Cummings v. State, 21088

Citation274 S.C. 26,260 S.E.2d 187
Decision Date15 November 1979
Docket NumberNo. 21088,21088
CourtSouth Carolina Supreme Court
PartiesGordon Newell CUMMINGS, Jr., Respondent, v. The STATE of South Carolina, William D. Leeke, Department of Corrections, Appellants.

Atty. Gen. Daniel R. McLeod, Deputy Atty. Gen., Emmet H. Clair and Staff Atty. Corinne G. Russell, Columbia, for appellants.

T. Allen Legare, Jr., Charleston, for respondent.

PER CURIAM:

Respondent plead guilty to two (2) counts of possession with intent to distribute unlawful drugs arising from two (2) separate indictments. He was sentenced to four (4) years imprisonment on each indictment, the sentences to run consecutively. He did not appeal but subsequently filed an application for Post-Conviction Relief alleging that his sentence was cruel and unusual punishment. Following a hearing, the lower court agreed and rescinded the sentence as to one (1) indictment. The State appeals.

We have held on numerous occasions that the failure to object to proceedings below waives the presentation of those issues on appeal. Miller v. State, 269 S.C. 113, 236 S.E.2d 422 (1977); 7A West's S.C. Digest, Criminal Law, k 1042. An application for Post-Conviction Relief is not a substitute for an appeal and errors which could have been reviewed on appeal may not be asserted for the first time, or reasserted in Post-Conviction proceedings. S.C. Code of Laws (1976), Section 17-27- 20(b); Simmons v. State,264 S.C. 417, 215 S.E.2d 883 (1975).

At trial, respondent failed to object to the imposition of the sentence and, therefore, waived the right to have that sentence reviewed on direct appeal, or to raise such issue on Post-Conviction absent an allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Additionally, in the lower court, respondent argued that remarks by the trial judge prior to sentencing evidenced prejudice and resulted in the imposition of an excessive sentence. It is sufficient to note that the sentences imposed were within the statutory limitations and there were no facts supporting an allegation of prejudice against the respondent.

Accordingly, the order of the lower court is reversed and the original sentence reinstated.

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10 cases
  • Drayton v. Evatt
    • United States
    • South Carolina Supreme Court
    • 9 Junio 1993
    ... ... State v. Drayton, 287 S.C. 226, 337 S.E.2d 216 (1985). At retrial, Drayton was convicted of murder, ... Peeler v. State, 277 S.C. 70, 283 S.E.2d 826 (1981); see also Cummings v. State, 274 S.C. [312 S.C. 9] 26, 260 S.E.2d 187 (1979); Ashley v. State, 260 S.C. 436, 196 ... ...
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    • South Carolina Supreme Court
    • 5 Julio 2005
  • Fortune v. State
    • United States
    • South Carolina Supreme Court
    • 4 Diciembre 2019
    ...present it now only to support a claim of ineffective representation, not as a separate ground for relief."); Cummings v. State , 274 S.C. 26, 28, 260 S.E.2d 187, 188 (1979) ("At trial, respondent failed to object to the imposition of the sentence and, therefore, waived the right to have th......
  • Wilson v. Ozmint
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit
    • 17 Febrero 2004
    ... ... Department of Corrections; (CA-02-2030-0-10BD) Henry Dargan McMaster, Attorney General, State of South Carolina, Respondents-Appellants ... United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit ... "in post-conviction absent an allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel." See, e.g., Cummings v. State, 274 S.C. 26, 260 S.E.2d 187, 188 (1979); Miller v. State, 269 S.C. 113, 236 S.E.2d 422 ... ...
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