Gossett v. State, 23143

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of South Carolina
• Writing for the Court: TOAL
• Citation: 300 S.C. 473,388 S.E.2d 804
• Parties: Michael T. GOSSETT, Petitioner, v. STATE of South Carolina, Respondent.
• Docket Number: No. 23143,23143
• Decision Date: 22 January 1990

Page 804

388 S.E.2d 804 300 S.C. 473 Michael T. GOSSETT, Petitioner,
v.
STATE of South Carolina, Respondent. No. 23143. Supreme Court of South Carolina. Submitted Nov. 14, 1989.
Decided Jan. 22, 1990.

Page 805

[300 S.C. 474] Asst. Appellate Defender Stephen P. Williams, of S.C. Office of Appellate Defense, Columbia, for petitioner.

Atty. Gen. T. Travis Medlock, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen. Donald J. Zelenka and Staff Atty. Delbert H. Singleton, Jr., Columbia, for respondent.

TOAL, Justice:

This case presents two issues for our decision: (1) whether the defendant was denied due process of law when the trial court refused the jury's request to view the scene of the crime; and (2) whether certain comments of the trial judge concerning the scene of the crime constitute reversible error.

FACTS

The defendant, Michael Gossett, was charged with the crime of assault and battery with intent to kill for the [300 S.C. 475] shooting of Troy Acker. Acker was working in his furniture upholstery shop, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on August 11, 1987. Acker testified as follows. At approximately 3:30 that afternoon, a young man entered his shop. No one else was present in the shop. The young man asked Acker if he re-upholstered cars, to which Acker replied in the negative. Acker told the man that he had a friend who did such work, and Acker proceeded to look up his friend's phone number. As Acker was doing this, he was shot at close range, the bullet entering his temple and exiting his mouth.

Instead of collapsing, Acker testified that he jumped up from his chair upon realizing he had been shot. The young man then fled the shop. Acker later positively identified Gossett as his assailant when he spotted Gossett while Gossett was waiting for a preliminary hearing. Acker testified that he recognized Gossett "readily" and identified him as the culprit before the police told him that Gossett was the man charged.

Three other witnesses testified for the State. Michael Gentry stated that he approached the police upon seeing them at the upholstery shop and that he informed them that he had seen Gossett on the street near the upholstery shop between 3:00 and 3:15. Joe Williams, who worked at a nearby automobile dealership, testified that he saw Gossett running out of the upholstery shop immediately after the gunshot was fired. Detective John Hall testified that Gossett made the statement "why would I shoot the old man for nothing?" before he had told Gossett the victim's age and before he had informed Gossett that nothing was stolen from the upholstery shop.

Gossett's defense was that he had been mistakenly identified as the culprit. His case pointed out several conflicts among the State's witnesses concerning what color clothes he was wearing. He also presented an alibi witness. Gossett himself contradicted Detective Hall's testimony, stating that he was asked "why would you want to rob that old man?", the question serving to notify him of Acker's age. ¹

[300 S.C. 476] Gossett was found guilty after a January 19, 1988 trial, and did not file an appeal. Gossett next sought post-conviction relief, but was denied it. He then petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari and review of his claims for post-conviction relief.

Among the grounds for relief argued, Gossett asserted that he had not been informed of his right to a direct appeal. The PCR judge found that Gossett had been so informed. The appropriate scope of review of this finding is that "any evidence" of probative value is sufficient to uphold the PCR judge's findings. Webb v....