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January 2019 |
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The summary below each case is prepared to offer lawyers and the public a general overview of what issues are included in a case which will be argued. The summary is not a limit on what issues a party to a case may present at oral argument.
Thursday, January 10, 2019 | |
Supreme Court Courtroom
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09:30 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2015-000953 The State, Respondent,
v.
Devarous S. L. Parks, Appellant. Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, of Columbia, for Appellant. General Counsel Matthew C. Buchanan, of Columbia, for Respondent. Following Grady v. North Carolina, 135 S. Ct. 1368 (2015) (per curiam), the Court considers whether an individualized hearing is required before imposing "mandatory" GPS monitoring upon a sex offender pursuant to section 23-3-540(A) of the South Carolina Code, and whether the petitioner received such a hearing in this case. |
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10:00 a.m. | (Time Limits: 15-15-5) |
2015-002164 Daniel Hamrick, Petitioner,
v.
State of South Carolina, Respondent. Appellate Defender David Alexander and Appellate Defender Jennifer Roberts, both of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson and Assistant Attorney General William M. Blitch, Jr., both of Columbia, for Respondent. In this criminal case, Daniel Hamrick appeals his conviction of felony driving under the influence with great bodily injury. Hamrick argues the circuit court erred in (1) denying his motion to suppress the results of his blood test because the fact that police believed alcohol was in his blood stream did not create a per se exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement, (2) denying his motion to suppress the results of his blood test because police did not draw his blood within the three-hour statutory timeframe, (3) allowing Officer Andrew Harris to testify about an experiment he conducted when Officer Harris was not qualified as an expert, and (4) disallowing into evidence an experiment conducted by Hamrick's expert in accident reconstruction. |
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10:30 a.m. | (Time Limits: 15-15-5) |
2017-000990 The State, Respondent-Petitioner,
v.
Stephon Robinson, Petitioner-Respondent. Appellate Defender Victor Seeger, of Columbia, for Petitioner-Respondent. Attorney General Alan Wilson, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General J. Benjamin Aplin, both of Columbia and Solicitor J. Strom Thurmond, Jr., of Aiken, for Respondent-Petitioner. The Court granted petitions by Stephon Robinson and the State for writs of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision in State v. Robinson, Op. No. 2017-UP-065 (S.C. Ct. App. filed Feb. 1, 2017), in which the court of appeals found error in the trial court's application of two of the five factors enumerated in State v. Colf, 337 S.C. 622, 525 S.E.2d 246 (2000), but concluded any error in the admission of Robinson's prior convictions was harmless. |
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Tuesday, January 29, 2019 | |
Supreme Court Courtroom
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09:30 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2017-001583 Mark M. Sweeney, Petitioner,
v.
Irene M. Sweeney, Respondent. Bruce W. Bannister and Luke A. Burke, both of Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey, LLC, of Greenville, for Petitioner. David M. Yokel, of Greenville, for Respondent. We granted certiorari to determine whether the family court's award of alimony was proper. |
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10:00 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2018-001124 Crystal L. Wickersham, as Personal Representative of the Estate of John Harley Wickersham, Jr., Plaintiffs,
v.
Ford Motor Company, Defendant. Ronnie L. Crosby, of Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick, of Hampton and Kathleen C. Barnes, of Barnes Law Firm, LLC, of Hampton, for Plaintiffs. J. Kenneth Carter, Jr. and Carmelo B. Sammataro, both of Turner Padget Graham & Laney, P.A., of Columbia, Adam H. Charnes and Thurston H. Webb, both of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Defendant. Steve A. Matthews, of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P. A., of Columbia and Victor E. Schwartz, Cary Silverman and Phil Goldberg, all of Shook Hardy & Bacon, LLP, of Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae, The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Inc. Frank L. Eppes, of Eppes & Plumblee, of Greenville for Amicus Curiae, South Carolina Association for Justice. Gray T. Culbreath and Jessica A. Waller, both of Gallivan White and Boyd, P.A., of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae, Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit asks this Court to determine: (1) whether South Carolina recognizes an "uncontrollable impulse" exception to the general rule that suicide breaks the causal chain for wrongful death claims, and if so, what is required to satisfy causation under the exception; and (2) whether comparative negligence in causing enhanced injuries applies in a crashworthiness case when the plaintiff alleges claims of strict liability and breach of warranty and is seeking damages related only to the plaintiff's enhanced injuries. |
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Wednesday, January 30, 2019 | |
Supreme Court Courtroom
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09:30 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2017-001933 The State, Petitioner,
v.
Eric Terrell Spears, Respondent. Attorney General Alan Wilson, Senior Assistant Attorney General David Spencer and Interim Solicitor Heather S. Weiss, all of Columbia, for Petitioner. Appellate Defender LaNelle Cantey Durant, of Columbia, for Respondent. Eric Terrell Spears was convicted of trafficking crack cocaine between ten and twenty-eight grams. The court of appeals reversed, finding the trial court improperly denied Spears' motion to suppress the drug evidence. State v. Spears, 420 S.C. 363, 802 S.E.2d 803 (Ct. App. 2017). We granted the State's petition for a writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision. |
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10:00 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2017-001362 In the Matter of the Care and Treatment of Calvin Joe Miller, Petitioner. Deputy Chief Appellate Defender Wanda H. Carter, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson and Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Deborah R.J. Shupe, both of Columbia, for Respondent. The Court granted certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' decision in In re the Care and Treatment of Miller, Op. No. 2017-UP-137 (S.C. Ct. App. filed Apr. 5, 2017), in which the Court of Appeals affirmed Petitioner's commitment under the South Carolina Sexually Violent Predator Act. Petitioner asserts the Court of Appeals erred because the trial court improperly admitted testimony regarding Petitioner's prior charges and convictions for non-sexual conduct. |
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10:30 a.m. | (Time Limits: 10-10-5) |
2017-001404 William McFarland and Jennifer McFarland, Petitioners,
v.
Mansour Rashtchian and Amy Rashtchian, Respondents. Stephen L. Brown and Russell G. Hines, both of Young Clement Rivers, LLP, of Charleston, for Petitioners. David C. Cleveland and Michael L. Leech, both of Clawson and Staubes, LLC, of Charleston, for Respondents. The issue in this defamation action is whether the court of appeals erred in affirming the trial court's decision to charge self-defense; specifically, the petitioners assert that self-defense is not an absolute defense to slander per se, that provocation is distinct from self-defense, and that provocation deals with mitigation, rather than liability. |
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Thursday, January 31, 2019 | |
Supreme Court Courtroom
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09:30 a.m. | (Time Limits: 15-15-5) |
2017-001910 The State, Respondent,
v.
Dennis Elvin Cervantes-Pavon, Petitioner. Appellate Defender Susan Barber Hackett, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Deputy Attorney General Donald J. Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Jane Brown and Assistant Attorney General Susannah Rawl Cole, all of Columbia; and Solicitor Scarlett A. Wilson, of Charleston, for Respondent. Petitioner was found guilty of murder. This Court reviews whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the trial court's denial of Petitioner's request for immunity from prosecution under the Protection of Persons and Property Act. |
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10:00 a.m. | (Time Limits: 15-15-5) |
2017-001920 The State, Respondent,
v.
Wayland Purnell, Petitioner. Appellate Defender Lara M. Caudy, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Assistant Attorney General Vann Henry Gunter, Jr. and Interim Solicitor Heather S. Weiss, all of Columbia, for Respondent. This Court reviews the court of appeals' unpublished opinion. State v. Purnell, No. 2017-UP-272 (S.C. Ct. App. July 5, 2017). |
Cases to be Submitted Without Oral Argument | |
Dion O. Taylor, Petitioner, v. State of South Carolina, Respondent. |
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Appellate Defender Lara Mary Caudy, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan M. Wilson and Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Megan Harrigan Jameson, both of Columbia, for Respondent. |
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Eugene Thomas, Petitioner, v. State of South Carolina, Respondent. |
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Deputy Chief Appellate Defender Wanda H. Carter, of Columbia, for Petitioner. Attorney General Alan M. Wilson and Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Hunter Limbaugh, both of Columbia, for Respondent. |
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Patricia E. King and Robbie King Jones, as representatives of W.R. King and Ellen King, Plaintiffs, Of Whom Patricia E. King is the Petitioner, v. Margie B. King and Robbie Patricia Ione King, individually and as co-personal representatives of the Estate of Christopher C. King, deceased and Nelson M. King, Respondents. |
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Kenneth B. Wingate and Paul D. Kent, both of Sweeny Wingate & Barrow, PA of Columbia, for Petitioner. Margie B. King, Robbie Patricia Ione King and Nelson M. King, all of Rock Hill, pro se Respondents. |