a friend, Clayton Baxter. At trial, Lawrence argued that he acted in self-defense. To support this, he subpoenaed his…
Date: May 31, 2023
Docket Number: 28154
Justia Opinion Summary: Guadalupe 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…
Date: April 26, 2023
Docket Number: 28152
Justia Opinion Summary: Ontavious Plumer shot and wounded Oshamar Wells during an aborted drug deal. Plumer was convicted of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to life without…
Date: April 19, 2023
Docket Number: 28150
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Russell Johnson was indicted on charges of kidnapping and criminal domestic violence in the first degree. The events leading to the indictment began in Marion County and progressed over the course of…
Date: April 19, 2023
Docket Number: 28151
Justia Opinion Summary: After receiving frequent criticism from tourists and residents alike, the City of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina became concerned that the proliferation of smoke shops and tobacco stores were repelling families from the…
Date: April 5, 2023
Docket Number: 2023-MO-007
Date: April 5, 2023
Docket Number: 28147
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Quincy Allen, a formerly death-sentenced inmate housed at Broad River Correctional Institution, appealed to the Administrative Law Court (ALC) the denial by the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC)…
Date: April 5, 2023
Docket Number: 28148
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Braden's Folly, LLC owned two small, contiguous, developed coastal properties on the northeast end of Folly Beach, South Carolina. The City of Folly Beach amended an ordinance to require certain contiguous…
Date: April 5, 2023
Docket Number: 28149
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Mary Ann German was convicted of felony driving under the influence ("DUI") resulting in death and sentenced to eleven years' incarceration. Before trial, Appellant moved to suppress evidence of her blood…
Date: March 29, 2023
Docket Number: 28143
Justia Opinion Summary: The federal district court for the District of South Carolina certified a question of law to the South Carolina Supreme Court. In 2019, USAA issued a personal automobile policy to Megan Jenkins. The policy defined "your…
Date: March 29, 2023
Docket Number: 28144
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, Appellant Nationwide Affinity Insurance Company of America (Nationwide) issued a personal automobile insurance policy to Shameika Clark, Respondent Andrew Green's mother. The policy included $25,000 in UIM…
Date: March 29, 2023
Docket Number: 28145
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Timothy Jones, Jr. admitted to killing his five young children and was indicted for five counts of murder. He was convicted by jury and sentenced to death. In a direct appeal to the South Carolina Supreme…
Date: March 29, 2023
Docket Number: 28146
Justia Opinion Summary: The federal district court for the District of South Carolina certified a question of law to the South Carolina Supreme Court. Garland Denson (the decedent) was killed in an automobile accident allegedly caused by a…
Date: March 22, 2023
Docket Number: 28142
Justia Opinion Summary: At Stewart Middleton's trial for third-degree criminal sexual conduct, the State introduced a police detective's testimony that Middleton was evasive in response to her attempts to get Middleton to come in for an…
Date: March 8, 2023
Docket Number: 28138
Justia Opinion Summary: Craig Busse appealed his conviction for second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, claiming the deputy solicitor improperly vouched for the victim's credibility in a statement he made during closing argument.…
Date: February 15, 2023
Docket Number: 2023-MO-005
Date: February 8, 2023
Docket Number: 28133
Justia Opinion Summary: The Town of McBee Municipal Election Commission overturned the results of the town's September 2020 mayoral and town council elections after finding Sydney Baker violated a previous version of section 7-15-330 of the…
Date: February 8, 2023
Docket Number: 28134
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved promises made and broken to homeowners by a developer and its affiliated entities. A jury returned verdicts on several causes of action in favor of the homeowners, and the developer appealed. The court…
Date: January 26, 2023
Docket Number: 28132
Justia Opinion Summary: Four prisoners filed a declaratory judgment action challenging two of the execution methods set forth in South Carolina's death penalty statute: electrocution and firing squad. The prisoners contend the methods violate…
Date: January 25, 2023
Docket Number: 28131
Justia Opinion Summary: The South Carolina workers' compensation commission dismissed an appeal to its appellate panel because the attorney filing the appeal missed a deadline for his brief. The commission refused to reinstate the appeal even…
Date: January 11, 2023
Docket Number: 2023-MO-003
Date: January 11, 2023
Docket Number: 28128
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Maunwell Ervin was granted post-conviction relief (PCR) for being twice tried for multiple offenses stemming from a search if his rented residence. Ervin was charged on firearms and drug trafficking charges;…
Date: January 11, 2023
Docket Number: 28129
Justia Opinion Summary: Jimmy and Laura Bailey mortgaged their home in October 2009 to Quicken Loans (first mortgage). A week later, the Baileys entered into an equity line of credit a month later with ArrowPointe Federal Credit Union (the LOC)…
Date: January 11, 2023
Docket Number: 28130
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Stephany Connelly was a passenger in a vehicle driven by co-worker Freya Trezona during the course and scope of their employment when Trezona negligently caused the accident, injuring Connelly. Because…
Date: January 5, 2023
Docket Number: 28127
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2021, the South Carolina General Assembly passed the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act ("the Act"), which prohibited an abortion after around six weeks gestation. This was before many women—excluding…
Date: January 4, 2023
Docket Number: 28125
Justia Opinion Summary: Jaron Gibbs was convicted of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He appealed, arguing the trial court erred in (1) allowing Detective Michael Arflin to present lay testimony about…
Date: January 4, 2023
Docket Number: 28126
Justia Opinion Summary: Barry Clarke brought this action for specific performance of a right of first refusal. Clarke owned a strip club at 2015 Pittsburgh Avenue in Charleston, South Carolina. Group Investment Company, Inc., whose shareholders…
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