State v. Evans
| Citation | 460 S.E.2d 578,319 S.C. 320 |
| Decision Date | 24 August 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 2388,2388 |
| Court | Court of Appeals of South Carolina |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. George Allen EVANS, Appellant. |
Asst. Appellate Defender Robert M. Dudek, of S.C. Office of Appellate Defense, Columbia, for appellant.
Atty. Gen. T. Travis Medlock, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen. Charles W. Gambrell, Jr., and Asst. Atty. Gen. Anne Hunter Young, Columbia, for respondent.
Appellant, George Allen Evans, was tried in his absence for one count of trafficking in cocaine under S.C.Code Ann. § 44-53-370(e)(2)(c). He was convicted as charged and sentenced to imprisonment for 25 years and fined $50,000. We find the charge failed to convey subject matter jurisdiction and therefore vacate the conviction.
On December 10, 1991, the State Grand Jury of South Carolina returned indictment number 91GS4722072 against appellant for one count of trafficking in cocaine. 1 The indictment provided in pertinent part as follows:
TRAFFICKING IN COCAINE
S.C.Code Ann. Section 44-53-370(e)(2)(c)
That George Allen Evans ... did in York County on November 14, 1991, knowingly sell or deliver to a confidential informant ... a quantity of cocaine ... in the amount of 140.94 grams, said activity having significance in more than one county of this State and such conduct not having been authorized by law.
The State presented evidence that appellant discussed selling cocaine to the confidential informant with one Marvin Hall. Hall testified that, following this discussion, he and appellant drove to a certain location where appellant exited the vehicle, entered some woods, and thereafter returned with a package of cocaine. Appellant gave the cocaine to Hall and instructed him to go forward with the transaction in case he was not available at the time. Hall observed the confidential informant's vehicle parked at appellant's place of employment, a garage, and retrieved the cocaine from a hiding place before returning to the garage. Upon arriving at the garage, appellant pointed Hall out to the confidential informant and told him that Hall would "take care of him." The confidential informant then left with Hall and the cocaine was exchanged for money at another location. Appellant was not present during the exchange. However, Hall testified it was appellant's cocaine and he was dealing on behalf of appellant. There is no evidence the cocaine was located in or impacted upon any other county than York prior to and during the drug deal.
On appeal, appellant asserts a failure of subject matter jurisdiction. He contends the State failed to show the offense affected any other county than York. We agree.
S.C.Code Ann. § 14-7-1630(A)(1) (Supp.1994) provides in part:
(A) The jurisdiction of a state grand jury impaneled under this article extends throughout the State. The subject matter jurisdiction of a state grand jury in all cases is limited to the following offenses:
(1) crimes involving narcotics, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances ... if the crimes are of a multi-county nature or have transpired or are transpiring or have significance in more than one county of this State....
Facts supporting the grand jury's jurisdiction must be set forth in the indictment, and an indictment which fails to allege the offense charged has significant impact in other counties, in addition to the county in which the offense is alleged to have occurred, is fatally defective. State v. Wilson, 315 S.C. 289, 433 S.E.2d 864 (1993). While the State Grand Jury may properly return an indictment alleging a single-count offense, such a charge conveys subject matter jurisdiction only when the offense has multi-county significance and the indictment contains this allegation. Id. Thus, while the indictment at hand clearly contained an allegation of multi-county significance, there is absolutely no evidence the offense did, in fact, have multi-county significance. To require only that the indictment allege multi-county significance to convey jurisdiction to the State Grand Jury would subvert the clear intent of S.C.Code Ann. § 14-7-1630(A)(1) (Supp.1994).
The State first contends appellant waived the right to argue the trial judge erred in failing to direct a verdict for appellant for failure to prove...
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Evans v. State, 25963.
...prison and fined $50,000. The Court of Appeals vacated the conviction due to a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. State v. Evans, 319 S.C. 320, 460 S.E.2d 578 (Ct.App.1995). We reversed. State v. Evans, 322 S.C. 78, 470 S.E.2d 97 Petitioner filed a post-conviction relief (PCR) action and ......
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State v. Evans
...TO THE COURT OF APPEALS WALLER, Justice: We granted certiorari to review the Court of Appeals' opinion in State v. Evans, --- S.C. ----, 460 S.E.2d 578 (Ct.App.1995). We reverse. FACTS Evans was indicted by the State Grand Jury for trafficking cocaine. The indictment read as follows: TRAFFI......
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Unauthorized Practice of Law in South Carolina
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