Alexander v. State, No. 23345
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina |
| Writing for the Court | HARWELL; GREGORY |
| Citation | 402 S.E.2d 484,303 S.C. 539 |
| Parties | Vincent ALEXANDER, Petitioner, v. STATE of South Carolina, Respondent. |
| Docket Number | No. 23345 |
| Decision Date | 11 February 1991 |
Page 484
v.
STATE of South Carolina, Respondent.
Decided Feb. 11, 1991.
[303 S.C. 540] Asst. Appellate Defender Robert M. Dudek, of S.C. Office of Appellate Defense, Columbia, for petitioner.
Atty. Gen. T. Travis Medlock, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen. Donald J. Zelenka, and Asst. Atty. Gen. Miller W. Shealy, Jr., Columbia, for respondent.
HARWELL, Justice:
Petitioner Vincent Alexander pled guilty to trafficking in cocaine and received a fifteen year sentence from which he took no direct appeal. This case is before this Court on writ of certiorari from the denial, after a hearing, of his application for post-conviction relief (PCR). We reverse.
I. FACTS
This case originated when law enforcement authorities received information from a confidential informant that crack cocaine was being brought into Estill, South Carolina by a number of individuals travelling in a particular automobile. Based upon their information, law enforcement authorities secured a search warrant and searched the vehicle in which petitioner and three codefendants had been travelling. Approximately fifty grams of crack cocaine were found. Also, while searching the vehicle, a key was found to a nearby motel room. One of the codefendants consented to a search of the [303 S.C. 541] room; approximately one hundred fifty grams of crack cocaine were discovered.
Four indictments, each containing two counts, were returned against petitioner. The vague indictments appeared to involve overlapping and greater and lesser charges. Despite the indictments, petitioner actually faced two counts of trafficking in cocaine, based on the possession of two different quantities. Consequently, petitioner's maximum sentencing exposure was seven to twenty-five years and a fifty-thousand dollar fine for the fifty grams of cocaine found in the automobile and a mandatory twenty-five year sentence and a fifty-thousand dollar fine for the one hundred fifty grams of cocaine found in the motel room. See, S.C.Code Ann. § 44-53-370(e)(2)(b) and (c) (1985). 1
Originally, petitioner pled not guilty, and a jury trial began on August 4, 1987. Later on that same date, petitioner, with the aid of his attorney and an interpreter, pled guilty to trafficking in more than ten grams of cocaine. Petitioner was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment from which he did not appeal. Petitioner then filed an application for PCR raising various
Page 485
allegations of ineffective assistance of trial counsel including that trial counsel was ineffective in providing him with erroneous sentencing advice. Petitioner claimed that but for this false sentencing information, he would not have...To continue reading
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Garren v. State, Appellate Case No. 2015-000756
...S.E.2d 884, 886 (2007) (citing Strickland v. Washington , 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) ; Alexander v. State , 303 S.C. 539, 541, 402 S.E.2d 484, 485 (1991) ). "Second, an applicant must show there is a reasonable probability, but for counsel's unprofessional erro......
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Southerland v. State, No. 25034.
...plea, i.e., the defendant must show that counsel's ineffective performance affected the outcome of the plea process. Alexander v. State, 303 S.C. 539, 402 S.E.2d 484 (1991). See also Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203...
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Shepard v. Padula, Civil Action No. 6:11-1457-MBS-KFM
...he would not have pled guilty and would have insisted on going to trial. Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 58-59 (1985); Alexander v. State, 303 S.C. 539, 542, 402 S.E.2d 484, 485 (1991).Courts use a two-pronged test in evaluating allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel. First, the Ap......
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Pierce v. State, No. 25043.
...guilty and would have insisted on going to trial. Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985); Alexander v. State, 303 S.C. 539, 402 S.E.2d 484 (1991). Thus, an applicant must show both error and prejudice to win relief in a PCR proceeding. Scott v. State, 334 S.C. 2......
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Garren v. State, Appellate Case No. 2015-000756
...S.E.2d 884, 886 (2007) (citing Strickland v. Washington , 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) ; Alexander v. State , 303 S.C. 539, 541, 402 S.E.2d 484, 485 (1991) ). "Second, an applicant must show there is a reasonable probability, but for counsel's unprofessional erro......
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Southerland v. State, No. 25034.
...plea, i.e., the defendant must show that counsel's ineffective performance affected the outcome of the plea process. Alexander v. State, 303 S.C. 539, 402 S.E.2d 484 (1991). See also Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203...
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Shepard v. Padula, Civil Action No. 6:11-1457-MBS-KFM
...he would not have pled guilty and would have insisted on going to trial. Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 58-59 (1985); Alexander v. State, 303 S.C. 539, 542, 402 S.E.2d 484, 485 (1991).Courts use a two-pronged test in evaluating allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel. First, the Ap......
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Pierce v. State, No. 25043.
...guilty and would have insisted on going to trial. Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985); Alexander v. State, 303 S.C. 539, 402 S.E.2d 484 (1991). Thus, an applicant must show both error and prejudice to win relief in a PCR proceeding. Scott v. State, 334 S.C. 2......