Criminal Practice « South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

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Criminal Practice – Aiding & Abetting – Homicide by Child Abuse – Insufficient Evidence

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 22,2013

State v. Lewis Even though defendant and his co-defendant implicated each other, each testified that the other acted alone, and the state presented no evidence that they acted together.

Criminal Practice – PCR – Constitutional – Attorneys — Ineffective Assistance – No Prejudice – Armed Robbery – Identification – Alibi Instruction

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 22,2013

Gibbs v. State Even though the show-up identification procedures used by the police were unduly suggestive and trial counsel was ineffective in failing to contemporaneously object, the two witnesses in question had previously identified petitioner as the robber from a photographic line-up; therefore, the subsequent show-up may be characterized as merely confirmatory and thus reliable, despite the suggestive procedure.

Criminal Practice – No Restitution Payment with Tax Refund

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 15,2013

U.S. v. Grant A district court abused its discretion in adding as a special condition to defendant’s sentencing order an obligation to turn over any tax refund as part of her restitution for illegal receipt of social security payments, and the 4th Circuit vacates the order setting the special condition.

Criminal Practice – Constitutional – Double Jeopardy – Contempt of Court – Obtaining Property by False Pretenses – Mortgage Scheme

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 15,2013

State v. Jolly : Even though the trial court found that defendant’s orchestration of a fraudulent mortgage scheme, in concert with his conduct in related foreclosure actions and his conduct before the court, amounted to contempt of court, this does not prevent defendant from also being tried for obtaining property under false pretenses for the fraudulent mortgage scheme.

Criminal Practice – Sentencing – Alford Plea – Sex Offense Charge – ABHAN Plea – Sex Abuse Counseling – Admission of Guilt – Sex Offender Registration

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 15,2013

State v. Herndon A defendant who enters an Alford plea is not entitled to any more notice as to the conditions of his sentence than is a defendant who enters a standard guilty plea. The circuit was not required to explain to defendant that he would be required to admit his guilt as part of sex abuse counseling

Criminal Practice – PCR – Attorneys – Effective Assistance – Sentencing – Death Penalty

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 14,2013

Sigmon v. State Although the solicitor’s closing argument mentioned his reasons for seeking the death penalty, his comments did not diminish the role of the jury in sentencing petitioner to death. Trial counsel were not deficient in failing to object to the state’s closing argument

Criminal Practice – Restitution Reversed for Unnamed ‘Victim’

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 9,2013

U.S. v. Davis The 4th Circuit reverses a sentencing order insofar as it required defendant to pay $685 in restitution for a homeowner’s broken window and homeowner’s deductible, on defendant’s conviction pursuant to a plea agreement to possession of a stolen firearm; the presentence report identified no “victim” of the offense of conviction, and the restitution order was not authorized by statute.

Criminal Practice – Constitutional – Confrontation Right – Prosecution Witness – Plea Bargain – Potential Sentence

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 7,2013

State v. Pradubsri The trial court should have allowed defendant to cross-examine a prosecution witness about the length of the sentence that she avoided by agreeing to testify against him.

Criminal Practice – Evidence – Evasiveness – Lying to Police – Insufficient Nexus – Harmless Error

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 7,2013

State v. Martin The state failed to establish a nexus between an April 2009 bank robbery in Aiken and defendant’s provision of false identification information to a Georgia police officer the following year. However, admission of the false information evidence was harmless error, given the other evidence of defendant’s guilt.

Criminal Practice – No Money Laundering Convictions Under ‘Merger Problem’

By S.C. Lawyers Weekly staff
Published: May 3,2013

U.S. v. Abdulwahab : In this fraud case involving a scheme to sell life settlement investments, which resulted in nearly $100 million in losses for investors, the 4th Circuit interprets “proceeds” of the scheme as “net profits” and overturns defendant’s money laundering convictions; the court affirms defendant’s remaining fraud convictions, but vacates defendant’s sentence and remands for resentencing