Returning to the standard of “logical relevancy” or “logical connection” for admitting evidence of a criminal defendant’s “common scheme or plan,” a divided South Carolina Supreme Court overruled precedent and reversed a Greenville County man’s convictions for criminal sexual ...

Tagged with: Evidence

Evidence of a defendant’s suicide attempt may be admitted as evidence of consciousness of guilt only if (1) a jury could reasonably find that a suicide attempt occurred, (2) the defendant was aware of the occurrence of the alleged crimes ...

Tagged with: Evidence

Where a probation agent’s authentication of GPS records amounted simply to, “We use it in court all the time,” this was insufficient to authenticate the GPS records. Although the GPS evidence from the ankle monitor of defendant’s accomplice should not ...

Tagged with: Evidence

In three wrongful death suits in which the jury found liability and awarded punitive damages, the district court erred in finding that the plaintiffs failed to show an “aggravating factor” under North Carolina law that would support punitives. Extensive trial ...

Tagged with: Evidence

Although witness Larry Kinloch testified that he did not shoot the victim, since defendant did not lay the foundation required by Rule 613(b), SCRE, he could not put on another witness, Quinton Grant, to testify that Kinloch had told him ...

Tagged with: Evidence

Where defendant was convicted of murder in 1976, and where he was released on parole in 2003 (more than 10 years before the incident at issue), evidence of defendant’s 1976 conviction was not admissible under Rule 690(b). Evidence of the ...

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Evidence may not be authenticated with evidence that is otherwise inadmissible. In any event, the state could have authenticated defendant’s 2003 fingerprint card without referring to his previous stay in prison. We reverse defendant’s conviction for breaking into a motor ...

Tagged with: Evidence

The state’s evidence on the first day of trial did not indicate how cocaine – which was seized from defendant’s car at a McDonald’s parking lot – was transported from the hood of Officer Brewer’s car to Officer Craven, who ...

Tagged with: Evidence

Defendant’s ex-girlfriend could testify about his previous threat – that, if she called the police, she would be the one to go to jail – after defendant opened the door by saying he did not remember making such a statement. ...

Tagged with: Evidence

State v. Osborne (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-020-18, 7 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Lexington County Circuit Court (Thomas Russo, J.) S.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Where the only foundation the state laid for admission into evidence of a robbery victim’s credit ...

Tagged with: Evidence